It's difficult for me to feel a great deal of sympathy for an 18-year-old kid who's about to become the first pick in the NBA draft and sign a multi-million dollar contract as a result. However, in the case of Duke standout Zion Williamson, part of me does.
I don't think I've heard as much hype surrounding an NBA prospect since LeBron James was drafted 1st by the Cleveland Cavaliers 16 years ago. Everywhere I turn, when the topic of the draft comes up, all I hear is: "It's Zion and everyone else.," "Whoever gets the 1st pick will be getting a transcendent player.," "Zion could transform any team he becomes a part of.," "With the addition of Zion, a team becomes a contender.," and so on and so on.
For as impressive as Williamson was this past season, he played just one year of college basketball, is 18 years old, and is anything but a guaranteed success at the next level.
Zion Williamson was largely successful in his lone season at Duke because of his size and athleticism. The kid is 6'7'', 284 lbs., and has an incredible vertical. His college counterparts were no match for him. He was bigger, quicker, and more athletic than the competition. That's not going to be the case at the next level. The average player's height in the NBA is 6'7'', just like Williamson. The average weight is 247 lbs. The average vertical is, well, let's just say it far exceeds the average person. In other words, in terms of size and athleticism, Williamson's superiority in college will be rather average in the pros. This means he will need to up his game quite substantially in order to be a success in the league, and to this point, I've yet to see enough proof in either direction to warrant much confidence that he will be a great player or a bust.
Williamson's field goal percentage was off the charts this past year, but that was largely due to a large percentage of those shots coming around the rim. The man is a dunking machine, and since he was far bigger, quicker, and more athletic than his opponents, all he really needed to do was run the lane and catch the ball above the rim for an alley-oop. Sure, it looked impressive, but how will that translate to the NBA when he squares off against guys whom are just as big, if not bigger? Also, while he shot fairly well from outside for a big man, he doesn't have the most technically-sound shot, and that in conjunction with the 3-point line adjustment in the NBA, it's going to take some rather stark improvements for him to be a threat from deep.
Zion Williamson is an incredibly talented player, who has all the tools to become an NBA star for the foreseeable future. However, he's no guarantee like many sports commentators are suggesting. The guy will need much more than what he regularly utilized in college to become successful in the pros. If he doesn't make the necessary adjustments, he could very well be a bust - the what-if prospect. It's too early to predict either scenario, however, and the guy deserves some time to adjust and mature before we place any kind of label on him.
I don't think I've heard as much hype surrounding an NBA prospect since LeBron James was drafted 1st by the Cleveland Cavaliers 16 years ago. Everywhere I turn, when the topic of the draft comes up, all I hear is: "It's Zion and everyone else.," "Whoever gets the 1st pick will be getting a transcendent player.," "Zion could transform any team he becomes a part of.," "With the addition of Zion, a team becomes a contender.," and so on and so on.
For as impressive as Williamson was this past season, he played just one year of college basketball, is 18 years old, and is anything but a guaranteed success at the next level.
Zion Williamson was largely successful in his lone season at Duke because of his size and athleticism. The kid is 6'7'', 284 lbs., and has an incredible vertical. His college counterparts were no match for him. He was bigger, quicker, and more athletic than the competition. That's not going to be the case at the next level. The average player's height in the NBA is 6'7'', just like Williamson. The average weight is 247 lbs. The average vertical is, well, let's just say it far exceeds the average person. In other words, in terms of size and athleticism, Williamson's superiority in college will be rather average in the pros. This means he will need to up his game quite substantially in order to be a success in the league, and to this point, I've yet to see enough proof in either direction to warrant much confidence that he will be a great player or a bust.
Williamson's field goal percentage was off the charts this past year, but that was largely due to a large percentage of those shots coming around the rim. The man is a dunking machine, and since he was far bigger, quicker, and more athletic than his opponents, all he really needed to do was run the lane and catch the ball above the rim for an alley-oop. Sure, it looked impressive, but how will that translate to the NBA when he squares off against guys whom are just as big, if not bigger? Also, while he shot fairly well from outside for a big man, he doesn't have the most technically-sound shot, and that in conjunction with the 3-point line adjustment in the NBA, it's going to take some rather stark improvements for him to be a threat from deep.
Zion Williamson is an incredibly talented player, who has all the tools to become an NBA star for the foreseeable future. However, he's no guarantee like many sports commentators are suggesting. The guy will need much more than what he regularly utilized in college to become successful in the pros. If he doesn't make the necessary adjustments, he could very well be a bust - the what-if prospect. It's too early to predict either scenario, however, and the guy deserves some time to adjust and mature before we place any kind of label on him.
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