Thoughts on Alijah Martin, Will Richard, and Walter Clayton Jr. in the Florida-Wake Forest Game

November 28th, 2024

Today, I decided to watch Hunter Sallis and Wake Forest take on Florida in an early season college basketball game. There were a lot of misses early on, and it was a defensive battle in the first half, but Florida managed to pull away in the second half to get a double-digit win over Wake Forest. The Florida Gators had solid performances from their guards Alijah Martin, Will Richard, and Walter Clayton Jr. to get them the victory. Sallis’ performance was a bit underwhelming in his team’s loss to Florida, but he did have a nice steal and dunk midway through. Here are my thoughts on how they and other various prospects fared in this game.

Florida’s 6-2 senior guard, Alijah Martin scored 16 points and made 2 threes in his team’s 75-58 win over Wake Forest. (Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images, via www.gainesville.com)

Alijah Martin played well to help get Florida a double-digit win over Wake Forest. He is an athletic, skilled combo guard that played well on both ends of the floor. Martin did a good job of scoring on strong drives to the hoop. He also was able to drive in to score on a powerful dunk in transition, and he also used a Euro-step to score another time. Plus, he also shot the ball well, as he especially thrived at making corner threes in the second half.

He also showcased satisfactory playmaking skills in this game. Martin took good care of the basketball, and he was able to find an open teammate ahead on the break to notch an assist. He also was able to get a pair of defensive boards to chip in on the glass. Also, Martin defended very well. He would get his hands on passes to get steals and deflections, and he also poked a ball away to get another steal. Martin would also apply significant ball pressure to make it difficult for his opponents to dribble and handle the ball up the floor.

In summary, Alijah Martin had a strong showing to help lead his team to a big win over Wake Forest. While he may need to prove that he can reliably run the point at higher levels, his athleticism combined with his two-way potential could enable him to be a solid second round pick in the 2025 draft.

Florida’s 6-4 senior guard, Will Richard scored 14 points and had 6 rebounds in his team’s win over Wake Forest. (Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images, via www.gainesville.com)

Will Richard turned in a strong performance to help lead Florida to a double-digit win over Wake Forest. He is a strong, athletic combo guard that had a solid all-around game, and he showed off versatile scoring skills as he especially played well in the first half. Richard showed a solid ability to score off the dribble, as well as a knack for scoring on hustle plays. He would score on strong drives to the hoop, and he would run the floor to get tough scores in transition. He also ran the floor and dribbled to score on a thunderous breakaway dunk. Plus, Richard did a good job of taking on the contact to draw plenty of fouls to frequently get to the free throw line.

He also passed and handled the ball well. Richard showed off good court vision, as he would make crisp passes off the dribble to get the ball to his teammates to set up scoring chances for them. Also, Richard showed a solid ability to rebound the basketball. He was able to haul in multiple boards on both ends of the floor.

Plus, he also played satisfactory defense. Richard was able to rotate to poke a ball away to nearly get a steal, and he would contest threes to force misses. On the downside, there was miscommunication between him and a teammate that led his team to give up a basket when defending a screen action. In general, Richard played well in his team’s blowout win over Wake Forest. While he may need to prove that he can reliably run the point at higher levels, his athleticism combined with his two-way potential could enable him to be a solid second round pick in the 2025 draft.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 points, made 4 threes, and had 3 assists in his team’s 75-58 win over Wake Forest. (Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images, via www.gainesville.com)

Walter Clayton Jr. had a solid showing to help lead Florida to a big win over Wake Forest. He is an agile, sharpshooting point guard that was able to make some very solid plays on offense, and he turned in a solid all-around performance despite some streaky play to help get his team the victory.

Clayton did a decent job of knocking down threes from beyond the arc. He showed that he can make threes both off the catch and dribble, and while he took a lot of threes, he made his fair share to prove himself to be a credible threat from downtown. He also showed a decent ability to score off the dribble, and he also was able to use a pump fake and pull up to make a mid-range jumper. However, his lack of size and elite foot speed would sometimes make it tough for him to finish plays in traffic, which would lead to some misses.

