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Walter Clayton breaks down final defensive possession, forcing turnover

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•04/08/25
NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Championship-Houston vs Florida
Apr 7, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp (21) loses the ball as he attempts to shoot against Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) in the second half in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

After guard Denzel Aberdeen split a pair of free throws to give Florida a 65-63 lead over Houston in the national championship game, star Walter Clayton and the Gators had to hold out for one more possession. Houston would have a chance to tie it or win it.

Talk about nerves. Surely the Gators were going through it as they prepared to defend.

“Yeah, I seen a lot going on,” Clayton explained. “Felt like we were going to get something from (LJ) Cryer or (J’Wan) Roberts.”

Cryer took the ball up the floor and then veered to the right. He dished to Milos Uzan, who ran into a trap near the sideline. Uzan quickly gave it back to Cryer.

That’s when the real play started to develop. The action happened off the ball.

“(Emanuel) Sharp kind of creeped down to the baseline,” Walter Clayton said. “I seen a back screen. I’m yelling back screen at (Alex Condon). Sharp ended up slipping it, set elevator screens.”

Cryer flipped it to Sharp. Sharp seemingly had the open 3-pointer and lined up to take it. As he went up, Clayton came flying in out of nowhere.

Sharp’s line of sight impeded, he came down with the ball, releasing it right before he hit the ground to avoid a travel. But the ball was loose and he couldn’t pick it up.

“We work on it in practice, closing out, jumping to the side so you don’t foul the shooter,” Walter Clayton said. “He pump faked, threw the ball down, ended up being a good play, (Condon) got on it. We won the game.”

Easy as that. Of course, the play came with a high degree of difficulty for Walter Clayton. Foul and he’d send Sharp, an 86.8% free-throw shooter, to the line for three shots and the chance to steal the national title.

None of that was on Clayton’s mind at the time. Just executing.

“Yeah, just go 100%,” he said. “Honestly, my mind was just a little blank. Trying to get a stop. We ended up getting it, getting the win. Happy we got that done.”

As for the end result? Florida claimed its third national championship.

“The feeling, just surreal,” Walter Clayton said. “It’s a crazy feeling. I can’t even explain it, but it feel good, though.”