Zion Williamson is well on his way to becoming the face of college basketball. His highlight-reel dunks, freakish athleticism and, well, more highlight-reel dunks, are going to earn him plenty of buzz in college and as a pro prospect as he takes the sport by storm.
If his Friday night showcase of talent is any indication of how the season might play out, it may only take one game for fans to hop on board the hype train. Williamson, who led the White team to a 44-39 win over the Blue team in a scrimmage for Duke's Countdown to Craziness, pulled out tomahawk dunks, two-handed slams and vicious blocks en route to a clean 14-point outing on 7-of-11 shooting.
@ZionW32 is too much.. Duke Countdown to craziness dunks .. pic.twitter.com/LwmrAzbN7c
— Frankie Vision (@FrankieVision) October 20, 2018
Williamson's teammate, R.J. Barrett, who is the clear-cut favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, led all scorers with 23 points. But Zion got the win -- and took home the offseason conditioning belt in the process.
"What he does with his body is remarkable. He's a competitor, he's really a good passer, he dunks pretty well," coach Mike Krzyzewski said Friday via the Duke Chronicle. "He has got really powerful hands, where he took it out of one guy's hands early and it was kind of a loose ball and he grabbed it and went off. We can't teach that. That just comes from him."
Duke opens its season on Nov. 6 against the Kentucky Wildcats as the second game of a doubleheader in the State Farm Champions Classic.