Clayton’s move to burn in his redshirt is a uniquely team-first move befitting of a different era.
The Wildcat faithful have suffocated the 2024-25 team in platitudes, perhaps too many for a season that will have Nick Martinelli watching the tournament on his couch. It’s a tragedy the country will not be introduced to the wonders of the flipper this March. Next year.
Northwestern has faced adversity in all its ugly forms. Season-ending injuries to two of its three leading scorers in Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach. A series of heartbreaking losses against UCLA, Michigan, Penn State and Butler that were decided in no small part by some questionable officiating. A 27-foot buzzer beater from Josh Dix, who sources say hates old people, children and dogs.
Most recently, the basketball gods – or the Big Ten, depending on who you ask – taunted Northwestern with hotel rooms without air conditioning for the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Martinelli and freshman forward Angelo Ciaravino cooled themselves with ice cubes in an effort to get a restful night’s sleep before facing Minnesota in the tournament’s first round.
“They’re trying to get us,” said coach Chris Collins after Northwestern’s 72-64 win over the Gophers, “We’re used to being treated like that by the league.”
Forgive Northwestern fans for their sentimentality. Even making the Big Ten Tournament feels like an accomplishment worthy of celebration – not quite champagne, but at least a couple beers. The ‘Cats were dead in the water in early February, limping towards a sorry March of meaningless basketball. The resilience required to rip off the first two road wins of the season immediately after a blown 20-point lead to Nebraska at home is commendable. Northwestern was a possession away from erasing a 14-point deficit in three minutes on senior night against UCLA.
As much as this season of Northwestern basketball will be remembered of the grocery list of misfortune, the stretch run exemplified a never-say-die mentality characteristic of an exceptionally healthy program.
There is no better testament to the grit of this team than Jordan Clayton. The sophomore guard’s decision to lift his redshirt stands out in a season of adversity as a singularly team-first move. There isn’t a single person in college basketball who would have faulted Clayton for continuing to stay on the bench and preserve his eligibility, especially with Northwestern well on the wrong side of the bubble.
“Those are my guys. I would do anything for them,” Clayton said. “To me, it’s bigger than basketball. It was something I wanted to do.”
In the locker room after Northwestern’s loss to Wisconsin, Clayton said the Northwestern coaching staff approached him after Leach went down with an injury in Northwestern’s win against USC on Feb. 4.
The Massachusetts native played in 28 games last season as a freshman, logging meaningful minutes in non-conference play before falling out of the rotation after the Big Ten schedule ramped up. He asked the coaching staff to redshirt before Northwestern’s season opener against Lehigh this November as the arrivals of graduate transfer Jalen Leach and freshman K.J. Wyndham pushed him out of the rotation
With Leach and Barnhizer sidelined, Northwestern needed another ball-handler to complement Wyndham and Martinelli, in addition to some defensive help to shore up a unit that had allowed over 75 points in each of the last eight games. Clayton was next man up.
“I knew right when coach asked him,” said Martinelli, “I called him, and I was like ‘I already know what your answer is going to be.’”
After not touching the floor for the first 23 games of the season, Clayton started for each of the remaining 10 as Northwestern clawed its way back into the Big Ten Tournament. He excelled in his season debut against Washington, dishing out five assists on zero turnovers in Northwestern’s loss to the Huskies, but went through some growing pains three days later against Oregon where he turned the ball over four times and failed to register an assist.
“I had been practicing, and I was still in shape, but it is different playing in a live game,” said Clayton, “As time went along, I started to get more comfortable.”
Clayton was held scoreless in the next two games against Nebraska and Ohio State, but he bounced back against Minnesota, putting together 21 solid minutes and finishing with six points and three assists to just one turnover. Most impressive, however, were his efforts on the defensive end as Clayton’s prowess on the perimeter helped hold Minnesota’s starting guards to an absurd 5-of-23 from the field in Northwestern’s 75-63 win.
That defensive impact was a trend through Clayton’s return to the lineup. Northwestern was 63rd in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency in the 23 games without Clayton, good for 12th in the Big Ten. In his 10 games back, Northwestern shot up to 23rd in the country and fifth in the conference.
Clayton delivered his best performances of the season in the Big Ten Tournament. He was indispensable in Northwestern’s rematch with Minnesota, scoring a career-high 11 points in addition to four rebounds and four assists as the ‘Cats romped to a 72-64 victory. His 34 minutes played against the Gophers were also a career best.
He kept the momentum rolling a day later against Wisconsin, scoring in double-digits for the second consecutive game and collecting another four rebounds.
“It’s everybody’s dream to play in something like this,” Clayton said in the after the loss. “All the work I’ve put in just came to show these last two games.”
While Clayton has undoubtedly established a future role on this team, the specifics surrounding his future eligibility are a little more murky. To this point, he and Collins have spoken in absolutes, implying that his sophomore year of eligibility was dead and gone as soon as he set foot on the court against Washington in February.
That may not be true.
Last summer, the NCAA said all its policies will undergo a “comprehensive review” as it awaits a ruling in the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit that would permit revenue sharing between universities and athletes. A ruling will likely be released sometime early this May, paving the way for schools to begin directly playing their players by the end of 2025.
Mitch Gilfillan, an attorney at Quinn Johnson and an expert on NIL law, told me that there is a chance the settlement could include a shakeup of eligibility rules as a part of this “comprehensive review.”
“There’s a possibility that part of the agreement between the parties could be that some of these student athletes are retroactively brought in and allowed an additional year or additional two years [of eligibility],” said Gilfillan.
This Fall, Yahoo Sports reported that the NCAA is mulling changes to its eligibility rules to allow all athletes to play in a certain number of games in a fifth season and still maintain their eligibility. The rule is already in place for college football, where athletes can avoid burning their redshirt if they play in under 33% of games. Clayton played in 10 of Northwestern’s 33 games this season, comfortably under the 33% threshold if it were to be applied to college basketball as well.
One thing is clear. Clayton’s decision to burn his redshirt feels transcendent in the NIL landscape of college basketball. Foregoing a year of eligibility for just ten games of basketball – with Northwestern well on the wrong side of the bubble – is a singularly unselfish move befitting of a different era.
Gilfillan, who often advises student athletes on how to navigate the NIL market, agrees, calling Clayton’s move “the ultimate sacrifice.”
By all accounts — including Clayton’s own — the decision was made independently of the House settlement, without any future predictions as how redshirt eligibility rules may change this summer.
As Collins put it, “He realized he was needed. He came to see me on the off day after Jalen got hurt, and he said, ‘Coach, I can help. I want to get out there and play.’”