National Player of the Year rankings: Will injury cost Zion Williamson?

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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 20: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after falling as his shoe breaks during their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

1. Zion Williamson

This week:

UNC: Sprained knee 36 seconds into game vs. UNC
Syracuse: DNP due the to knee injury

Season stats: 21.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.2 apg

It shows just how far of a gap there is between No. 1 and No. 2 on this list that the latter played about 45 seconds on the week, while the former combined for 42 points in two games and still didn’t move an inch in the rankings.

This week we saw possibly one of the biggest fears of all college basketball fans come to fruition when Williamson went down extremely awkwardly in the opening minute against North Carolina, creating multiple huge conversations including: Nike or Adidas? Is it time for Zion Williams to shut it down? Is the NCAA taking advantage of Zion? Plus much more.

Williamson has done everything needed to win the award besides show up, walk the red carpet (if they even have that) and give an acceptance speech. He’s dominated the ACC, the country’s best conference, night in and night out and has played his best against the team’s biggest foes (Virginia, North Carolina State, Syracuse, and Louisville).

It’s a shame that the nation was robbed of two more games, including the rivalry game with North Carolina, but we got to see in that game just how much it impacted the entire team to not have Williamson on the floor.

The freshman phenom and projected first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, should return sometime this week and all eyes will be on him to see how he performs. A bad week could result in more conversation about guys like Howard and Barrett, but again this award is likely all but wrapped up.

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