Myron MedcalfApr 5, 2025, 08:55 PM ET
Close Covers college basketball Joined ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, MankatoOpen Extended Reactions
SAN ANTONIO — The crowd at the Final Four is often filled with college basketball dignitaries.
In the front row of the Alamodome on Saturday sat Jim Boeheim, Mark Few, Scott Drew, Nate Oats and Tubby Smith. Mike Krzyzewski, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony were also in the building.
But when Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. lit up the Alamodome with a 34-point effort in his team’s 79-73 victory over Auburn, the same group of basketball veterans who had seen it all before reacted as if perhaps they hadn’t.
“That Walter Clayton Jr. is the real deal,” said Roy Williams, who coached Michael Jordan as an assistant at North Carolina under Dean Smith, from his seat near midcourt. “He’s the real deal.”
In his latest extraordinary, come-from-behind effort, Clayton matched history. Before Saturday, only Larry Bird had scored 30 points or more in back-to-back Elite Eight and Final Four games. Clayton’s effort Saturday followed a 30-point contribution in a win over Texas Tech, which had a nine-point lead with 3:14 to play.
That’s why Clayton’s teammates weren’t surprised.
“I