The Zion Williamson experience at Duke is going to be, if nothing else, wildly entertaining.
Fans, scouts, and analysts are all over the map when it comes to the highly-touted prospect as it pertains to being a future NBA player, but for now he is a Duke Blue Devil and at 6’7, 285 pounds with a 40-inch vertical, he’s set to be one of the nation’s most exciting players. There are questions about his offensive versatility (namely his ability as a shooter) and what position he plays at the highest level given his height, but there is no question about his ridiculous athleticism.
Duke is in Canada this week, tipping their preseason off with a game against Ryerson, and, despite being back in R.J. Barrett’s home nation, it’s Zion that is stealing headlines. First, it was him one-upping Barrett with an insanely easy looking free throw line dunk in practice, and then in the first half of their exhibition with Ryerson, it was Williamson taking over with 21 points (Barrett had 16 of his own in the first half) including this absurd putback dunk.
Here is your first of many Zion Williamson tip-dunks at Duke. He's already got 21 points, and he's 3-of-4 on threes pic.twitter.com/qt6ej8QqAq
— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) August 15, 2018
Boxing out Zion is probably a good idea, but the explosion he shows going from the right block in snatching the board and then throwing it down left-handed is patently ridiculous. That wasn’t his only incredible athletic feat of the half, as he also had an insane goaltend that, yes, resulted in two points for Ryerson but also reminded everyone that if he’s even close to you in the paint, your layup is in peril.
https://twitter.com/FrankieVision/status/1029869665609240578
Oh, and Zion hit three of his four first half three-point attempts, which, if he’s even an adequate shooter suddenly makes him an entirely different problem on the court.
Barrett, as mentioned, had 16 first half points and produced some highlights of his own, including this huge lefty slam in transition.
https://twitter.com/FrankieVision/status/1029870953759744002
We’ll have to wait for them to face better competition before being able to officially crown them as the nation’s team to beat, but it’s hard to imagine a college team this year that will be more fun to watch.
