Gators’ leading scorer Clayton will enter NBA draft

GAINESVILLE, Fla.– Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., the group’s leading scorer at 17.6 points a game this season, is going into the NBA draft with the potential to rejoin the Gators for his senior year.Clayton, a 6-foot-3 junior from Lake Wales who became a daddy in December, plans to go through the pre-draft procedure before deciding whether to forgo his last year of college eligibility. He has until 11:59 p.m. on May 29 to withdraw from the draft and go back to Florida.Clayton made his announcement on social media Monday, stating

he would “return to no other than the University of Florida “if the NBA path does not turn out. It provides coach Todd Golden and the Gators hope that Clayton might remain another year in Gainesville.He moved to Florida after two seasons at Iona.Editor’s Picks Clayton hit 43%of his shots in 2023-24, consisting of 36.5%from 3-point range. He completed with the program’s highest-scoring season since Anthony

Roberson balanced 17.9 points in 2003-04. Clayton’s average was the fifth-best mark in school history.Clayton scored a minimum of 20 points in nine of Florida’s last 14 games, including a career-high 33 in a first-round loss to Colorado in the NCAA tournament.