GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After leading the Gators to a 17-point victory over Arizona State on Dec. 17 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard were escorted to the postgame interview area. Clayton led all scorers with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, while Richard contributed 16 points and six rebounds.
Before entering the media room, the two seniors were handed the box scores to review. Clayton glanced at the stats and immediately noticed something.
"Go get Alijah," Clayton told the UF communications director. "He had a double-double."
Richard agreed.
Sure enough, Alijah Martin had recorded 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Clayton and Richard waited for their fifth-year grad-transfer teammate to join them, and Clayton even had Martin take the center seat at the interview table.
Florida's seniors (from left) Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard on the set last week of ESPN's "GameDay" show at the O'Dome.
As remarkable as the 2024–25 Florida basketball season has been, this moment was just one of many highlights. From victories over No. 1 teams at home and on the road, to Will Richard’s circus-like, game-winning bank shot at South Carolina, Thomas Haugh's near triple-double off the bench at No. 22 Mississippi State, and Wednesday’s impressive upset of seventh-ranked Alabama, the season has been filled with standout moments. Yet this one carried its own significance.
UF coach Todd Golden and his staff no doubt reflected Saturday night on these kinds of moments—small but meaningful experiences that help shape a team—when their three cornerstone veterans—Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, and Alijah Martin—were recognized in a likely emotional pregame “Senior Night” celebration before fifth-ranked Florida (26–4, 13–4) faced Ole Miss (21–9, 10–7) in the Southeastern Conference and regular-season finale at Exactech Arena/O’Connell Center.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Florida’s signature, team-oriented style of basketball is built on unselfish play, exemplified by Clayton, Martin, and Richard—the team’s first-, second-, and third-leading scorers—who set the standard both on and off the court.
"It started last summer," Golden said. "They all came [in] on the right terms. They all came back wanting to raise the profile of our program. When your leaders prepare that way it raises the bar for everybody else to do it. They deserve all the credit for the unselfishness of our team. Our staff did a good job of evaluating guys and bringing in the right pieces. At the end of the day, our message is important, but our guys going out and executing it is everything. They've done the work that way."
Grad-transfer guard Alijah Martin
Their journeys to this point were both unique and intertwined, and their legacies at Florida will be closely connected.
"I don't think about legacy a lot," Clayton said. "But it's nice to leave an impact wherever you go."
Consider that goal accomplished for each of them.
"All three have been fantastic," Golden said.
First came Will Richard, the Atlanta-area native who became the first player to commit to Golden and his staff after their arrival in March 2022. Richard transferred to Florida following an All-Freshman season at Belmont in the Ohio Valley Conference. The 6-foot-4 wing was the team’s second-leading scorer in 2022–23, a season that ended with a losing record, but he was a dependable spot-up shooter and emerged as a stabilizing presence in the locker room.
Walter Clayton Jr. joined next. A star at Bartow (Fla.) High, he won consecutive state championships but went largely unrecruited by high-major programs, as many coaches assumed he would pursue football. Clayton, a four-star safety prospect, had to step away from basketball after his sophomore year to demonstrate his dedication to the sport. Despite this, no high-major programs offered him a spot. He spent two seasons at Iona under Rick Pitino, earning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors as a sophomore on a league-championship and NCAA Tournament team. Golden then won a recruiting battle to bring Clayton back to Florida, outmaneuvering Pitino, who had left for St. John’s. Clayton was named second-team All-SEC last season and, alongside Richard, helped guide the Gators to 24 wins and their first NCAA Tournament berth in three years.
Walter Clayton Jr. (1)
Martin, from Summit, Miss., joined the group last spring. Like Clayton, he was also a standout high school football player but went largely un-recruited for basketball in his home state and nearby regions, eventually landing at Florida Atlantic. During his final two seasons there, he helped the Owls win 60 games and played a central role in their remarkable run to the 2023 Final Four. Martin added a new dimension to the Florida program—a physical, defensive presence, a vocal leader, and tournament-tested experience—that helped transform the Gators from the nation’s 94th-ranked defense last season into a top-10 unit this year.
In short: three players who were lightly regarded out of high school have together accumulated 5,326 collegiate points, including 2,680 at Florida, with 1,303 coming this season alone. Now, they are competing for a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"We were all underdogs. … We weren't supposed to be here," Martin said. "It just shows you that if you put your head down, you work and put God first, you could be anywhere you want to be."
Their goals were aligned from the start. When Martin came on his recruiting visit, he was hosted by Clayton and Richard, who had briefly explored NBA opportunities but chose to return to Florida to finish what they started.
"We each had the same goal in mind," Richard said. "All we cared about was winning. That was it."
CHARTING THE GATORS: The seniors’ numbers (before and after)
The only team ahead of them is the 2013-14 squad, which featured the exceptional four-member senior class of Scottie Wilbekin, Patric Young, Casey Prather and Will Yeguete. That group came in together, captured three SEC championships, and set a program record with 120 wins, including a remarkable 30-game winning streak in their final year, concluding their careers at the Final Four.
The transfer portal has reshaped college basketball, but no matter how a roster is assembled, building a team and nurturing chemistry remains essential, with the ultimate aim still being a championship. That’s exactly what Richard, Clayton, and Martin are striving for—together.
Yet there’s been another defining factor for this season.
"The love. We all just love being here and being around each other," Clayton said. "A lot of teams say that, but you've got to show it and I think this team shows it every night. When we've won and somebody maybe didn't have a great game, it's all smiles, with everybody enjoying being around each other and celebrating the team. We enjoy one another's success and love that for each other. It's just been like that all year."
That sense of love and camaraderie has often been reflected in the actions of the Gators’ most veteran and high-profile players. Back in October, when Golden faced the challenge of choosing which player—Richard or Martin—would join Clayton at SEC Media Days in Birmingham, Ala., the decision came down to a coin toss. Martin won and received a congratulatory hug from Richard. Similarly, when Martin and sophomore forward Alex Condon returned from injuries that had kept them out for multiple games, they chose to remain on the bench while teammates who had stepped up stayed in the starting lineup.
Sophomore forward Thomas Haugh embraced his role as a reserve, despite being a starter at most Division I programs. And junior center Micah Handlogten, standing 7-foot-1, gave up the chance for a medical redshirt late in the season to support an injured frontcourt, sacrificing a year of eligibility for the team’s benefit.
Small, behind-the-scenes gestures like these have quietly accumulated over a seven-month campaign.
"It flew by so fast," Martin said.
Take the Arizona State game in Atlanta nearly three months ago. During one sequence, Martin, on his way to a double-double, stole the ball and converted it into a highlight-reel dunk. The next day, he texted Golden to make sure the film-review session highlighted junior guard Denzel Aberdeen, who had cleared a path for Martin by running between him and the pursuing defender.
"It's been our biggest strength," Golden said. "We've been able to assemble a group of guys who are unselfish, but also secure. It's all very unique and I do not take it for granted. It's all about the people and those guys. I'm not naïve enough to think that everybody that comes in here will be that way. But we've leaned into it with this group."
And they’ve leaned on their seniors, too. Their ultimate legacy is still being written, but their place in Florida basketball history is already secure.
Celebrate them.
Check out these archived long-form stories on how UF's three seniors got here:
Clayton: "From Gael Force to Gator" (July 18, 2023)
Richard: "The Skinny on Will Richard" (March 8, 2024)
Martin: "He got that dog on him" (Sept. 23, 2024)
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
