All Gators

Walter Clayton Jr. to Play vs. Auburn

Clayton Jr. missed Florida's win over Vanderbilt with an ankle injury.
Cam Parker|
Jan 25, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) drives to the basket while Georgia Bulldogs guard Tyrin Lawrence (7) defends during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Jan 25, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) drives to the basket while Georgia Bulldogs guard Tyrin Lawrence (7) defends during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

In this story:

Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- When the Florida Gators face No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, it will have one of its best players back on the court.

Star point guard Walter Clayton Jr., who missed Tuesday's win over Vanderbilt with an ankle injury, is set to return for the game against the top-ranked Tigers, head coach Todd Golden told reporters Friday.

“Walt’s pretty close to 100%," Golden said. “He’s right there. I think you’ll see Walt at his best (Saturday).”

Clayton Jr. suffered an ankle sprain in last Saturday's blowout loss to Tennessee before being given a rest for the game against the Commodores. He was originally a game-time decision before Golden decided to sit the senior, who leads Florida in scoring with 17.4 points per game.

"We didn't really know until probably, you know, 90 minutes before game time, whatever it was," Golden said after Tuesday's win. "He tested it out this morning, and again at shootaround, and honestly, looked pretty good. But you could just tell he wasn't all the way confident and comfortable with it. And, you know, it was a calculated decision that we had to make as a program."

Without Clayton Jr., the Gators had to slug out a close win against Vanderbilt behind the heroics of Will Richard, Alex Condon, Urban Klavzar and Denzel Aberdeen, who made his first-career start in Clayton Jr.'s place.

"Yeah, it was definitely a big adversity test, but we came in with the mindset of next man up, and our guys off the bench came in and did a great job of keeping us going and keeping us in that same rhythm," Richard said.

Clayton Jr., in addition to being Florida's leading scorer, is the team's best free throw shooter (86.4 percent) and one of the top 3-point shooters (35.9 percent). He was recently named to the Bob Cousy Midseason Watch List, which is given annually to the nation's top point guard.

Tip off between Florida (19-3, 6-3 SEC) and Auburn (21-1, 9-0 SEC) is at 4 p.m. with television coverage on ESPN 2.

Published
Cam Parker
CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a reporter covering the Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers and Clemson Tigers with a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester, and dog, Rufus.

Share on XFollow camparker25
Home/Basketball