Last night, I watched the entire Iona/UConn game. I do not see Clayton as the answer for the Gators at the point. Clayton is a very intelligent player who is a great shooter and passer and is a creative player. He is an average athlete for a basketball player. Think Locke, Lofton and Jones. So, his transition to SEC basketball is not an automatic. I think that he can get into the paint better than Lofton and Jones were able to this past season, but I don’t see him as an ideal initiator of offense at the point. He also does not look to me to be a top-level defender. He clearly will be in the rotation and should be a solid player for us, but I hope that we are able to get a better athlete to play the point. Interestingly, I think that his backcourt teammate at Iona, Dannis Jenkins, is a tremendous point guard, who would easily transition to the SEC at potentially an All-League level. He is a big, strong, spectacularly athletic player who is a tremendous ballhandler and passer. He can also score and defend at a high level. I actually think that Jenkins has NBA upside. This kid has one year of eligibility left. I have not seen anything about he and Florida being interested in each other, but he would start at the point for Florida and would improve everyone around him. I found the entire game on YouTube with the commercial breaks and half time left out, so it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to watch the game. If anyone else watches the game, please let us know what you think.
Some folks were reaching calling this kid a point guard. What he is, is a very good shooter. 43.1% shooter from deep last year on over 5 jacks a game, coupled with 95.3% from the free throw line. So let's say he's an average SEC athlete, with a good frame on him, that can shoot. His defensive stats were interesting as well. Averaged almost 2 steals a game and .6 blocks, which is unusual for a six foot two shooting guard.
Interesting. They were playing National Champion UConn . . . who beat every team they faced in the Tournament by an average of 20-points or 20-points+ so that may have had something to do with it. Here's the video for anyone wanting to watch:
Watching every game this past season it was clear we lost games w/o a 3-pt threat. If Clayton's shooting opens up the paint for us inside he will be well worth it IMHO. Any good reason we didn't go after his teammate too...do they like each other?
Pitino called them the best backcourt in the East regardless of conference. That is a reasonable statement. Maybe Jenkins has academic issues. After 2 years at Pacific, he went to junior college for a year before transferring to Iona. If he would be academically eligible to attend Florida, I would be all over him. The UConn game was a great way to see what these guys can do at the highest level of college basketball. Clayton had some issues on both ends of the floor, but he still played well. Jenkins showed that he can get into the paint against anyone and that he can defend just about anyone.
Got a chance to watch a lot of this game (during some painful meetings). I largely agree with most of your points. Hate to say it, but I saw a lot of A Nembhard in his game (even shoots from too low - Clayton from his ear / AN from his shoulder). He's very in control, seems to be set at one speed at all times. I saw great vision and a good and *willing* passer that places the ball where it needs to be. He's definitely not an explosive athlete, but that's not his game. He's able to use his brain and his strength to get to his spot, and damn can he shoot! Sure - he had a few tough moments in that game, but most players do in most games, and that was Iona v the National Champs. My biggest gripe is his defensive intensity doesn't seem to be where it needs to be. There was a stretch in the second half where UCONN was threatening to pull away (and they did), presumably Pitino told them to ratchet up the defensive intensity and you saw a difference in Clayton's efforts (Sanoga was too much for Iona). He'll need to play at that level more often in this league or he'll get abused. But I think/hope he's athletic enough to be a solid defender.
AN is a great point guard, so I won’t compare him to Clayton. Clayton does shoot some, not all, of his shoots off of his right ear, but he is so damn accurate doing it that I didn’t bother commenting about it.
Clayton is a Florida kids that at 6'2" doesn't have a NBA future unless he transitions to PG. Golden has 2 years to make that work.
I view them as similar in terms of both having deliberate, controlled, and evenly paced movements. Neither look explosive or jump off the screen as the best athlete on the floor. Both use their body and a high IQ to get to where they want to be. And both having non-textbook Js. How average, good, or great Clayton will become is yet to be determined.
Haven’t watched enough yet to say if there’s potential for him to go from secondary ball-handler to true point guard but he’s substantially more athletic than the guys you compared him to (Jones/Lofton/Locke)
Guess he’s had a rough early start in Gainesville since he’s already lost 2 inches off his listed height at Iona though I suspect 6-2 is probably right. Football background may help him defending larger guards. Golden will demand the defense but can see him being more of a combo guard. Maybe more of a piece to the puzzle than a full fix at PG.
What I saw was a nice combo guard. He needs another guy to play beside. If the Kugel/Richard/Clayton (or even Aberdeen) dynamic can be worked out in a 3-guard lineup, he will be effective enough.
I don’t think anyone is expects him to be an elite point guard at this level. But he can shoot the lights out, gets his own shots, takes care of the ball, and creates turnovers defensively. Not sure what else you need, though I completely agree that we need another guy back there, partly because Clayton is possibly more effective off the ball. On that score, Dedan Thomas is definitely a more traditional point guard who could very well make it in by fall. I also see us running a lot of offense through Kugel. He is too dynamic of a playmaker.
This x100. If he were an elite PG with his shooting ability he would be headed to the NBA Draft in a hurry. He will provide UF with plenty of what they lacked in the backcourt a year ago.
Thanks for the feedback. I had asked that question earlier, so appreciate you checking the game tape.
