Duke Basketball: Zion Williamson is best PG option until Tre Jones returns

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski could lessen fans’ pouting over Tre Jones’ injury by making a decision that would spark an abundance of grins — not to mention wins.

Magic Johnson did it. LeBron James still does it. Same goes for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Justise Winslow. Big dudes can play point guard. And that includes Duke basketball freshman Zion Williamson — albeit he outweighs each of the above guys by at least 20 pounds.

Not only does the 6-foot-7, 285-pound native of Mars possess all the necessary tools to play the position — he did so all his life up until his growth spurt in ninth grade — but he is the Blue Devils’ best option at the moment. Williamson could instantly boost the spirits of his teammates and fans by owning the role until the return of fellow freshman Tre Jones, who is sidelined indefinitely with an AC joint separation to his right shoulder that he suffered six minutes into Duke’s 95-91 home overtime loss to Syracuse on Monday.

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Opposing coaches would need months — which they don’t have — to come up with a gameplan to stop it. Opposing point guards would need Depends in case of an accident at the sight of it.

There is only one obvious drawback: Duke fans would need pacemakers to keep their hearts from exploding due to the excitement of it.

Across the No. 1 Blue Devils’ 14-2 start, Williamson has often appeared to simultaneously serve as both the power forward and center due to a polished game, a keen court awareness, and a massive, chiseled frame that either another planet, a lab, or a comic book must have created. The 18-year-old is averaging 21.2 points, 9.4 boards, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.9 blocks.

Even more insane, he’s shooting 66 percent from the field and 74 percent from within the arc.

In other words, unlike the most likely candidates to take the reigns as the squad’s floor general in Jones’ absence — freshmen Cam Reddish and R.J. Barrett — Williamson’s disdain for bad shots is just another sign that the experiment would output the desired results.

In addition, his regular presence at the top of the key on defense would serve as a major disruption — an understatement — to whatever type of offense an opposing team attempts to run.

Now, before this talk gets out of hand, it’s time to address a few counter-arguments to Williamson playing point guard:

The frontcourt would suffer without him. While this may be true, it’s not as if Williamson would have to stop contributing altogether in the paint. On defense, he could still crash the boards and come up from behind for his jaw-dropping blocks that test the durability of basketballs. On offense, instead of having to wait for his teammates to pass it to him down low — which they haven’t done often enough thus far — he could simply use his strength to bully his way with a few dribbles into a post-up position.
He doesn’t have the stamina. Again, this may be true. And this is probably the reason Duke fans won’t actually see Williamson being the full-time point guard. Chasing down a smaller dude — even if he has the quickness and agility to do so — is tiresome. But Zion is a competitor, a freak of nature, and a fool-maker of his doubters. Don’t doubt that he could also quash this argument. Besides, Coach K can give him frequent breaks if need be.
Barrett, Reddish, or Jordan Goldwire would be a better option. This argument doesn’t hold up. Barrett has 115 more shot attempts on the season than any other Blue Devil. The ball in his hands to start each possession would likely only add to what is already a glaring issue that many fans — by wearing blinders — still don’t admit to seeing. Meanwhile, Reddish is a bit loosey-goosey with the ball in his hands. Although his 7-foot-1 wingspan helps in other facets of the game, it makes him too easy of a target for swipes at the ball by defenders. Finally, Goldwire, a sophomore backup, is exactly that: a backup. He hustles, which pays off on defense and should earn him some minutes, but he offers little to the team’s offense.

Without Williamson at the point on Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Blue Devils host undefeated Virginia — looks like the best team in the nation at the moment — the Cavaliers will be well-prepared. With Williamson at the point, though, they are likely to discover that their vaunted pack-line defense doesn’t account for an otherworldly behemoth dictating the entire flow of the game by being the central figure on both ends of the court.

Now, this may sound farfetched — no more so than a 285-pounder with a 45-inch vertical leap — but every time he brings the ball up the court, Williamson could just drive to the basket, throw the ball off the backboard to himself, flush it so hard that opponents run to the locker room to change their diapers, and then dart back on defense to create more nightmares. Also, he could even mix in a few running 3-pointers.

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Granted, this entire article sounds a little too dreamy. A little too preposterous. But after the nightmare that was the Jones injury, Duke basketball fans need to bounce back from their current funk.

Dream a little. Better yet, dream as big as Zion. After all, is there any other team in the country with anyone like him?

Not even close. Therefore, if maximized and used properly, his presence alone — despite any injuries to other Blue Devils — keeps dreams of a happy ending on April 8 alive and well.