Bartow's Walter Clayton leads Florida basketball into Lakeland Thursday against East Carolina
LAKELAND — Two-time Ledger player of the year Walter Clayton Jr., who led Bartow to back-to-back state titles in '20 and '21, leads the Florida Gators men’s basketball team to town as the Gators take on the East Carolina Pirates at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the RP Funding Center.
Dubbed the Visit Central Florida Tip-Off, this will be the first time the teams have met.
Clayton is one of two Central Florida players who have been key for Florida this season along with former Orlando Dr. Phillips standout Riley Kruger. Clayton, who is in his first year with the Gators after transferring from Iona, leads the team with 15.9 points and 4.0 assists. Kugel is third in scoring, averaging 13.6 points.
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Florida (6-3) is coming off back-to-back wins over Merrimack and Richmond.
Florida head coach Todd Golden is in his second season with the Gators, having led them to a postseason bid and multiple top-25 wins last year.
East Carolina (6-4) is led by second-year coach Michael Schwartz, who guided the Pirates to 16 wins last season, the most in a season since the 2013-14 season. The Pirates will return four of their top five scorers from last year, including RJ Felton, Brandon Johnson, Ezra Ausar and Jaden Walker. Ausar was a unanimous AAC All-Freshman Team honoree in 2023.
Tickets start at just $25 and are available at www.rpfundingcenter.com or in person at the RP Funding Center Box Office, Mondays and Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Bartow's Clayton leads Gators to RP Funding Center on Thursday
