UNC Basketball: 10 recruits UNC fans wish the Tar Heels had signed
Zion Williamson
Before he committed to Duke and became one of the most legendary players in college basketball history, Zion Williamson was a high school prospect that every North Carolina fan wanted to see in a Tar Heel uniform. If they tell you otherwise, they’re using historical revisionism, and are rendered incapable of saying or feeling anything positive about a Duke player due to their allegiance to North Carolina.
Others, however, could simply be fatigued from the non-stop Zion Williamson coverage that ESPN has force-fed them over the past year; and that’s completely understandable. The self-proclaimed ‘worldwide leader’ milked Williamson’s freshman season for all it was worth, making their coverage of LSU’s Ben Simmons a few years back look like child’s play.
Regardless, there isn’t a coach, player or fan that didn’t want to be part of the Williamson madness, knowing he was an elite talent from the myriad of mix tapes and media frenzy that followed him everywhere during his junior and senior seasons at Spartanburg Day School. And like so many other Division I basketball coaches — particularly those on Williamson’s list of finalists — Roy Williams recruited him fervently, spending the better part of two years trying to get a pledge from the elite big man.
The hype was more than worth it, though, as Williamson put together one of the most efficient seasons we’ve seen at the collegiate level, well, ever. His 22.6 points per game were tied with fellow freshman R.J. Barrett for most on the team, and came on an outstanding 68 percent shooting. He averaged 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks, leading the Blue Devils in each of those categories, too. Throw in the fact that the 6-foot-7, 285-pound power forward averaged 2.1 assists per game and hit nearly 34 percent of his three-point attempts, and it’s no wonder why he was a hands-down choice for National Player of the Year and the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
He didn’t kill the Tar Heels by any means, but that was merely a matter of good fortune for North Carolina. The sensational freshman got hurt in the first minute of the teams’ first game of the season in Durham. That injury then kept Williamson out of the following five games, including a second matchup with North Carolina in Chapel Hill — the Blue Devils lost both games and 3-of-6 during that span, further highlighting his importance to Duke.
It wasn’t until two games later in the ACC Tournament that the Tar Heels finally felt the true impact of Williamson. He scored 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Add to that the 11 rebounds he had in 35 minutes of play, and it’s easy to make the argument that he was the difference-maker in the one-point Duke victory.
You may not love him, but you’d have loved to have him on your team for that one spectacular season of college hoops.