2019 NBA Mock Draft: Could the Hawks jumpstart their rebuild in 2019?

Let Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, the second man to lead his team past Duke’s armada of freshman talent this season, give you the scouting report on Williamson: “He’s a physical specimen. He’s like Charles Barkley, except he shoots it better than Charles did and he’s not as fat. … I haven’t seen really any player like him.”

That’s the second-winningest coach in NCAA history, a 74-year-old man who’s spent his life playing and coaching basketball. And he’s never seen anyone like Williamson except the Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.

Certainly, Williamson did plenty on Monday night against Boeheim’s Syracuse squad to earn the praise from the opposing coach. Williamson scored 35 points to go with 10 rebounds and four blocks, getting to the line at will when nothing else worked for Duke. He was the zone-buster in at the free-throw line making quick decisions to kick-start the Blue Devils’ offense and pouring in the most points of his short college career.

It showed what makes Williamson so damn exciting — he was the best and most dominant player on the court all 45 minutes yet he never played outside the team. With both Tre Jones and Cam Reddish sidelined, Williamson took on an even bigger playmaking role and when Duke was playing through Williamson and picking up their pace, they looked fantastic. It was the slower stretches when they went cold.

Nevertheless, Duke lost. There is room to grow. Williamson is just 18 and a half. This bizarre, stacked, inconsistent Duke team is, like its star, learning on the fly. And they’re already this good.