The West Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament saw Florida advance to the national championship, benefiting from Todd Golden's recruitment of Walter Clayton Jr., who opted to join the Gators over playing for Rick Pitino at St. John's. Amid a standout performance averaging over 23 points in the postseason and hitting key milestones, Clayton led Florida past Auburn in the semifinals. His decision to transfer and play under Golden has been pivotal for both his and the Gators' success, highlighting the significance of coaching in player development and team performance.
"We brought him down for a visit. Obviously, he grew up about an hour and a half, two hours south of our campus. A lot of his family came up for the visit. I thought we had a great visit. Thought it went really, really well. Thought we were in a good shape."
"Really hard to beat Rick Pitino, man," Golden said. The Gators did it, though. Now, they are on the cusp of a national title as a result.
Collection
[
|
...
]