"[152][153] Williamson plays the power forward position but is also capable of being a small-ball center. [52] By the end of his sophomore season, he received offers from 16 NCAA Division I programs, including Clemson, Florida, and South Carolina, but was not planning on making a decision until his senior year. Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, Williamson attended Spartanburg Day School, where he was a consensus five-star recruit and was ranked among the top five players in the 2018 class. "When one Griffin is doing something special -- out of the ordinary -- we celebrate him," she says as a couple of cheerleaders raise posters with "Go Zion" scribbled on the front in a bubbly font. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sometimes, he adds, people ask him for his former classmate's number. 2 Duke's loss at home to Syracuse on Jan. 14 was a shocker, and it highlighted a season-long festering matter for Mike Krzyzewski's team: 3-point accuracy. Kane showed up on a Wednesday in Spartanburg for a ragtag AAU combine of sorts. Beater. [56] In December 2016, ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi touted Williamson as "probably the best player in terms of production" in his class. [139] On December 12, Williamson was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for Week 8 (December 511), his first NBA Player of the Week award. Sitting inside the gym, with its 1,000-person capacity, it's hard to imagine the larger-than-life Williamson rumbling down the court. While Williamson's unusual high school rsum molded him in unexpected ways, it also made him a mystery in scouting circles. 1 pick? [43], On March 28, Williamson played in the 2018 McDonald's All-American Game, where he scored 8 points in 17 minutes before leaving with a thumb injury. [130], During the off-season, Williamson suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot and underwent a subsequent surgery. But when the adults who crossed paths with Williamson share their memories of him, it's striking how rarely they lean on the usual athlete-as-a-young-prodigy tropes ("When I showed up at the gym, he was already there! During practice, Zion Williamson took off from the free line for a dunk, threw it down with his right hand and was immediately mobbed by teammates, including his buddy R.J. Barrett, a Canadian . Off the court, Sartor remembers a teenager who mostly wanted to blend in with his friends. [39] On January 13, in a nationally televised game at the Hoophall Classic, he scored 36 points as his team lost to Chino Hills High School. Only once in that span did the Blue Devils fall outside the top 60 nationally in 3-point percentage. In high school, he drew national attention for his slam dunks. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2020. Mike Daum was sensational tonight, posting the nation's fourth 30-20 game of the season. [53] On August 30, 2016, he received a scholarship offer from Duke. For those of you who don't. He also started to dunk. He was one of several basketball players to help the arena workers. [121][122][123], On February 12, 2021, Williamson scored a then career high 36 points in a 143130 defeat against the Dallas Mavericks; he finished the game on 14-of-15 shooting from the field, making him the youngest player in NBA history with 30 points on 90 percent shooting. Lee Sartor: Coaching Zion Williamson in High School Lee Sartor began coaching club basketball at a young age, and has been coaching at Erskine College for four years now. "I've always thought James is one of the top talent evaluators in college basketball," McMahon said. pic.twitter.com/kPbNUhKiDQ, "The athleticism, explosiveness, it's unbelievable," McMahon said. he says. Bryson Bishop presents one of his college jerseys to Williamson that sported the same number . 3, Memphis signee Williams arrested on gun charges, Why Petitti is the perfect fit for Big Ten commissioner, UConn's Adama Sanogo to declare for NBA Draft, 2023 5-star G AJ Johnson chooses NBL over Texas, Miami is expecting to hear a final word from the NCAA on, If there's one team now prone to have its season boomerang the wrong way, it's. Zion was also considering Clemson, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina. He set the single-game school scoring record for freshmen in January 2019, claimed ACC Rookie of the Week accolades five times, earned AP Player of the Year, Sporting News College Player of the Year recognition, and won the Wayman Tisdale Award. Kane wanders into the back gym, looking for grub. And that is the crazy story in all of this, because it was a most incredible kind of accident. During his only season at Duke, he averaged 22.6 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. But he saved one piece of writing that he feels comfortable sharing because it was read aloud at a school event. [27][28][29] On April 22, 2017, Williamson recorded 26 points and 7 rebounds for his AAU team SC Supreme in a loss to highly touted recruit Romeo Langford and Twenty Two Vision at an Adidas Gauntlet tournament. In July 2016, former Murray State assistant James Kane was heavily recruiting a prospect named Tevin Brown (who now starts for Murray State). Jonathan Givony of ESPN (formerly DraftExpress) thinks so. 1 seed. Morant was a known talent, sure -- he made our preseason list of the top 101 players in the sport -- but his profile has gone stratospheric in a way that almost never happens with sophomores dominating mid-major opponents. Without looking, what's your guess on how many Division I men's basketball players have scored 3,000 career points? [41] On February 17, he posted 37 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals, while scoring his 3,000th career point, versus Spartanburg Christian Academy at the SCISA Region I-2A tournament. Zion Williamson should take notes. So Kane is in the building, watching Brown, but he's really hungry. My guess on active coaches who will be in the Hall of Fame by the year 2039: John Beilein, Tony Bennett, Mark