The Florida Gators star and the NCAA 2025 tournament, the most prominent player of Walter Clayton Jr. is still talking to his teammates about what happened on Monday night in San Antonio.
How could they not win a very close national championship with a final victory of the NCAA 65-63 tournament over the Houston Couars?
He reduced to the maximum effort in the final game of the game in which Houston, for the shock that they all observed them, never shot themselves with a possible draw or victory when the final bell rang.
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The Florida Gators Walter Clayton Jr. Guard celebrates after winning the 2025 National Championship game at the Alamodome. (Images Bob Donnan/Imagn)
But Clayton and his teammates hindered the Cougars to take a clean look at the hoop, including Clayton’s closure in Emanuel Sharp beyond the 3 -point line, which froze the victory after Houston’s guard could not touch the ball again after dropping it.
Clayton, working on a “turn” of celebration at Raising Cane’s in Gainesville, Florida, on Thursday, spoke with Pak Gazette Digital about what he saw in those last seconds.
“I saw many things,” he explained by phone. “We feel they were going to try to get something to [L.J.] Cryer or [J’Wan] Roberts Then, they ran a little action to the right side of the wing. [Florida’s] Willpower [Richard] and Alijah [Martin] I did a good job by pressing the ball. A little sharp slipped there to the baseline. I thought I was going to establish a back screen for Roberts, so I got stuck a little in the paint.
Kelvin Sampson de Houston in final possession in loss of title: “You have to receive a shot”
“He ended up slipping it, so just thinking about my head, ‘salt and disputes the shot’. [I] He jumped to the side, finished a bit of a bomb, throwing the ball down, and I will definitely say that he was a little surprised that they could not shoot knowing that you have to get one at the time. “
Clayton and the Gators do not complain that Houston was never presented by Houston. The co -head of the Coupars, Kelvin Sampson, admitted his own surprise during his comments after the game, saying: “You have to receive a chance” in that situation.
Clayton gave an idea of what the Gators were looking at the other end of the floor when the game resumed.
“We talk about them running a flash screen for Cryer or a back screen for Roberts,” Clayton said. “Then, we felt that those were going to be the two options they were. They ended up throwing us with that little surprise, but we were ready for something to happen.”
The Houston Cours guard, Emanuel Sharp (21), shoots at the Guard of the Florida Gators, Walter Clayton Jr. (1) in the second half in the 2025 national championship game in the Alamodome. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn images)
Looking back in the final play, it seemed that Houston had a play for Cryer, who took the ball, to get it again after some screens were established. But Florida sniffed him, and Richard was on his face when he received the pass.
Sharp then escaped from Clayton to meet Cryer for a pass, and expected to get out of a triple for victory. But Clayton timed his jump perfectly, and the rest falls into history when Florida won his first title since 2007.
“Man, he feels great,” Clayton said when asked about being a national champion. “Honestly, I can’t even explain the feeling. I and some of the boys are still talking about it. It still does not feel real, but it is a great feeling to bring it back to Gainesville.”
Alijah Martin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh pose in front of Raising Cane’s. (Raising the cane)
Clayton was with Martin and Thomas Haugh at Raising Cane’s, as well as hundreds of gattors’ fans who celebrated the title.
Clayton will be looking for his next NBA championship as a lottery selection projected in this year’s NBA draft.
