To be frank, I don't think that you could look at one critical game and determine whether a given player could be effective or not against other ?top competition. Now, I haven't watched the whole game yet, just compared the stats of some other common games. Now, UConn, the 2023 NCAA champions basically blew-out everyone by 15-25 points on their way to winning the crown. It was similar to Florida's impressive 2006 run to their championship. Many teams will look bad against UConn including the 2023 Florida edition - a 54-75 loss (see below). With almost all of their key players back except for maybe one ?starter, UConn in 2024 will return essentially their entire team, probably be ranked as preseason#1 and probably be the favorite to win back-to-back national titles! However, there will also be strong competition returning as well like say Duke, Kentucky, ?Kansas, etc. ========================================= When the Gators played UConn, there were only three players that held their own against the Huskies: Castleton (12 pts/8 reb but on 4/14 shooting), Fudge(13 pts) and Kugel (13 pts). Richard, Lofton & Jones were all shut out (they all had zero pts in limited time against UConn); the diminutive Bonham 4pts ( 0-7 FG's) had a particularly rough going at the point guard position; K.Reaves(7 pts) rounded out the UF scorers. UConn basically shut down the rest of the Florida team in their runaway victory in Gainesville. UConn vs. Florida - Men's College Basketball Box Score - December 7, 2022 | ESPN I would say that UConn's front-court imposed their will on Florida despite Castleton's presence: C 7'2 Klinigan (16 pts/8 reb on 8/9 shooting), PF 6'9 Sanogo (15 pts/7 reb on 8/13 shooting). Florida was significantly out-rebounded by UConn: 42-28. Florida shot only 30%(FG:16/53) to UConn's 51% (FG:30/58). Florida shot many more free-throws than the huskies but missed quite a few more of them, too: UF-18/28(64%), UConn-8/9(88.9%). I am hoping that Golden is doing a good/great job in remedying Florida's past rebounding woes and production from the front-court by bringing in the following transfers/HS-players: PF EJ Jarvis, C Handlogten, C Alex Condon, F Haugh. Along with PG Walter Clayton. The front-court should further be solidified if Golden could also land PF/C Samuels and/or PF/C: Khalifa. I do agree with you and the others here that another speedy, shifty point guard is needed for this particular Florida team. It would be a tough task to place all of the point guard duties on one player even as talented as Clayton. It's better to have 2-3 capable players of running the team at the point guard position. Remember in 2006, Donovan had Walter Hodge to back up Taurean Green; in 2014, there was freshman Kasey Hill (who had 10A against UCLA NCAA-tourney game) to back up Scotty Wilbekin. ==================================================== Now, getting back to how Clayton & Iona played against UConn. Iona vs. UConn - Men's College Basketball Box Score - March 17, 2023 | ESPN In the 13 Iona/4 UConn NCAA Tournament game, both Walter Clayton (15 pts, 4 Assists) and his backcourt mate Jenkins (14 pts, 5 A, 4 steals) played up nearly to their season averages. Clayton was the high scorer for the Gaels and did not make too many turnovers (only two). However, it was again UConn's front-court that dominated the Iona Gaels' frontcourt and really blew open the game in the second half - the huskies outscored the gaels 50 to 27 points: PF: Sanoga 28 pts (13/17) & 13 reb C: Clinigan 12 pts & 9 reb vs. F: Junior-Joseph 8 pts 5 reb F: Shema 0 pts (0/5), 3 reb Here is Coach Rick Pitino and some of his players (i.e, Clayton) breaking down of what had happened against UConn vs Iona. (at 10-11 min mark, funny Billy Donnovan comment when Pitino was last at St Johns back in 1987). ================================================== Now against another 2023 NCAA Tournament team that Iona had played in the regular season (Princeton made the SW16), Clayton had a big game against those Tigers: 20 pts 5 A. Walter Clayton Jr. Game by Game Stats and Performance | ESPN For the season, Clayton had scored in double figures in 27/35 games averaging 16.7 ppg. Making 72/167 3Pters (43%) and also being an impressive freethrow shooter: 102/105 (95%). Hopefully for Florida next year, Clayton will be another great weapon from the back-court along with Kugel & Richard.
I watched the UConn game because it was the closest approximation of what Clayton will run into at UF. Jenkins is a lot better point guard than Clayton. That won’t change if I watch other Iona games, which I have not. What also won’t change is that Clayton is an average athlete, while Jenkins is a superior athlete. Clayton is a highly skilled offensive basketball player. He is an excellent shooter with a very quick release. He also is a good passer and sees the floor well. I don’t see him as an effective point guard in the SEC, but I won’t be at all surprised if he is an effective 2-guard. By the way, at least one publication that I looked at rated Jenkins higher than Clayton. I am very happy that we got Clayton, but I still want an athletic, high IQ, unselfish point guard to run this team.
