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Injury status of Florida PG Walter Clayton Jr. revealed for Vanderbilt

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•about 12 hours•

ZachAbolverdi

Walter-Clayton-Jr-Florida-Gators
Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. (Randy Sartin-Imagn Images)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The status of Walter Clayton Jr. for Florida’s next game was revealed Monday night on the SEC availability report.

Clayton is listed as questionable against Vanderbilt with a left ankle sprain. UF coach Todd Golden provided an update on him Monday.

“Obviously we avoided anything too serious, which is awesome. He definitely tweaked his ankle pretty good there in the first half. Second half, slipped in front of our bench. I don’t think there was anything added on because of that. Just kind of a fluky deal,” Golden said.

“Obviously, he’s been knocking out his rehab and is recovering. He’s moving around pretty well, but we’ll take it hour by hour right now and see how it goes this afternoon in practice. I think tomorrow when he wakes up will be a big determinant in if he goes tomorrow night or not.”

Tip between the No. 6 Gators (18-3, 5-3 SEC) and Commodores (16-5, 4-4 SEC) is at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Vanderbilt starting forward Tyler Nickel is listed as probable, while guard Alex Hemenway is out along with Florida center Micah Handlogten.

Clayton suffered his injury at the 1:07 mark of the first half against Tennessee, could not put pressure on it after the sprain and went to straight to the locker room.

He returned to the lineup to start the second half, spent time riding a bike after subbing out the first time and then checked out for good when he slipped.

Clayton finished with a team-high 10 points — all in the first half before his injury. He also extended his UF record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 44. 

Clayton leads the team in scoring for the second straight season and has averaged 17.8 points during SEC play. He’s two points from joining Florida’s 1,000-point club.

Clayton is looking to become the 57th Gator to reach the milestone, a group that also includes Will Richard, and the fifth player to hit the mark within two seasons.

Clayton on watch list for prestigious hoops award

Clayton on Monday was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year 10-player midseason watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.

The award is named after six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy, a point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950-63. Clayton was joined by the following players on the watch list:

Mark Sears, Alabama
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ace Baldwin, Penn State
Braden Smith, Purdue
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Javon Small, West Virginia

Clayton, a senior from Lake Wales, Fla., shifted from shooting guard to point guard this season and he leads the Gators in scoring (17.4 points per game), 3-point field goals (56 total) and assists (79 total). Meanwhile, Clayton its shooting 45 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from 3-point range and 86.4 percent from the foul line. And, he even averages 3.3 rebounds a game.

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