Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
People are always saying "I wonder what it would look like to see Lebron play in college." IMO, this is what it looks like.
IMHO I think the analysis isn't far off. When thinking on the pro level, I believe what Zion needs to work on defensively is not to always overcommit on D. In college, this is working out fine as the competition level is lower. His instincts are good, and he can be overly aggressive and usually win the skirmish. But in the pros where everything, including speed and ability, picks up, he could get beat more often when overcommitting. He can use his size and quickness to force his man into errors to get the stop, not necessarily trying to go for the spectacular play for the block or the steal. I'm not saying his D is a weakness. I am saying it is something for him to work on (along with outside shooting and FTs). Zion will be #1 in the draft. But like most all #1 picks, he will have things to work on in the NBA.
9F
I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.
I enjoy watching Zion play on both sides of the ball, and have been amazed at his defensive chops on display so far.
I think both of these comments indicate that Zion has room to grow, which he assuredly does, but i think Zion will be able to learn these things or intuitively feel his way to approach these skills with a fresh perspective. I don't see why he wouldn't be able to become a all-NBA level defender, or even DPOY. He would have to improve in several areas, but dude is amazing already.
One on one, he's solid to awesome.
He sometimes over-commits going after steals and finds himself way out of position, though, leaving the rest of the team scrambling (often unsuccessfully) to cover/recover.
I want to see him get better judgment on when to go for it.
The times he comes over to double team (high) the other team's PG while Tre is closely guarding are the ones I most like! The two of them together are really tough...
-jk
Zion dented a basketball...
https://www.sbnation.com/platform/am...h-fingers-duke
“Coach said no 3s.” - Zion on The Block
ESPN posted an excerpt of an appearance by Dabo Swinney on Coach K's radio show that will air (or has aired ... stupid time zones) on ESPNU Radio, which is a thing that exists, I guess.
Coach and Dabo got to talking about Zion playing football, about which Dabo said:
But my favorite part of the article is actually this tidbit at the end:"I'd put [Williamson] at tight end or wideout or [defensive] end or wherever he wanted to play. We might even play him at quarterback."
Despite his commitment to basketball, LSU reportedly offered him a football scholarship when he was in high school.
"I thought, 'Hell, why not, he's probably the best damn tight end to ever live,'" former LSU tight ends coach Eric Mateos told ESPN.
Mateos said that Ed Orgeron told him to find the "best athletes in the country," and Williamson was on that list.
LeBron on Zion. Great quote: “Coach K is my guy...” Also mentions our offer to his son.
https://nypost.com/2019/02/15/lebron...pasteboard_app
Zion is so good he schooled Nick Horvath in pickup games last summer.
From ESPN, LeBron’s thoughts on Zion and the UVA game.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...ion-williamson
Is it just me or does anyone else see Zion being a Draymond Green style player in the NBA, with more offensive upside?
Zion is still young and will continue to grow as a player but when I see his game, I see a lot of Green. Being able to guard all 5 positions, the energy he plays with, etc...
It is so fun to watch these kids grow under K and then continue to grow in the NBA.
Go Duke...
Green adds incredible D, leadership, playmaking, and 3pt shooting to his team.
I truly believe Zion will be inferior to Green's D (because Green is a top 5 defender in the league) and Green's 3pt shooting. As for leadership and playmaking, that's TBD.
However, Zion is a better ball handler, scorer from anywhere else on the court, rebounder, etc etc. Basically, I think they are quite different players despite both being amazing at the 5 in small ball line-ups.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
If you watch Duke play, Zion on offense is a gravitational field. The entire court changes when he has the ball, given his ability to make incredibly fast and strong moves, pass to open players, and shoot. In the NBA that seems to occur with LeBron and maybe a few others. Whether Zion brings that capability to the NBA is unknown, of course, but he is still only 18 years old.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
I would be very disappointed if Zion's NBA career is comparable to Green's, but I've always thought Green is one of the most overrated players in the league. Put him on a normal team, and I don't think he ever sniffs star status. Green is not a good shooter. At all. From anywhere. He only ever has to shoot ridiculously wide open standstill 3-pointers, layups, and post-ups when he gets a guard switched on to him. Even with that, he's 23% from 3 and 42% overall this year. I think Curry would shoot 80% if he just got to shoot Green's 3-point opportunities. Green had one fairly good and efficient year as a scorer in 2015-16 and otherwise has been a very poor shooter and scorer throughout his career. He averages 6.9 rebounds per game for his career and 7.6 this year, so nothing special there. He is a very good defensive player, but I still think he's overrated on that end. For all the hype about being able to defend LeBron, James always put up enormous numbers against Green. Green is an outstanding passer, but it certainly helps to play with Curry, Thompson, and Durant. Leadership? Didn't his own team have to suspend him, besides earning his own suspension from the League in the Finals this year? Green averages 9.1 ppg on 43.7% shooting for his career. Zion's sweat could do better than that!
The description I heard yesterday was that Zion could be Green on steroids. I think because of Green's polarizing personality he doesn't get as much credit as he could. He's a game changer because of his ability to guard so many guys (bigger and smaller than him) and his willingness to do the dirty work. Zion is a much better athlete than Green so he could grow into doing what Green does...but have so much more to his game because of his athleticism. Not to mention Zion's fantastic attitude.
I still think the modern day comp is still LeBron. Sure you can poke holes in that (LeBron's more of a distributor, etc) but I think the LeBron comparison is the only one that comes close because of the gravitational pull they both have on the court. LeBron has it off the court as well and I could see Zion growing into having a similar sphere of influence. He's such a good kid, even having one year at Duke I think will help solidify his foundation and it's gong to be fun to see what kind of adult he becomes.
It's a good comparison with the bolded part being understated. The team that drafts Zion #1 will want him to be the offensive fulcrum, the primary playmaker on offense. I think he'll be able to do that Giannis-style where if you surround Zion with 4 shooters, he'll either score at the rim or find the open guy. On defense, Draymond is one of the greatest defenders of all-time, so Zion probably won't be quite that good, but you're right that he should be able to guard all 5 positions and Zion-at-the-5 projects to be a devastating look.
Personality-wise, I'm hoping that Zion will be more likable and will do less nutcracking on the court.
Should be noted that Green is only shooting 23% from three this season and is only at 32% for his career. Zion could be worse, of course, but I'd give him a solid chance to match that.