Walter Clayton Jr.’s Final Four showcase was worthy of Carmelo Anthony, Larry Bird

The Final Four got off to a flying start as Florida overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to take down top overall seed Auburn 79-73 thanks in large part to the heroics of star guard Walter Clayton Jr.

The Gators relied heavily on clutch shot making from Clayton, who poured in 34 points to help his team reach the national championship game for the first time in 17 years.

Clayton has been a force for the Gators in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 24.6 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 48.7 percent from three-point range, willing his team further with clutch shot making and excellent leadership. The 34-point explosion against Auburn was the second 30 point performance in a row for Clayton, who put up 30 to help Florida rally past Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.

Walter Clayton Jr. put himself in some special March Madness company

Scoring 30 points in a Final Four game is incredibly rare and Clayton has now cemented his place in history with Saturday's offensive output. The last player to score 30 points in the Final Four was Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony, who did it 22 years ago to the day on April 5, 2003 in a 95-84 victory over Texas.

Things get even more incredible when you factor in the Texas Tech game, which means that Clayton has put up 30 points in the Elite Eight and Final Four, making him just the second player since 1979 to do that. You may have heard of the other guy who accomplished that feat.

While the Gators do have a very good basketball team that has earned their way to the national championship game, they wouldn't have survived this long without a superhuman performance from Clayton. One of head coach Todd Golden's best recruiting wins was convincing Clayton to come to Gainesville after he transferred out of Iona instead of following his first head coach, Rick Pitino, over to St. John's.

This historic performance has helped Clayton etch his place in March Madness history as an NCAA Tournament legend. He'll have a place in the history books on the line if he can help the Gators beat either Duke or Houston on Monday night.

Clayton's excellent NCAA Tournament also makes him a very interesting NBA Draft prospect as he has displayed the kind of clutch shotmaking, leadership, and offensive ability of a player that should have a long career at the next level.

Time will tell if NBA teams will find reasons to dismiss Clayton's run, citing either his age (22) or height (6-foot-3) as a reason not to draft him in favor of a younger player with more prototypical measurables. Anyone who does that will be missing out on an impact player who is sure to outperform his draft position for years to come.