Ohio forward AJ Clayton was just 17 years old when he first played in front of The Convo crowd. Not even a legal adult yet, Clayton was one of the youngest Division I athletes in the country.
After 120 games and 2,426 minutes played, Clayton has cemented himself as one of the best players Ohio basketball has ever seen. Not only has Clayton come to be known as Ohio’s star player, but he’s also known for being a true, authentic Ohioan.
A native of Roseville, Ohio, Clayton grew up and played high school basketball just an hour north of Athens. Despite his continued dominance of the Mid-American Conference, Clayton has never sought to transfer out of Athens for a conference with more national attention. Ohio basketball has become a family he wouldn’t leave behind for any opportunity.
“For me, it was never about the money,” Clayton said. “It’s always been about the relationships that I’ve had. I love OU. I love the friends I’ve made here and the people that I’ve met. There’s no place like it.”
At Philo High School, Clayton was highly recruited within his home state of Ohio. With offers from Kent State, Akron and Cleveland State, Ohio stood out to Clayton, largely because Ohio coach Jeff Boals was the first to contact him.
“I met him when I was 14 years old, and every year, we’ve just gotten closer and closer,” Clayton said. “Coach is exactly how he seems. He really cares about us and puts us before just about everything else. We’ve had so many great conversations throughout my time here. I’m sure we’ll be close for the rest of my life.”
Clayton’s relationship with not just Boals but everyone involved with Ohio basketball is a big reason why he’s decided to stay with the team. As Ohio’s most tenured player, Clayton has been around long enough to experience the back end of one generation of Ohio basketball and become the face of another.
In his freshman season, Clayton shared the court with Ohio legends Jason Carter and Ben Vander Plas, two players who influenced him to become the player he is today.
“I owe them a lot for teaching me all kinds of stuff,” Clayton said. “When I was 17, they were both a lot older than me. I watched (Carter) play his senior year of high school when I was in the sixth grade, and then we ended up being teammates … Those two taught me so much about being a better college basketball player.”
During Clayton’s freshman season, while playing alongside Carter and Vander Plas, Ohio played a road game against Kentucky, a program that has always been among the best in the country. Just a 17-year-old freshman, Clayton remembers coming off the bench to a crowd of more than 20,000 people and being immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
In the game against Kentucky, Clayton didn’t miss. He went two-for-two from the 3-point line and scored 6 points in just as many minutes. That game set the tone for the rest of Clayton’s impressive college career.
Since the Kentucky game, Clayton has walked onto every court with confidence, scoring over 1,000 career points in an Ohio uniform and becoming the first player to reach the mark since Dwight Wilson in 2023.
After almost four years with Ohio, Clayton’s time playing college basketball is coming to an end. For Clayton, however, the 2024-25 season may be his favorite of his career.
“This is probably one of the closest groups I’ve ever been a part of,” Clayton said. “I’m definitely gonna miss the camaraderie, just sitting after practice and talking, just hanging out whenever.”
Looking back on his career, Clayton will miss nothing more than the brotherhood he’s formed with his teammates and coaches. When Ohio inevitably has to say goodbye to Clayton’s playing days in March, it’s without a doubt that he’ll be remembered at Ohio for years to come.
