Clayton is a star who gets by with a little help from his friends

Walter Clayton is an All-American who relies on help from his friends (Photo by Chris Spears)

“I get by with a little help from my friends” – The Beatles, 1967, “With a Little Help from My Friends”

For the better part of 34 minutes Saturday evening, Walter Clayton Jr. was the basketball equivalent of Clark Kent. Then came the distress call, in this case Texas Tech 71, Florida 61. That’s when Clayton became anything but mild-mannered. Starting with a 3-pointer that sliced the deficit down to seven points with 5:24 remaining in the game, Clayton transformed into the basketball equivalent of Superman.

In those last six minutes Clayton seemed to be everywhere. During the 23-8 run that closed out an 84-79 Florida win in the championship game of the West Regional at San Francisco’s Chase Center, Clayton scored 13 points and dealt two assists to Tommy Haugh, who buried a pair of 3-pointers.

Prior to the final six minutes, Clayton was 0-4 from the 3-point line. Constantly doubled and bracketed by a cut the head off the snake defensive scheme installed specifically for this game by Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland, Clayton was anything but the baby faced assassin he proved to be in the deciding minutes of the game.

In the first 34 minutes, Clayton contributed 17 of his game-high 30 points, but most of them came at the foul line. Clayton finished the full 40 minutes by going 13-14 at the line, but in the first 34 minutes, nine of his points came from the foul line. He was 3-9 from the field overall, 9-10 at the foul line. He grabbed two rebounds and handed out two assists.

Then came the explosion that gave the Gators the momentum they needed to win the game and advance to the Final Four in San Antonio. The 3-pointers are what everyone will remember and a good reason why Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Player. Clayton was also the MOP of the SEC Tournament. If they had given out such an award for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, Clayton would have won that too.

He is an extraordinary talent and deserving of consensus first team All-America honors. The coach or coaches who didn’t vote him All-SEC first team should hang their heads in shame.

Always dangerous and always a candidate to go into a shooter’s coma when everything he throws up at the rim finds its way to the bottom of the net, Clayton is Florida’s most visible and well-known player. When the game is on the line, Clayton is at his most dangerous.

“There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big time moment,” Florida coach Todd Golden says.

Things happen, whether it’s making a contested three with a hand in his face or driving fearlessly into the lane to either make a layup or get fouled in the attempt, Clayton takes games over.

“When the game is on the line, Walt is at his best,” Alex Condon said back on Friday. “There isn’t anyone we would rather have with the ball in his hands if it’s shooting or passing. He always does what it takes to win.”

If there is a Clayton calling card it is his willingness to do whatever it takes to win. Against Maryland in the Sweet 16 game, Clayton only scored 13 points and only took one shot in the second half. His teammates were on a roll and that suited him perfectly.

Even Superman knows that you get by with a little help from your friends.

Against Texas Tech, it was Haugh who came through with the greatest game of his career. He scored 20 points, hitting 4-6 from the 3-point line and 4-4 from the foul line. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, plus had two assists, a blocked shot and a steal.

Haugh will be best remembered for those two 3-point daggers in the final three minutes, but like Clayton, he seemed to be everywhere. In the first half he had 12 points and six rebounds. He was the guy who seemed to be holding things together when the Gators were in a real funk while trying to figure out the Texas Tech defensive scheme.

Martin scored 10 points and despite being only 6-2, was seen snagging rebounds (7) away from the big guys. He had seven for the game, none more spectacular than with 11:36 left in the game against Texas Tech. When Tech All-American JT Toppin missed on a short flip shot in the lane, Martin tipped the ball away, then ran it down and punched it forward. He outraced two Texas Tech defenders to grab the ball just past midcourt. He finished with an authoritative slam.

Richard spent most of the Texas Tech game playing defense. He had six points, a couple of rebounds and a blocked shot. Two nights earlier against Maryland he led the team in scoring (15), 12 of which came in the first half when the game was still close. Like Clayton and Martin, Richard has a sense of figuring out what the Gators need and then focusing on that aspect. He doesn’t have to score to be a star although he has had some serious explosions.

