by Ben Rohrbaugh
February 20, 2019: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina. The Duke Blue Devils were set to host their arch rival, “the North Carolina Tar Heels”, in one of the most anticipated games in college basketball this season. Although each ticket was priced at 2 grand, every seat in the arena was filled.
Duke center, Marques Bolden, won the tip-off, and Duke had the early edge. That is, until Zion went down only 30 seconds into the game. Zion went down, and #1 Duke was defeated at home.
Zion Williamson, a 5-star recruit from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and the heavily favored Number #1 pick for next year’s NBA Draft, suffered a gruesome injury against UNC. Williamson, who was driving to the bucket, physically burst through his sneaker. Yes, he physically broke through his sneaker.
Williamson, who weighs 285 pounds with a height of 6’8”, burst through his Nike PG 2.0 basketball shoes. Since then, his Duke team has struggled without his presence on the court. Duke has lost two of their five games since Williamson was injured. They got swept by North Carolina, and are now dropped to a number two seed for the March Madness Tournament. But, there is one question to be answered: should Zion return and play the rest of the season?
Prior to his injury, Williamson averaged 21 points per game, and was one of the top rebounders. He has dominated college basketball this season, and like his three other freshmen teammates, Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, and Tre Jones, he is getting highly scouted for next year’s draft. All of Duke’s freshmen have the talent to play at the next level, and this season may be the first and last time they will put on a Duke uniform.
When asked about Williamson’s situation, students at York Suburban had varying opinions on whether Williamson should return to play at Duke or prepare for his future professionally. Jaden Sloan, a freshmen here at YSHS, feels that Williamson should prepare for the NBA. Sloan feels that if he were to come back and play for Duke, he would re-injure himself, maybe even making the injury worse. Sloan says that if he were in Williamson’s situation, he would not play another collegiate game, trying to avoid another injury.
Another freshman thinks otherwise. Riley Weaver feels that Williamson should come back. Weaver feels that his return would show his leadership and dedication to the Duke program, as well as showing what he can do against top-tier competition to NBA scouts.
Tom Triggs, a history teacher and the boys’ basketball coach at Suburban feels that Williamson should prepare for the NBA Draft and not return to Duke this season. “I think Zion should go to the NBA. Financially, he will be rewarded with a tremendous contract. Why would he stay?” Triggs questions.
Many analysts believe that Williamson should sit out the rest of the season, not risking the possibility of getting re-injured before the NBA Draft in June. Williamson is highly projected to be a millionaire, which is sparking a legitimate argument as why he should sit out and get ready for his NBA career.
There are many questions to be answered. Should he sit out? Will another injury change the direction of his career? Maybe even his life? What about Duke? We will all find out this March. After all, it’s called “March Madness” for a reason!