Walter Clayton Jr. probably benefitted the most from the NCAA Tournament. He was an afterthought when he was under Rick Pitino’s guise at Iona. Now he’s not just a national champion, he’s headed to the NBA.
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament run, Clayton showed NBA scouts he’s worth a first-round selection. Clayton is a Florida boy through and through. He grew up about an hour and a half outside of Orlando and grew into a national champion in Gainesville.
What made Clayton such a strong NBA prospect is his ability to shoot 3-pointers really well. In the last four rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Florida had to play from behind. In each of those games, the Gators’ run was spurned by Clayton’s clutch ability.
It’s something that will translate well in the NBA. The one thing that could hold him back is consistency. While he popped off throughout the tournament, he went quiet in the national championship game.
At one point, he was 0-6 from the field and couldn’t make any of the circus 3-pointers he made look so easy every round before. That said, in the latest FanSided mock draft, Clayton has a chance to be a hometown legend.
Walter Clayton Jr. can stay home and become a Florida legend in latest mock draft selection
According to FanSided’s latest mock draft prediction, Clayton could end up with the Orlando Magic and truly become a Florida legend. Orlando is on the cusp of being a contender in the Eastern conference.
Detroit has already changed course; the New York Knicks have surfaced as a top team. Cleveland and Boston are the best in the conference and the Indiana Pacers are a young team with potential.
Orlando could be the next team and Clayton has a chance to be the change. Paulo Banchero and Franz Wagner have helped Orlando be competitive. They just haven’t gotten over that hump and the backcourt could really be holding them back.
Between his playmaking and his scoring ability, the Magic will get a massive need. The good thing is Clayton won’t have to come in and be a prolific scorer right away. He can work his way into the offense and focus on distributing first.
Hopefully this isn’t recency bias and Clayton develops into a true star in the league. And if he truly lands with the Magic, he’d could ultimately become immortalized as a basketball icon in Florida.