Walter Clayton Jr. (1) lets one of his four made 3-balls fly Saturday in UF's upset win at No. 1 Auburn.
Green-Lit Gators Look to Stay Hot in Starkville
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A normal shooting workout for Walter Clayton Jr., depending on the day, will have Florida's senior point guard and leading scorer making 500 to 600 baskets, including 100 from the college 3-point line, followed another 100 from the NBA 3-point line.
Then comes the hard part.
Jordan Talley, UF's assistant director of player development: "From the logo -- and by that I mean deep into the logo, where he's uncomfortable -- it's make four in row [from a spot] five times. If he makes three then misses, start over."
Want to be a great shooter, put in the work. It's that simple. And, frankly, even that doesn't guarantee anything. Clayton, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior and most offensively gifted Gator in maybe a generation, does the work and gets rewarded. As such, so does his team. On Saturday, Clayton was an assassin in banging four shots from the Auburn midcourt logo – each of them deflating daggers to the maniacs in "The Jungle" – on his way to 19 points and leading UF to a 90-81 upset of the No. 1-ranked Tigers.
"I'll shoot it from wherever," Clayton said. "If it's a good shot, it's going up."
Right now, they're all good shots for Clayton, whose right hand will be cocked and ready to fire away when the third-ranked Gators (20-3, 7-3) try to beat a second straight ranked Southeastern Conference opponent on the road Tuesday night against No. 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5) at Humphrey Coliseum.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
On Monday, UF coach Todd Golden recounted Clayton's bombs, with his favorite being the one he took after guard Denzel Aberdeen advanced the ball to Clayton, who took one dribble into the halfcourt and walked into a rhythm transition 3 from about 30 feet.
"He knows I'm pretty open to him being aggressive," Golden said. "That looked perfect as soon as it left his hand. It's a weapon, you know, and when teams are mindful of having to try to prevent that as soon as he crosses midcourt it opens up the floor a little bit more. So, he knows he has a green light."
Clayton isn't the only one with the green light and hot hand of late. UF has hit 23 3-pointers the last two games at a 42.6-percent clip. The first of those games, a home win over Vanderbilt last week, came with Clayton sidelined with an ankle injury. Five different players hit at least one in that game, with senior guard Will Richard nailing five. Four days later at Auburn, one of the most hostile venues in college basketball and with second-leading 3-point maker Alijah Martin out with a hip pointer, six different Gators made at least one from distance. Clayton had his four, but sophomore backup guard Urban Klavzar bombed three in as many attempts.
Will Richard (5) is up to 38.5 percent from the arc in SEC games.
"It felt great," Klavzar, the Slovenian sharp-shooter said of his afternoon at Auburn, which followed the Vandy game when he came off the bench and nailed two huge second-half 3s – his first makes in Southeastern Conference play – to help his team build a double-digit lead. "You always have to be ready."
Klavzar is another Gator who works overtime in the gym. In addition to his daily workouts, a couple times a week a manager will meet him at the practice facility, sometimes at 8 or 9 p.m., and set up the shooting machine for Klavzar to get in his 250 to 300 makes. Richard and Aberdeen have their own similar routines, usually under the watchful eyes of assistant coach Taurean Green or Talley.
The manner with which his players prepare is why UF coach Todd Golden gives them so much freedom to shoot.
Yes, even from logos.
"I feel like I'm a pretty good coach to play for when you're a shooter," Golden said.
Case in point: Heading into the Vandy game, Klavzar was told he'd be playing a bigger role with Clayton out. At that point, Klavzar was just three of 16 from the 3-point line in his limited appearances (10 games) and missed the first two he attempted against the Commodores. Late in the first half, he turned down an open 3 and opted to drive the ball for a floater, instead. The shot was blocked.
On the bench, Golden ordered Klavzar to take it when open – "You're one of the best shooters I've ever seen!" -- or he was coming out of the game.
Klavzar nailed back-to-back 3s during a second-half run that allowed the Gators to take control, prompting the players on the bench to poor onto the floor as Vandy called a timeout and mob their teammate.
Urban Klavzar (7) has hit five consecutive 3s bridging two games.
It was more of the same Saturday when Klavzar dropped his only 3 in the first half, then both his attempts in the second to help UF build a 21-point lead on the best team in the nation. So, five straight over the two games. He's at 83.3 percent in SEC play. Not bad.
"The way my season started I was like, 'Is there something wrong with the rims over [in America]?' " said Klavzar, who converted 3s at nearly 44 percent playing in Spain last year. "But you just have to stay positive, keep working, keep shooting."
The Gators are shooting 34.2 percent on the season from the 3-point line, including 33.9 in SEC play. Three games ago, they were a woeful 4-for-27 in an ugly 64-44 loss at Tennessee, but the last two games the ball movement has been exquisite – 20 assists vs. Vandy, followed by 22 at Auburn – with open shooters on the receiving end of those dimes.
Or sometimes, it's just Clayton crossing halfcourt and sizing up what is starting to look like a routine 30-footer.
"His 3s were insane. He's shooting from Steph Curry range," Klavzar said. "And it looks so effortless, too. When he shoots you just have a feeling it's going to go in, even from out there that far."
Walter Clayton Jr. doing point guard things on his way to nine assists against the Tigers.
It's a good feeling to have, especially for the Florida coach. Golden used the word "elite" in describing Clayton's performance at Auburn – his all-around game, not just snipering from deep – that included a career-best nine assists and a masterful handling of the UF offense, especially in deferring to teammates when the Tigers started doubling Clayton, who played the entire 40 minutes, and dared someone else to beat them.
"[That's] what you need your star player to do in an atmosphere and opportunity like that to win. I thought he was fantastic from start to finish," Golden said. "He struck an incredible balance of being aggressive and finding his teammates."
It was a virtuoso performance that caught the attention of the college basketball world. Clayton now is top of mind on some All-America lists. The Gators haven't had many All Americans over the years – never a first-teammer, but a few second-, third- and honorable mentions – with the last being Scottie Wilbekin on the 2014 third team.
Clayton was asked Monday if he wanted to be one of the best players in the country.
"I want to be one of the best teams in the country," he said. "That's all that matters to me."
Great answer.
But keep shooting.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
