Pair of Gators Named to ESPN's Preseason Top 100

The Florida Gators are in safe hands with its backcourt duo of Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin.

Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) makes a layup as the Florida Gators men’s basketball team held a practice on John W. Frost II Practice Court in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida Gators have a chance to do great things this year on the hardwood with how much talent they have on the roster. They have great depth at each position, but more importantly they have high quality starters as well, especially at the guard spots. 

On Monday, ESPN released their 2024-25 preseason Men’s NCAA basketball top 100 ranking with Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin as the only Gators to make the cut.

Clayton Jr. was the higher of the two, coming in at No. 24 on the list. 

“His 33-point loss in Florida's 102-100 loss to Colorado in the first round of the NCAA tournament was perhaps a sign of what's ahead when head coach Todd Golden gives him even more control as the likely starting point guard,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf said. 

The senior is coming off of the best scoring season of his career where he averaged a career-high 17.6 points per game. Additionally, he will be the leader for the Gators this season so, it’s no surprise to see him placed as high as he is. 

And while he’ll have more control like Borzello and Medcalf said, that doesn’t mean he’ll have all of it. His backcourt duo Martin will have some say as well. 

Martin ranks No. 93 on the preseason top 100. The FAU transfer enters Gainesville with some big shoes to fill. He’ll be replacing Zyon Pullin, who was one of the best players for the Gators a season ago. 

Replacing him won’t be easy though. The Gators will surely miss his passing vision that helped unlock defenses. 

However, Martin won’t need to match that for the Gators to succeed. He just needs to get back to the best version of himself, which was being a dominant scorer during FAU’s fairytale run in 2023. 

“In FAU's run to the Final Four, Martin was terrific, averaging 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in his final seven games -- including 26 against San Diego State in the national semifinals,” Borzello and Medcalf said.

Seeing that and combining his play with Clayton Jr. certainly gives the Gators a strong 1-2 combo in the SEC. It also explains why Golden will be building the offense around Martin and Clayton Jr. for the upcoming season. 

If these two can live up to expectations, then the Florida Gators can be one of the most dangerous teams in not just the SEC but also the NCAA.