Zion Williamson and his Duke teammates had every reason in the World to be distracted last night when they face the number three team in the Nation, the 20-2 Virginia Cavaliers, but they stayed the course like some pros-to-be. The '19 recruitment class of the Duke Blue Devils is drawing comparisons to the legendary Fab Five that played for the Michigan Wolverines in the early 90s. The similarities are striking.
Zion is a genetic freak similar to the way Chris Webber was viewed when he entered the NCAA ranks as an uncontainable defensive matchup for anyone on the floor. Both the 2019 recruitment and 1991's Fab Five boast 4 McDonald's All-Americans and the ability to match up against seasoned 20-something-year-olds.
With LeBron James and Rajon Rondo in the crowd, Zion was nonetheless able to focus on the task at hand: a 81-71 away from home. His teammate RJ Barrett, whose Fab Five comparable would be Jalen Rose, finished the contest with a team-high 26 points, of which 6 of his field goals came from the beyond the arc.
"LeBron was out there?" Williamson asked a member of the press after the game. "I didn't see LeBron." Then out of queue one of Zion's teammates yelled back, "That's your big brother!" Williamson replied: "Stop it, bro," in an attempt to douse the media hype surrounding his potential lottery status in the upcoming NBA Draft - whereas teammate Tre Jones, himself a point guard, was damn near fixated that his idol Rajon Rondo was in the stands watching him control the pace.
"I didn't notice until probably the second half. It's hard to miss (James) when he stands up," Jones said. "A guy who was there, Rajon Rondo, is someone I've been watching since I was really young." The Duke Blue Devils will take on Louisville Cardinals this upcoming Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center.