Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. is a First Team All-American, according to The Sporting News.
The outlet announced its 2024-25 College Basketball All-America Teams Wednesday morning, including Clayton in the top tier. Auburn forward Johni Broome, Duke forward Cooper Flagg, Alabama guard Mark Sears and Purdue point guard Braden Smith make up the rest of the First Team. Clayton is the first Florida player to be named to the First Team and the sixth Gator named to any All-America team by The Sporting News.
“A year ago, Clayton functioned primarily as a shooter and scorer and averaged just 2.6 assists, which was fine because that was not his job. From the jump this year, though, Florida installed Clayton as its (primary) ballhandler and was given no reason to regret the decision. Clayton’s scoring fell by less than half a point per game, but his assists were up by nearly two and his turnovers were nearly flat.”
College basketball columnist Mike DeCourcy praised Clayton for his consistency at the point guard position for Florida and said his play was a “huge reason” Florida finished the regular season at the top of the SEC. DeCourcy picked Clayton’s 22-point, 8-assist and 5-rebound night in a road win against Alabama one week ago as the defining game of his season.
Heading into the SEC Tournament, which begins Wednesday, Clayton is averaging 17.2 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. The Gators have a two-round bye after finishing second overall in the conference. To win the SEC Tournament, Florida will need to go 3-0 over the weekend.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators basketball G Walter Clayton Jr. First Team All-American
