Zion Williamson and the 20 best one-and-done players of all time

Zion Williamson and the 20 best one-and-done players in college basketball history

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 14: Teammates Zion Williamson #1 and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils react against the Syracuse Orange during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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BLOOMINGTON, IN – JANUARY 10: D’Angelo Russell #0 of the Ohio State Buckeyes is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 10, 2015 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

16. D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State, 2014-2015

In his one year at Ohio State, D’Angelo Russell was an absolute star. Russell was a tremendous playmaker for the Buckeyes, averaging 19.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 5.0 apg during the season.

Despite the brilliance of Russell, Ohio State ended up with only a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament, winning in the first round over VCU before falling by 15 to Arizona in the Round of 32. That marked the end of Russell’s brilliant college career as he bolted for the NBA, where he was selected with the second pick in the draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The fit between Russell and the Lakers was never a good one as he struggled to mesh with outgoing star Kobe Bryant in his rookie year. Russell also didn’t help his cause by getting into a public spat with Nick Young after a video the rookie taped of Young bragging about cheating on fiancée Iggy Azalea was leaked to the media.

The Lakers eventually grew tired of Russell and dumped him to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal to help them get rid of Timofey Mozgov’s terrible contract. The move to Brooklyn helped Russell blossom into a star, and he made his first All-Star team this season, averaging 21.1 points per game and 6.9 assists a night over the Nets’ first 78 games.

Russell now appears to be blossoming into a franchise-caliber player, which makes the Lakers’ decision to give up on him so quickly look incredibly short-sighted. Lonzo Ball, who succeeded Russell as the Lakers’ point guard, saw all of his stats decline year-to-year despite the addition of LeBron James to the Los Angeles roster.