Walter Clayton Jr. sacrificed football to become a champion with the Florida Gators but now his NBA future is uncertain
he star arrived to join the Florida Gators, but before that, he’d been offered a football scholarship at the very university where he can now boast a championship ring. Notre Dame, Georgia, and Tennessee also saw stardom in Clayton’s future, envisioning him as a standout defensive cornerback. Yet, after his sophomore year of high school, when those offers rolled in, Clayton made a jaw-dropping move: he turned his back on football forever and poured his soul into basketball.

On the road to the national championship game against Houston, Clayton emerged as the beating heart of the Gators. In the Round of 32, his clutch three-pointers rescued the team against UConn, the reigning back-to-back champions. In the Elite Eight, he drained three critical triples to erase a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes against Texas Tech. And in the Final Four, he erupted for 34 points against No. 1 seed Auburn, torching the net with another barrage of threes (5-of-8).

Throughout the season, Clayton stood tall as one of the nation’s premier guards. He capped the year as an AP First-Team All-American and entered March Madness ranked as the tournament’s third-best player. But that ranking undersold him. In this tournament, he’s been nothing less than the NCAA’s unrivaled king. Now, the burning question looms: what’s next for him in the NBA?

Despite being one of the most electrifying forces in this March Madness, Clayton Jr. wasn’t projected to be drafted in the NBA-though his tournament heroics might just rewrite that narrative.

Two factors cast shadows over his prospects: his height and his age. Standing between 6’2″ and 6’3″ (depending on the source), and already 22 years old (turning 23 as a rookie), he faces an uphill climb. Yet, after this dazzling run, the NBA may no longer be able to ignore his brilliance.