Former Iona guard Walter Clayton Jr. will transfer to Florida, he announced Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Scouting report
The name of the game with Clayton is touch. Clayton is one of the best shooters in the portal, with a feathery soft release and terrific efficiency. He averaged over 16 points per game while shooting 46 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3 and 95 percent from the foul line last year. But more impressively, he did it out of a variety of different situations. He’s always on balance, playing consistently off of two feet and making himself available to be in a position to shoot the ball.
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He’s not the most explosive player, but his footwork is terrific and he has great instincts once he gets into the paint. He makes the right decision consistently, sets the table for his teammates and rarely takes bad shots. Genuinely, he will space the floor for his teammates at an elite level as more of a complementary starter at the high-major level. I love him for teams that have high-level creators at the wing position next year, where he can be more of a secondary ball handler that knocks down shots off the catch and takes side ball screens.
Clayton should be a two-year starter with the upside of making an all-conference team. — CJ Moore and Sam Vecenie
How Clayton fits with Florida
With the addition of Manhattan’s Micah Handlogten, Yale’s EJ Jarvis, and now Clayton, the Gators have now added three players from the transfer portal.
For Clayton, the Gators are close to home. The Lakes Wales, Fla., native led the country in free-throw shooting at 95.3 percent and shot an elite 43.1 percent from behind the arc. The most important aspect is the fit. Clayton should fit in nicely alongside Riley Kugel and Will Richard in the backcourt.
Florida has five scholarships available as Golden finds more pieces to surround his talented backcourt. — Bass
Required reading
(Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images)
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