SAN ANTONIO – The stakes were high and the mood intense as Florida found itself trailing Auburn by eight at halftime in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. Inside the locker room, the message from the coaching staff was loud and unfiltered. Head coach Todd Golden and associate head coach Carlin Hartman, who oversees the frontcourt players, didn’t hold back in their frustration with the Gators’ lackluster presence in the paint. Their challenge to the team was simple but stern: toughen up or sit down.
As the team prepared to return to the court, senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. made a deliberate move. Instead of heading straight back to the game, he paused just outside the locker room door, waiting for each of Florida’s big men. When they emerged, Clayton pulled them into a quiet huddle. Hartman had already played the role of motivator through criticism—Clayton chose encouragement.
“I just told them I loved them and reminded them how important they’ve been to us all season,” Clayton recalled. “I saw the tension in their faces and said, ‘Don’t be nervous. We’ve got this.’ That was the message.”
What Clayton modestly left out, though, was how he took matters into his own hands on the court. He erupted for 20 of his career-high 34 points in the second half, delivering clutch baskets and leading Florida’s charge from a nine-point deficit. His efforts culminated in a thrilling 79-73 comeback win, sending the Gators to their first NCAA championship game appearance since 2007, the year they completed back-to-back national titles under legendary coach Billy Donovan.
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