Duke was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament so what’s next for Zion Williamson?
Zion Williamson was the player of the year in college basketball and must-see TV when he was on the court. But now his season is over after Duke fell to Michigan State in the Elite Eight. The loss puts an end to one of the best freshman seasons of all-time.
The 6-7, 285-pound Williamson is taking his talents to a new team, the Duke football team, where he’ll to play defensive end and tight end.
“After talking it over with my family, we believe it is in my best interest to play football for Coach [David] Cutcliffe and bypass the NBA Draft and the looming threat of the Knicks while continuing my education at Duke, Williamson said.”
May 14 was circled on the calendars of Knicks fans as the day they’d win the draft lottery and the right to draft Zion. Now, they’ll have to down a bottle of Tums to get relief from this acid reflux.
“The NBA will always be there, but I didn’t want to risk going to the Knicks and getting stuck in basketball purgatory.”
Williamson closed by saying, “Respect my decision.”
This is the latest blow for the Knicks who traded away assets to free up cap space to sign two max free agents like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and tank to get the best odds for the No. 1 pick.
The Knicks will turn their attention toward Ja Morant, RJ Barrett and the other top draft prospects with Williamson trying to be Antonio Gates/Khalil Mack.
The opportunity to play against Alabama in the season opener played a factor in his decision, “I want Bama.”
Williamson said he’s watched highlights of Khalil Mack to develop his pass-rushing moves and Antonio Gates highlights of the former college hoops star running routes and high-pointing the football.
Happy April Fool’s Day, everyone! Zion could probably score 10 touchdowns or have 10 sacks next year if he wanted to play football. But he’s not. And chances are very high he’ll be declaring for the NBA Draft in the coming days after talking it over with his family. Whether the Knicks win the lottery and select him? Stay tuned.