The star of Florida Gators and the most remarkable player in the NCAA 2025 tournament, Walter Clayton Jr., still talk to his teammates about what happened Monday evening in San Antonio.
How could they not have won a harshly disputed national championship with a final victory for the NCAA 65-63 tournament against the Houston Cougars?
This was summed up as a maximum of effort during the final game of the match in which Houston, in the shock of all those who watch, never had a shot for an equality or a potential victory while the final buzzer sounded.
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Florida goalkeeper Gators Walter Clayton Jr. famous after winning the 2025 national championship match at Alamodome. (Bob Donnan / Imagn images)
But Clayton and his teammates made it difficult for the cougars to obtain a clean glimpse of the hoop, including the closing of Clayton on Emanuel Sharp beyond the line of 3 points, which frozen the victory after the Houston goalkeeper could not touch the ball again after having dropped it.
Clayton, working a “quarter -work” of celebration in Raising Cane’s in Gainesville, Florida, Thursday, spoke to PK Press Club Digital about what he saw in the last seconds.
“I saw a lot,” he said on the phone. “We had the impression that they were going to try to get something to [L.J.] Cryer or [J’Wan] Roberts. Thus, they ran a small action on the right side of the wing. [Florida’s] Will [Richard] and Alijah [Martin] did a good job to put pressure on the ball. Sharp slipped a little there to the basic line. I thought he was going to adjust a rear screen for Roberts, so I stuck there in the paint there.
Kelvin Sampson of Houston on final possession in the loss of title: “ You must get a blow ”
“He ended up sliding it, then thinking in my head:” Go ahead and dispute it. “” [I] Jumped on the side, he ended up silent a little, throwing the ball, and I would certainly say that I was a little surprised that they did not have a shot knowing that you have to remove one in the moment. “”
Clayton and the Gators do not complain that a blow has never been put in place by Houston. Cougars’ head coach Kelvin Sampson admitted his own surprise during his post-match comments, saying: “You have to get a blow” in this situation.
Clayton gave an overview of what the Gators were looking for on the other side of the ground when the game resumed.
“We talked about them running a flare screen for Cryer or a rear screen for Roberts,” said Clayton. “So, we thought it would be the two options in which they went. They ended up throwing us with this little surprise, but we were ready for everything.”
The Houston Cougars goalkeeper Emanuel Sharp (21) shot against Florida Gators Walter Clayton Jr. (1) in the second period in the 2025 national championship match at Alamodome. (Robert Deutsch / Imagn images)
Looking at the final game, it seemed that Houston had a game to Cryer, who took the ball, to recover it after certain screens were fixed. But Florida sniffed him, and Richard was just in the face when he received the pass.
Sharp then fled from Clayton to meet Cryer for a pass, and he hoped to get out of a 3 -point pointer for the victory. But Clayton has perfectly timed his jump, and the rest falls into history while Florida has won its first title since 2007.
“Dude, it feels good,” said Clayton when he was asked for a national champion. “Honestly, I can’t even explain the feeling. Me and some of the guys still talk about it. It still doesn’t feel real, but it’s just a great feeling of bringing him back to Gainesville.”
Alijah Martin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh pose in front of cane farming. (Raise rods)
Clayton was with Martin and Thomas Haugh in Raising Cane, just like hundreds of Gators fans celebrating the title.
Clayton will be looking for his next championship in the NBA as a choice of lottery projected in the NBA draft this year.