Few, Bob Huggins, Lon Kruger, Tubby Smith, Jay Wright. [57], In a live ESPN telecast on January 20, 2018, Williamson committed to Duke. [148][149] Despite his heavy weight for a basketball player, he is known for his speed and leaping ability. [5] In the summer leading up to his first season, Williamson practiced in the school gym and developed the ability to dunk. As a freshman, Williamson played point guard, honing the playmaking skills that surprised national audiences this season. Dr . Williamson also left high school as a McDonald's All-American, runner-up for Mr. Basketball USA, and USA Today All-USA first team honoree. He has been in a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Tiana White. The Knicks' acquisition of Zion Williamson's former college team-mate Cam Reddish has reignited speculation over a future move to New York; watch Clippers @ Knicks viewing party on Sunday from 6pm . In middle school, Williamson was a point guard and lost only three games in two years. [118] He would later become the first teenager in NBA history to score at least 20 points in 10 consecutive games. ", "The real story of Ja Morant and Zion Williamson playing on the same AAU team", "Eight area players ready for SCISA North-South All-Star games", "Zion Williamson picks up offer from South Carolina", "Zion Williamson leading NBA Top 100 Camp in scoring", "Zion Williamson Wins the 2016 Elite 24 Dunk Contest", "Slam Dunk: Zion Williamson repeats as Player of the Year", "Jalek Felton, Christian Brown on Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year watch list", "Zion Williamson's newfound fame has grown his social media following substantially", "Zion Williamson Drops 42 & 13 in Season Debut", "Steph Curry Is Impressed By High School Hoops Prospect Zion Williamson And You Should Be, Too", "Five-Star Junior Prospect Zion Williamson Drops 50 Points", "Zion Williamson's Monster 50-Point Performance Steals ToC Show", "Spartanburg Day's Zion Williamson has record night in tourney opener", "Newton tops Spartanburg Day; Zion Williamson named MVP", "Zion Williamson's No. From 2015-18, Williamson became the most famous high school player since LeBron James en route to being the top attraction in college basketball. [90][91][92] He was held out from his team's final six games in the regular season. Just as troubling is Duke's free throw percentage. It's been almost as long since Duke was this unreliable from 3-point range as well. [94] He additionally made the ACC All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams. [61], Williamson played in a preseason game for Duke on August 15, 2018, in an 8667 win over Canadian university Ryerson, recording a double-double of 29 points and 13 rebounds and shooting 3-of-4 from three-point range. From just beyond midcourt Williamson darted toward . Even high school Zion. [20][21] In a 7353 victory over Gray Collegiate Academy at the Chick-fil-A Classic on December 21, he posted a tournament-record 53 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 25-of-28 from the field. Zion Williamson, 6'7, 230, Power Forward, 16.1 years old, Spartanburg Day (SC) 2018 Already one of the top recruits in the class of 2018, Zion Williamson was able to further bolster his stock last week with a victory in the dunk contest, an impressive couple of scrimmages, and a highly efficient performance in the Elite 24 game (10-10 from the field), despite being the youngest player in . @MSURacers pic.twitter.com/9hUCy0gW4S. [161] Williamson's outside shooting has been considered a point of concern, and he has unorthodox shot mechanics. That's Charles Matthews after he let go of his winner but before it fell true. A few more players to add to that: Carsen Edwards, Ja Morant, Coby White, C.J. In late-September, team officials were hopeful that he would be ready to return by the start of the season. He is a sensation who was picked by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019. Born on 6-7-2000, Zion Williamson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. Williamson, for his part, quickly developed a reputation as an unselfish player -- a characteristic, says Bui, that dates back to his high school days. Tee Morant was there that day, GoPro in hand, capturing his son on video in hopes of eventually catching the eye of a flourishing program. As the fast break unfolded, Zion Williamson watched the 6' 4" shooting guard on the team he was facing gather the ball near the free throw line. [164] His explosive play makes him a reliable shot-blocker and gives him prowess as a rebounder. Alex O'Connell is Duke's most accurate 3-point shooter (37 percent), but he only plays 13 minutes per game. We were playing a game at Morehead State. Yet even as the high school student's profile took off, his life in Spartanburg remained grounded. [5][166] By the time he was five years old, his parents divorced, and his mother subsequently married Lee Anderson, a former Clemson college basketball player. Further, the player earns $20 million from various brand endorsements. [12] In the summer of 2016, Williamson was drawing the most attention from Clemson, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Regardless, most schools only came calling after Murray State found him. He referenced the one below in particular. Within a few months, Morant would commit to Murray State, doing so in McMahon's home and surprising the staff and players in the process. [8] As a freshman, Williamson averaged 24.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 3.0 blocks, earning All-State and All-Region honors. Lob your question my way on Twitter. had to ice his knees to soothe his growing pains, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [33], In his senior season, Williamson averaged 36.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Buzzer. Trivia. [67] In his following game, a 9472 victory over Army, Williamson tallied 27 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 blocks. 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