The college basketball landscape was turned upside down this weekend when five-star recruit and No. 2-ranked high school prospect Zion Williamson announced that he would join No. 1-ranked prospect, Canadian sensation R.J. Barrett, on Duke next season.
Throw in five-star forward Cameron Reddish, and the Blue Devils have now secured the top-three-ranked players in the 2019 draft class.
With Williamson — one of the most physically imposing high schoolers imaginable — in the fold, it gives Duke one of the most exciting rosters in recent NCAA history and should help make it a top-ranked team heading into the 2018-19 season.
But who is Zion Williamson? Here’s what you need to know about Barrett’s future Duke co-star:
The dunks
He may have been the second-ranked player of his class, but Williamson has been at the top of the mountain when it comes to highlight reels for years now.
Williamson is a next-level athlete, and his ability to soar for powerful and acrobatic windmills, 360s, and other jaw-dropping dunks has practically made him a YouTube celebrity by now.
That he consistently displays elite-level hops is even more impressive given his 6-foot-6, 275-lb. frame. His size may become an issue when it comes time to go pro, where there are sure to be questions about his natural position and ability to match up with larger adults at the pro level. But for now, Williams has a body — and mentality — that allows him to overpower opponents, an attribute that should carry over to the NCAA.
Seriously, this entire article could just be a series of Williamson’s YouTube mixtapes, so we’ll just move on. But I encourage those who aren’t familiar with his body of work to go out and search for more. Because there is more. A lot more.
Big-game hunter
As one of the most popular and followed names in high school basketball, Williamson has already grown accustomed to playing under a spotlight — and he’s performed well under pressure.
During a nationally televised ESPN game versus Chino Hill and the Ball brothers, Williamson erupted for 36 points and showed why his fellow high schoolers are no match for his physicality:
Given the exposure, it should come as no surprise that Williamson is already considered a star even though he’s two years removed from being able to join NBA ranks. From Sports Illustrated:
By the time Zion Williamson revealed his college choice on Saturday, he’d already drawn hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube clips of his highlights, packed gyms across the Southeast with adoring fans, amassed more than one million Instagram followers, prompted Drake and Odell Beckham Jr. to wear his high school jersey and earned the description “once in a generation-type athlete” from Kevin Durant.
Blue Devil reload
Duke was not widely regarded as a favourite to land Williamson, and his selection came as something of a shock.
Williamson, a North Carolina native, had short-listed Duke, South Carolina, Clemson, and mainstays Kentucky, North Carolina, and Kansas, with South Carolina believed by many to be the favourite. In an interview after his announcement, he said that choosing Duke was in part a “business decision.”
Now committed to the Blue Devils, Williamson not only joins Barrett and Reddish, but also No. 1-ranked point guard, Tre Jones, the younger brother of former Dukie Tyus Jones.
It’s an absolutely stacked lineup that should make Duke the favourite to win it all in 2019.
But how will it play out in the draft? Obviously it’s way too early to tell, and one should probably tread carefully when projecting drafts two years away, but while having so many top-end talents sharing the court may hurt Barrett’s and Williamson’s individual stats, it shouldn’t affect their draft stocks.
Barrett, Williamson, and Reddish are slotted into three of the top four spots in the 2019 draft on NBAdraft.net currently, with Oregon commit Bol Bol (yes, the son of Manute Bol) crashing the all-Duke party.
In 2012, two collegiate teammates, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went first and second, respectively, in the draft, and MKG’s 11 points per game (which likely would have been higher had he been the lone star at another program) hardly deterred scouts.
Barrett and Williamson should be able to help each other flourish, as teams won’t have the option of sending double- or triple-teams because of the sheer amount of offensive weapons Duke will have on the floor at all times. The team’s defensive potential is sky-high, too. Barrett is a versatile, mature scorer but also has the ability to guard on the other end of the floor. Hordes of kids have been the victim of a Williamson chase-down block, and the bruising forward will only add more names to that list.
Whether you’re a Duke hater or not, there’s no denying this team is going to be absurdly fun to watch.
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