Duke basketball: All-time starting lineup – From Laettner to Reddick to Zion

PF – Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson had one the greatest freshman seasons in college basketball history. He was the final member of one of the most talented recruiting classes ever and at the time that he committed to play for Coach K, he was also perceived as the third wheel to Barrett and Cam Reddish. It was before the season officially started that the perception changed. Williamson rode the wave from a pre-season Canadian tour through an Elite Eight run with the Blue Devils.

Even though he was only with the university for a few months his impact will live on for a while. He was a tour-de-force all season long for Duke. Williamson put to bed any notion of him merely being just a dunker. He showed again and again that he was not just a complete player but the best player in the nation. Williamson became a mainstay on every social media app and was a daily talking point on every sports show.

He was a walking double-double for the Blue Devils and his 35 points against Syracuse moved him past Redick and Bagley III for the single-game scoring record by a freshman. He likely would’ve re-wrote the entire freshman record book had he not suffered a Grade 1 knee sprain just seconds into the first UNC vs Duke game of the year.

By the end of his lone year in Durham, Williamson had earned ACC Player of the Year, Associated Press Player of the Year, the Naismith Award, the Wooden Award, ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC All-Defense honors, ACC All-Freshman honors, All ACC-Tournament, ACC Tournament MVP and an NCAA All-Region selection. He mentioned how he wanted to stay in college longer.

Had he not cemented his status as the No. 1 pick we likely would’ve gotten to see a second season and who knows how dominant he would’ve been then.