Clayton has a quick release on his jumper, so that will overcome a lot of things. He doesn't need much of an opening.
Also, he has an SEC body. Not a lightweight at all. The player that comes to mind watching him is Scottie Wilbekin, in size and style. So I'm good.
I’ve watched virtually every game of his collegiate career. I suspect you are underestimating his athleticism.
You could be right, but you could be wrong. How would you evaluate Clayton and Jenkins based just on the UConn game?
I really enjoy your knowledgeable insights on the board, but why would you base any player's ability on one game, let alone their performance against the team that dismantled other teams this season like no other? I bet UConn to win it all back in Dec and am only sad that I got +900 because they were so hot at that time. Would have gotten better props in Feb/March. Think about 2013-14. UConn made Wilbekin, Patric, et al. look much worse than they were in two games. I bet we could look at a bunch of really good players who played "below their ability" against 22-23 UConn.
I have made it clear that I am basing it on just one game. So, I certainly could be wrong, but that’s what I have done over the years with pretty good accuracy. I did watch Kasey Hill several times before posting that he was overrated. I saw Cheese play twice, but one of those times was in the Elite 24 game that was intended to be for the 24 best high school players in the country. If you can play great in a game like that, you can play. So, I posted that he was better than Hill. I saw Glover play twice, but it was against 2 of the best high school teams in the country, and he was the best player on the floor. I saw Tre Mann play in Tampa against Tampa Catholic, and it was enough for me to report that he wasn’t ready to be a point guard in the SEC, but he might be able to score a ton of points. Granted, one game is too little to be entirely accurate. Nevertheless, Clayton forced some shots that probably wouldn’t have been forced against other teams on Iona’s schedule, and he had some ballhandling trouble that he might not have had against other teams on Iona’s schedule. He also looked noticeably slower than some of the other guards on the court. He also almost never initiated the offense when he had the ball on top. Jenkins, on the other hand, was getting into the paint at will and creating offense. Clayton might become a star at UF. He ain’t chopped liver, but I don’t think he’s a point guard. There are still a bunch of really good point guards out there. Hopefully, we get one of them.
You won’t hear me knock Jenkins. He is a fantastic player. As I recall…. if you made an analysis on that game alone, you may end up taking JeanLouis! But as to Clayton/Jenkins… we got a fantastic player, and a kid who had a connection to “home”. Dannis has signed with St. Johns, and it was pretty known that would be the scenario. Still, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the athleticism of Walter. He also has fantastic body control and strength… using both to get into the lane… either finishing at the rim or with a really consistent midrange. Yes, I could be wrong… but I think he will be very good at Florida.
If you're transferring to UF you better be a lot better than you were the year before. Status quo is a no go.
LMAO….16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while shooting 43% from 3 and 95% from the free-throw line is something you are not willing to take right now?
Are you assuming he will have those stats next year, or just using them as proof he's a guaranteed Gator great? I'm pointing out the obvious, which is UF and the SEC are a higher level for almost all incoming players, because of their limited experience and/or the level of competition they are used to facing in conference. But I suppose sometimes you have to fill a roster spot with someone who has stats, even after seeing them play and questioning their toughness and desire, but welcoming them and hoping they can contribute and improve. That's why I'm not a coach. If a player hasn't proven to chew nails and spit out molten steel in the face of the opponent, I would pass. Or maybe I'm overreacting to a frustrating 15 years of soft ball in the O'dome. Apologies to a few exceptions. Here's hoping Clayton dominates the SEC and shows his teammates how tasty nails are.
In what I’ve seen(not an extensive amount). Clayton looks like he has a lot of bounce. Like AKA said, he has great body control. He also seems to be an accurate passer, good ball handler and obviously shoots extremely well. I think he will be a very good scoring PG next to other very good players where the defense can’t focus on him. I thought Lofton would be a very good PG here and I was way off.
Your first sentence says you are basing this off of 1 game. I watched this game till half time and saw all I needed to see ... Iona was winning against National Champs UConn at half time. Rick Pitino says he is great and wanted him. ...So go and watch some other games
Lofton was your traditional ball handling point guard, but lacked both shooting and assist generating ability particularly at a fast pace. I expect that Clayton will be a step up.
