This Article was originally published on April 27th 2018,
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports/ Rob Kinnan
ACC Rookie and Player of the year Zion Williamson has taken the college basketball world by storm. The 6-7 285 pound power forward has dominated in every single game he has played in this season for the Duke Blue Devils prior to his injury on February 20th. His dominance this season may not be a surprise to many, but last year many people had doubts about his game. Here’s a throwback piece from April 2018, when we had the chance to briefly interview Zion Williamson at the 2018 Jordan Brand Classic.
Everyone in the world knows the name Zion Williamson, the high flying 6-6 Forward from South Carolina who has taken the world by storm this past high school basketball season. At Spartanburg Day school Zion averaged 32 points and 11 rebounds per game leading his team to a 21-8 record and a State championship. Fans in South Carolina have been lucky to see Zion packed every gym he has been in this season and he will continue to do that when he suits up for Duke next season.
I recently caught up with Zion at the Jordan Brand Classic media day in Brooklyn earlier this month. Zion couldn’t participate in the event due to a thumb injury he suffered during the McDonald’s All American Game, but he was still happy to be around his peers that weekend and was very welcoming towards the media during the interview.
When Zion arrives at Duke next year one of his goals is to prove to Many that he can do a lot more than just dunk and he made some strong points about it. “I would not be a McDonald’s All American and a Jordan Brand Classic player if all I can do is dunk. I have an extensive skill set and talking with coach K he saw that in me, and he would always tell me you aren’t just a dunker you are an excellent basketball player, and when you come to Duke I want to show the world how great you are”.
Zion Williamson is also continuing to show many naysayers that he’s working on slimming down. At the McDonald’s All American game, he showed everyone that he was getting in shape Williamson shared some of the things he did to slim down. “After practices, I would do some extra running on the track and get into the weight room and do some extra reps; I also cut down on my meat intake, stopped drinking soda and drink more water.”
Zion Willaimson has gained a huge fan base here in NYC. So many people across the five boroughs have become so enamored with Zion’s play that there was much speculation that he was planning to make an appearance at Dyckman during the summer of 2017. Unfortunately, Zion wasn’t able to make his appearance, but as he explained to us at that time the rumors of his debut were right, and a future presence remains imminent. “ “Yeah I have been talking to Isaiah Washington, JQ, all the NYC people including the people over at Overtime. Dyckman is the place where the top ballers go and if you are a real dog and you are a real man you can compete out there”. Zion’s high praise of one of NYC’s top summer leagues shows that many people outside of NYC still got respect for NYC Hoop culture.
We start Interviewing Zion at the 4:17 mark
With his high school career already past him, his main focus going forward will be preparing for Duke where he will be teaming up with fellow top recruits Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, and Tre Jones. With his willingness to prove people wrong we can tell that a particular season is ahead in Raleigh-Durham.
Hoop Dreams NYC 
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