Zion Williamson will make his much anticipated return to the Duke Blue Devils' lineup tonight as the Dukies take on Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Williamson missed the final five games of the regular season after suffering a mild knee sprain when his Nike PG 2.5s exploded, and several NBA stars advised him to take the rest of the season off.
However, the projected #1 overall pick has officially been cleared to return, and he's still hungry for a national championship.
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
To put it simply, the 18-year old phenom just loves to hoop, so that's what he's going to do.
Says Zion, “For the people that think I should just stop playing in college and focus on the NBA: thanks, but no thanks.”
In 26 games this season, Zion is averaging 21.6 points and 8.8 rebounds. Needless to say, the Blue Devils have not been the same without him in the lineup. Duke went 3-2 in the five games without Williamson in the lineup and they enter the ACC Tournament as the #3 seed.
If they defeat Syracuse tonight (game airing on ESPN at 9:30pm ET), they'll have a chance to avenge their two regular season losses to UNC in the semifinals. The #2 Tar Heels will take on the Louisville Cardinals at 7:00, with the winner taking on either Duke or Syracuse.
This time around, it looks like Williamson will be ditching the Nike PG 2.5 in favor of the Nike Kyrie 4.