March Madness 2025: How Walter Clayton Jr. willed Florida to a title
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44579969/how-walter-clayton-jr-willed-florida-title Myron Medcalf Apr 7, 2025, 11:23 PM ET SAN ANTONIO -- When Walter Clayton Jr . decided to withdraw from the NBA draft last year, he posted his announcement with a simple message on Instagram : "1 more." In 2023-24, his first season with the Florida Gators , the team finished 24-12 . The Gators had a few big wins -- notably over then-No. 10 Kentucky in January and in the SEC tournament , where they reached the championship game -- but their season ended with a first-round upset loss to 10-seed Colorado in the NCAA tournament. Clayton had unfinished business . And when he showed up for his junior season at Florida , something was different. As he entered the lobby of a Birmingham, Alabama, hotel for SEC media day, he looked to have packed on more muscle during an arduous offseason. He'd also chopped off his braids, a new style for the star who also had a new role and...