“I just do whatever my teammates need me to do,” Richard said in Raleigh after the Gators won their second round game over UConn. “Score, rebound, defense, pass the ball … whatever helps us win, that’s all that is important.”

Condon had seven points, seven rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and two steals against Texas Tech. Rueben Chinyelu had two points and five rebounds. Modest numbers for both of them, but their chief focus was on the defensive end. They got plenty of help in the paint from Micah Handlogten, who had six points and played an intimidating brand of defense.

On any other team Denzel Aberdeen would be a starter. He had 13 points in the two games, nailing two threes against Maryland, one against Texas Tech.

It is this collection of guys who sense what the team needs that make the Gators a legitimate national championship threat in San Antonio.

“We got a bunch of guys who just love each other, love playing together and hanging around together,” Clayton said, echoing comments by Golden, who said Florida’s success is “a direct result of the work that our players have done all year and the work my staff has done. They've all, to a man, been incredibly consistent, unselfish and worked their tail off. We don't do this without the collective work of our program.”

The Gators simply get by with help from all their friends. It doesn’t matter who scores, who gets the headlines or who makes the biggest play as long as the team wins.   

SEC PLAYERS IN THE PORTAL

Alabama: C Noah Williamson (7-0, 224, JR from Bucknell); SF Naas Cunningham (6-7, 175, FR)

Arkansas: SG Melo Sanchez (6-4, 185, JR); C Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2, 235, SO)

Georgia: SG Silas Demary Jr. (6-5, 195, JR); SF RJ Godfrey (6-7, 225, JR); SG De’Shayne Montgomery (6-4, 190, SO)

Kentucky: PF Kam Williams (6-8, 190, FR from Tulane); PG Kerr Kriisa (6-3, 180, SR)

LSU: PF Noah Boyde (7-0, 245, JR); SG Vyctorius Miller (6-5, 185, FR); SG Mike Williams (6-3, 180, SO); PF Corey Chest (6-8, 220, FR); SF Tyrell Ward (6-6, 195, JR); C Michael Nwoko (6-10, 245, SO from Mississippi State); PG Dedan Thomas (6-1, 170, SO from UNLV)

Mississippi State: SG Martavious Russell (6-3, 190, SO); C Michael Nwoko (6-10, 245, SO to LSU); PG Kanye Cleary (5-11, 190, JR); C Jeremy Foumena (6-11, 235, SO)

Missouri: C Jevon Porter (6-11, 235, JR from Loyola Marymount); PF Aidan Shaw (6-9, 210, JR to Boston College)

Oklahoma: SF Jacolb-Fredson Cole (6-7, 220, FR to McNeese); C Yaya Keita (6-9, 241, JR)

Ole Miss: SG TJ Caldwell (6-4, 190, JR); PG Pop Isaacs (from Creighton)

South Carolina: SG Treyson Eaglestaff (6-6, 190, JR from North Dakota); C/PF Nick Pringle (6-10, 220, SR); SF Arden Conyers; PG Zachary Davis (6-7, 200, JR); CG Austin Herro (6-3, 180, FR); PF Christ Essandoko (7-0, 285, SO from Providence)

Texas: SF Devon Pryor (6-7, 185, SO to Oregon)

Texas A&M: SF Rob Dockery (6-6, 215, FR); SF Jaelyn Lee (6-6, 195, SO)

Vanderbilt: SG Jason Edwards (6-1, 175, JR); SG Jordan Williams (6-2, 215, JR); SG Alex Hemenway (6-4, 190, SR); C Jaylen Carey (6-8, 265, SO); PF Jaqualon Roberts (6-8, 230, SO); PG Karris Bilal (6-2, 190, FR); SG MJ Collins (6-4, 190, JR)