Duke Basketball: Zion Williamson’s imperfection is his perfectionism

While the Duke basketball parties on the hardwood leave little to complain about, the top entertainer still isn’t quite letting loose to the degree that would make the parties the most epic in history.

Unselfishness is typically a character trait that bodes well for a Duke basketball team. As it applies to freshman Zion Williamson, though, his lack of selfishness on offense remains a potential roadblock to the current Blue Devils reaching their full, unfathomable potential.

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound headline-snatcher from Spartanburg, S.C., has made 68 percent of his attempts from the field this season. Inside the arc, that mark is 75 percent.

Both of those numbers are way too high.

How can that be?

Those numbers imply Williamson’s average attempts per game (12.0) is too low. Same goes for his scoring average (20.9). While that mark is nearly off the charts, it’s just not what it could be — nor what it should be in order to maximize his team’s future wins and its average margin of victory (currently 26.8, which is already on pace to set a program record but still seems to have room to grow).

His coach seems to agree.

"“[Williamson] is a little bit of a perfectionist,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Thursday on The Dan Patrick Show, which is available on DIRECTV CH. 239. “He doesn’t like to miss. When he misses, I think he was looking at that as a mistake. And what we’ve told him is, ‘You’re going to get 15 to 20 shots in a ballgame…Don’t look at [misses] as a mistake.'”"

Unfortunately, as pointed out a few paragraphs above, Williamson is not getting 15 to 20 shots per game. In fact, across the No. 1 Blue Devils’ 13-1 start, he’s never had 20 attempts and has only twice finished with more than 15.

Uncoincidentally, the latest such occurrence of more than 15 shots by Williamson coincided with his career-high in points. At Wake Forest on Tuesday night, an 87-65 win, the viral dunker did far more than just dunk; he dropped 30 points on 13-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-4 from deep.

The scoring performance was encouraging, as well as quite breathtaking, and looked like a preview of what’s to come and what could extend Duke’s season into April. However, had Williamson ended with about six or so more attempts — which should have replaced some of his teammates’ ill-advised shots in the first half — he might have ended with 40 points, and that might have translated into his team winning by that same amount.

Too often at the start of games against inferior opponents, which almost all of them are, the Blue Devils are settling for the 3-point attempts that the defenses are allowing, which doesn’t help fuel the scoreboard to look lopsided as early it could.

ALSO READ: Excessive outside shots doom Duke’s potential

Why settle?

This team, whether it yet fully realizes it or not, has the power to dictate from where its shots are taken and from whose hands they come — especially against the ACC’s cellar dwellers.

And those hands should be Zion’s more than anyone else’s. Yes, those hands put on the most thrilling shows in the open court — he has a 29-for-33 shooting clip for the season on fast breaks — but even in halfcourt sets, his hands should most often be the first to shoot.

No offense to freshman R.J. Barrett, who is averaging an ACC-high 22.8 points while shooting 46 percent from the field, but his attempts per game (18.9) should be the first to decrease in order to make way for more from Zion.

If that was to happen, based on Coach K’s observations of the relationship between roommates Williamson and Barrett, there should be no reason to worry about any friction between the two ensuing as a result.

"“The two of them are like brothers,” the Blue Devils’ 39th-year head honcho told Patrick. “They’re with each other all the time. It’s beautiful to watch. It’s not contrived. It’s real.”"

Here’s something else that is real: Among the NCAA’s roughly 1,000 Division I freshmen, Williamson currently ranks first in shooting percentage, first in double-doubles (seven), second in average rebounds (9.5), third in average points, and fourth in average steals (2.2).

ALSO READ: Zion Williamson has become CBB’s best freshman ever

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Other than LeBron James, Zion seems to be the only player on the planet who could play all five positions on the court to near perfection and could probably succeed no matter the names on the back of jerseys appearing alongside him.

In other words, Williamson, who has recently surpassed Barrett as the near-unanimous pick to be the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, seems to be capable of anything.

And based on five words from the mouth of Krzyzewski during his interview with Patrick, Williamson only cares about one thing:

“Zion is all about winning.”

So it seems all that’s left for Zion to be able to win as often as possible is for him to overcome his perfectionism by coming to the realization that a touch more selfishness on his part — without worrying about missing a little more often — will help with the cause.

PREDICTION: If Williamson takes more than 15 shots — preferably more than 20 — when the Blue Devils play at No. 13 Florida State on Saturday at 2 p.m. (on ESPN), he will again lead the team in scoring and to another victory.

And if his scoring average surpasses that of Barrett at any point this season, Duke basketball fans should view that moment as a prelude to a party that will culminate with an epic celebration on April 8.