SAN FRANCISCO — Florida All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. arrived in a basketball-rich city as he drew comparisons to Steph Curry, perhaps the greatest Bay Area baller of them all.
Clayton brushed off the correlation to “arguably the greatest point guard in the history of basketball,” by his estimation.
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“That’s one of the greatest ever … changed the game,” he said.
By the time he departed the West Coast Sunday, a day after he led UF past Texas Tech 84-79 and into the Final Four, Clayton certainly had left his mark in San Francisco.
The Lake Wales native scored 13 of his team’s final 23 points to help erase a 10-point deficit in the final 6:18 and stun the Red Raiders. Clayton’s first of three 3-pointers during the furious push to the finish ignited a comeback for the ages.
“There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment,” Florida coach Todd Golden said.
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Clayton received his share of help during the Gators’ Elite Eight escape.
Sixth-man Thomas Haugh’s legend similarly continued to grow Saturday at Chase Center. He almost singlehandedly kept Florida afloat during the first half — with 14 points of his 20 points and 6 of his 11 rebounds — until Clayton found his bearings.
Sitting alongside Haugh during postgame interviews, Clayton showered praise on the 6-foot-9 sophomore.
“He’s meant everything,” Clayton said. “He comes in every day, puts his head down and works. He’s sacrificing for the team. He plays his role and does everything we need him to do.
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“I’m thankful for him and I love him.”
Even so, much of the adulation came Clayton’s way a week after he led Florida past UConn with two late 3s, including with 1:07 remaining to double his team’s lead to six points during an eventual 77-75 win.
Until Saturday’s showing, the effort likely would have topped Clayton’s list of clutch shots, though he was understandably at a loss to quite recall just moments after reaching the Final Four.
“I honestly can’t even remember right now,” he said.
Clayton’s ability to keep his head free of thought and clutter is among his many strengths.
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“He does a great job controlling his emotions,” Golden said. “Most players in that moment, their heart rate would get up. He has that special talent and ability to stay even-keeled.
“The biggest thing is you need to have somebody that wants to take those shots.”
Clayton was willing and able like the greats who have come before him. The 22-year-old also knows his place in the game has only begun to unfold.
A trip to San Francisco should humble any player from outside the area.
Bill Russell won two national championships here in the 1950s, Wilt Chamberlain played four seasons in San Francisco early in his career and Rick Barry won an NBA scoring title in the ’60s and a championship in the 1970s.
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Then, of course, there is Steph and coach Steve Kerr’s remarkable Bay Area run to four NBA titles.
For now, Clayton will leave the comparisons to everyone else, embrace a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio and try to rise to the occasion once again.
“I’ve got a ways to go,” he said. “But just thankful for the recognition.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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