Can Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. buck recent NBA draft trend?

SAN ANTONIO — It is the classic case of projection against production, an almost annual debate when it comes to the NBA draft. 

The older college players rarely get picked high these days.

Jalen Brunson, for instance, wasn’t a first-round pick.

Zach Edey returned to school after he was the National Player of the Year in 2023 because he wasn’t going to get drafted high enough. 

Which brings us to Walter Clayton Jr., the star guard out of Florida enjoying a magical NCAA Tournament. 

The 6-foot-3 Clayton has the top-seeded Gators in the national championship game for the first time since 2007, averaging 24.6 points and a ridiculous 48.2 percent from 3-point range on 7.8 attempts per game.

On Saturday night, he became the first player to score 30 points in a Final Four game since Carmelo Anthony in 2003.

But Clayton is a senior. He’s 22 years old. You don’t see his name in the lottery of most mock drafts. 

His former coach, Rick Pitino, believes teams are starting to look at him differently. 

“I think he’s put himself in the lottery. If you look at it, there are similarities to what Steph Curry did at Davidson,” Pitino said on Sunday. “You watch him play, he goes by people, he has great burst, he’s 6-3, he shoots it incredibly with range, drives to the basket well. He’s earning and deserving of what he’s getting.” 

“You’ve got to be ready for the NBA, and Walter is. The NBA is all about shooting, and he’s a guy ready to play in the NBA.” 

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Florida assistant coach John Andrzejek added: “If he doesn’t get picked [in the first round], there’s something wrong with the NBA at this point. I know he’s old, there’s stuff to knock, but he’s the best player on a team that can win the national championship.” 

Clayton was more known as a football recruit in high school, before switching his attention to basketball as a junior.

He only had mid- and low-major scholarship offers when he committed to Pitino at Iona.

At the New Rochelle school, he blossomed into the MAAC Player of the Year as a sophomore, then transferred to Florida following that season. 

He enjoyed a strong junior year at his hometown school, but took a bigger step this winter as a consensus All-American.

He’s raised his play even more over the past month. 

“I’m very proud, very happy for him, and his future more so than anything else,” Pitino said. “Very pleased that he has a chance to be in the national championship.”