He also showcased decent playmaking skills in this game. Clayton showed that he can make drive and kick passes as well as find teammates on the break to set up plenty of scoring chances for his teammates. Sometimes though, he would play too carelessly, as he would throw hasty passes, and he also pushed off when handling the ball another time that led him to commit turnovers.

Also, Clayton was able to get a pair of defensive boards to chip in on the glass. He also defended well. He would poke balls away to get steals for his team, and he also would deflect passes out of bounds. He also managed to contest a three to force a miss. Overall, Clayton played well to help get Florida a double-digit win over Wake Forest. While he was streaky with his jump shot in this game, he made enough shots and plays to get his team the victory, and he is an agile, sharpshooting point guard whose offensive skills could enable him to project well into a backup point guard role in the NBA.

Hunter Sallis had his ups and downs in his team’s blowout loss to Florida. While he turned in a lackluster performance overall, he is an athletic swingman that had a very nice steal and dunk in the second half to keep his draft stock afloat for now.

Sallis showed a knack for scoring on hustle plays. He can score on quick, aggressive drives in transition, as he was able to get a steal to score on a high-flying, two-handed dunk, and he also scored on a tough, fallaway layup another time. He also showed off a fairly solid ability to make pull-up, mid-range jumpers. On the downside, he struggled to make threes or shots off the dribble. While he was able to make a smooth, step-back three once, Sallis didn’t make threes very often, and he also would miss on tough, contested shots when driving to the basket.

Also, he was quite turnover prone in this game. On one good play, Sallis was able to make a drive and kick pass to find an open shooter once. However, he tended to over-dribble, which would often lead him to commit ball-handling turnovers.

Sallis also did an adequate job of rebounding the basketball. He also played decent defense in this game. He would jump passes and on loose balls to help his team get steals, and he did a good job of contesting shots both out on the perimeter and in the paint to force misses. However, he had some trouble defending opposing ball handlers or fighting through screens, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Sallis didn’t have a great game, as he didn’t shoot very well and was too turnover prone, as he struggled to make shots from long range or to create separation from his defenders as a ball handler. Still, he is an athletic swingman that has played well at Wake Forest in the past. While he will need to be a more consistent shooter in games, his skill set could make him an intriguing option for NBA teams to consider in the second round range of the 2025 draft.

Alex Condon quietly had a solid showing to help Florida get a win over Wake Forest. The 6-11 sophomore center excelled as a scorer around the basket, and he also showed that he can take slower footed big men off the dribble to score and get to the free throw line.

On the downside, he would sometimes struggle to handle ball pressure, which would lead him to commit turnovers. Plus, he also did a decent job of rebounding the basketball. Defensively, he looked to be fairly average, but there was one play where he rotated to commit a foul on a cutter that led his team to give up a score and an extra free throw.

Overall, Condon is a skilled big man that has some low post scoring skills, and he has been expanding his game offensively. He’ll need to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal and take better care of the basketball, but he could be a prospect to watch in the future.

Cameron Hildreth is an agile, gritty point guard that hails from England, and he had a solid showing to help his team in a loss to Wake Forest. While he didn’t make any threes, he excelled as a scorer on hustle plays, primarily off of cuts, and he also made a nice fadeaway jumper out of the post. He also passed and defended well, as he made crisp passes to consistently get the ball to his teammates, and he was an active presence that would often force turnovers. Overall, Hildreth will need to improve his jump shot, but his basketball IQ and ability to make plays on both ends of the floor could enable him to earn a NBA summer league roster spot sometime down the road.

Wake Forest’s 6-7 forward, Tre’Von Spillers quietly had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Florida. He excelled as an inside scorer, primarily off of energetic hustle plays, and he also managed to scoe on a dunk off of a strong roll to the rim. On the downside, he threw a bad pass that got intercepted once.

Spillers did a great job of rebounding the basketball. He also played adequate defense in this game. He was able to deflect a pass once, and he would rotate to contest shots around the basket to help force misses. Overall, Spillers is a strong, mobile big man that can make plays to shore up his team’s interior, but he is an undersized big man that could struggle to make the transition at higher levels. He’ll need to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal and will need to improve his playmaking skills, but his high compete level and ability to produce in the paint should enable him to carve out a long playing career in professional basketball.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Clayton, Richard, Martin, Sallis, and others fared in this game. Thanks for reading.