A WORK OF HEART
Iona point guard gave up football - and is making most of his love for basketball
The scholarship offers were impressive.
Notre Dame, Tennessee, Georgia, Nebraska and Florida were among the schools making offers. Walter Clayton Jr. was only a sophomore, but big-time college football programs were enamored with the safety. His high school football coach, Tavaris Johnson, described him as a “special breed,” someone able to control the defensive backfield and lead even older teammates.
“He could’ve picked his school,” Johnson said. “He was really that good.”
There was only one problem: Clayton preferred basketball, and chose the hardwood over the gridiron.
“Football practice, I hated it,” he recalled with a laugh. “The whole hitting all week, being out there in the sun. I could go to basketball practice and be happy, have fun the whole time.”
These days, it’s looking like a wise decision. The 6-foot-2 Floridian will lead 13thseeded Iona into the NCAA Tournament on Friday against fourth-seeded UConn in a West Region game in Albany, after a fantastic sophomore season in which he was the MAAC Player of the Year and led the Gaels in scoring (16.9), steals (1.9) and 3-point percentage (42.9).
This all started after his sophomore year at Lake Wales High School. Clayton was becoming a strong football prospect, but basketball still was his first love. He had only played the sport in high school at the urging of a close friend, Gervon Dexter Sr., a defensive lineman who went on to play for Florida and is a projected mid-round pick in April’s NFL draft.
Clayton felt the need to pick between the two if he really wanted to develop in one of the sports. He told Johnson about the decision, which the football coach jokes still hurts his feelings to this day. Clayton transferred to local rival Bartow High School. It had by far the better basketball program.
Under Terrence McGriff’s guidance, Clayton became a Division I prospect there, helping Bartow win a pair of Class 6A Florida state championships. But his options still paled in comparison to football. Not being able to travel on the AAU circuit during the spring and summer of his junior year due to the COVID-19 pandemic obviously hurt. Schools weren’t aware of him. Clayton did take part in workouts that summer with the CP25 AAU program that were streamed to offer exposure for players.
East Carolina, Florida A&M, College of Charleston, Stetson and James Madison were among his suitors. Then Iona got into the mix in the fall of his senior year. Clayton didn’t know much about the New Rochelle school, but he was very familiar with the coach, Hall of Famer Rick Pitino.
“I still remember watching Louisville against Michigan, the [2013] national championship game,” Clayton said. “I knew exactly who he was.”
A few weeks after hearing from Iona, he verbally committed to the Gaels.
Clayton enjoyed a quality freshman season, averaging 7.3 points in 16.1 minutes per game. Iona won the MAAC regular-season crown and was the heavy favorite to win the postseason title. But it was upset by Rider in the quarterfinals. In the defeat, Clayton missed the front end of a one-and-one that could’ve iced the game in the final minute.
It stuck with him. He relentlessly worked on that part of his game. After workouts, he would not leave the gym until he hit 25 in a row. Between drills, he had to hit 10 straight.
“His willingness to work is phenomenal,” McGriff said. “He works all the time.”
This season, he led the nation in free-throw shooting at 95.1 percent, hitting 98 of 103 attempts. Clayton played a major role in Iona’s run to the MAAC Tournament title, averaging 20 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in three easy victories. He was a perfect 14 of 14 at the charity stripe. After the final victory, his teammates wildly celebrated the win. He was happy, but not ecstatic. McGriff noticed that, and asked Clayton about it this week, wanting to make sure everything was OK.
“Coach, Iona’s been to this point before,” Clayton told him. “I want to win the game on Friday.”
For years, he watched the NCAA Tournament from afar, imagining being in this position. Friday afternoon in Albany, Clayton will get to experience it for the first time. It was one of the reasons he chose basketball over football in the first place.