Walter Clayton Jr. lived his dream of being an all-university basketball player on Monday night and became the national champion with the Florida Gators.
But when Clayton came out of Bartow High School in Florida, he was about to choose whether to play soccer and basketball in college. He received offers to play football from the Gators, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Nebraska and West Virginia, but ultimately chose basketball and followed Iona after Rick Pitino.
After two seasons and Pitino took on a job at St. John's, Clayton moved to the Todd Golden program in Gainesville for the 2023-24 campaign. Two years later, the Gators returned to the top with a 65-63 national title victory over the Houston Cougars.
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Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. celebrates after winning the 2025 National Championship Game at the Alamodome. (Bob Dongnan/Image Image)
The transfer portal and opportunities for names, images and likeness allowed the mid-term school star college athletes to quickly play and build personal brands on and off the court, allowing them to move on to a larger program.
Clayton is just one of many examples, and he took advice from future athletes who could be in the same situation as before the 2023-24 season and made the decision that changed his life.
“The only advice I can really give is to keep up with your work and trust your work,” Clayton told Fox News Digital while working on a celebration “shift” by raising canes alongside Gainesville Gators teammates Aliya Martin and Thomas Howe.
Florida won the NCAA Tournament in Houston after eliminating a 12-point deficit in a thrilling way
“Nothing is given to you. When I came to Florida, they were 16-17. Obviously, it was (Todd) the first year of Golden and he wanted things to be better. He promised me nothing. I told him I was coming here.
Clayton played for his hometown college and quickly became the focus of the offensive, averaging 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He initially declared an NBA draft, but decided that there was an unfinished business in Gainesville, which paid off on Monday night.
Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. celebrates after winning the 2025 national championship at the Alamodome. (Bob Dongnan/Image Image)
Clayton has one of Florida's best seasons in basketball history and supported the Gators, the SEC record, to a 27-4 program history record. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds before being selected by the first team Nationals, with the NBA Draft calling again.
According to ON3, Clayton's Nir rating is $1.2 million due to his stardom.
Another example of how useful Portal and Nir can be is Martin, who helped Florida Atlantic University reach Final Four two years ago. His fifth and final college season was with the Gators this year, after four seasons with the Owls. He scored the best year with a career-high 14.4 points per game as a starting guard alongside Clayton.
Aliya Martin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Howe are working a celebration “shift” in Gainesville, Florida when they raised their canes on April 10, 2025. (Gerard Mora/Getty Images for Growing Canes)
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So, while the new system of college sports has detractors, athletes like Clayton have advantages.
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