SAN ANTONIO – The West Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket didn’t produce the expected matchup between No. 1 seed Florida and No. 2 seed St. John’s, following the Red Storm’s second-round loss to No. 10 seed Arkansas.

However, Florida’s position in Monday night’s national championship game against Houston can still be traced back to Todd Golden’s success in outdoing Rick Pitino.

When Pitino took the St. John’s job in 2023 after coaching Walter Clayton Jr. at Iona, he attempted to draw Clayton back to the Big East. Clayton had a decision to make: stick with Pitino or return home to Florida to play in the SEC under Golden.

“Really hard to beat Rick Pitino, man,” Golden noted.

Nevertheless, the Gators succeeded, and now they’re on the verge of a national title. Clayton became the first player to score over 30 points in a national semifinal since Carmelo Anthony did for Syracuse in 2003, helping Florida overcome an 8-point halftime deficit to defeat Auburn 79-73.

Walter Clayton Jr. was UNREAL tonight 🤯

His 34-point performance powered @GatorsMBK to the #NationalChampionship game 🐊 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/OCVul5he3X — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025

Clayton is averaging 23.1 points with a 49.2% three-point shooting percentage over the postseason, which has elevated the Gators to the title game and improved his NBA Draft prospects. Without Clayton, Florida would not be in this position, nor would he have reached this success without Golden’s recruitment efforts.

After entering the transfer portal from Iona, Clayton drew interest from several schools, but Florida ultimately emerged as a serious contender due to its proximity to home.

“We brought him down for a visit,” Golden said. “A lot of his family came up for the visit, and I thought it went really, really well.”

However, Clayton would later visit Pitino in New York, raising concerns about his potential commitment to St. John’s.

“I remember Easter Sunday – he was finishing up his visit at St. John’s – and got a call from his mom, who was worried it might be tipping in Pitino’s favor,” Golden recalled.

To counter this, Golden and assistant coach Korey McCray flew to visit Clayton, demonstrating their commitment.

“I guess one of the benefits of being Jewish is that we don’t celebrate Easter,” quipped Golden.

That effort paid off, with Clayton committing to Florida that same night, an important factor in his current success and Florida’s journey to the national stage.