Duke Basketball: Annoyance at Zion Williamson hype benefits Blue Devils

Duke basketball players have historically used outsiders’ doubt and disdain as fuel, so some recent scorning of Zion Williamson for the non-stop attention he receives should be good news for the Blue Devils.

I’m a lifelong Duke basketball fan who relishes outsiders’ contempt for all Blue Devils. Stated the opposite way, I feel like holding my head over the toilet whenever I notice those who don’t bleed royal blue jumping on the bandwagon of any Dukie who is naturally easy to like.

So here’s my plea to non-Duke fans: Either ignore the Blue Devils altogether or, better yet, stick to publicly trashing them all simply because they are Blue Devils. Just please quit tarnishing my joy that stems from knowing the sickest baller on the planet is a lifelong member of #TheBrotherhood by making comments like this:

I loathe Duke, but I love Zion Williamson.

Yuck.

The widespread love affair for all things Zion, which had been growing exponentially this season, served as a bit of a buzzkill and caused me to worry that hate for all things Duke could be on the decline.

Even some so-called UNC fans have pronounced their adoration of Zion.

Barf.

After road games, opposing fans have even asked for his autograph.

Disgusting.

Gleefully, though, I’ve noticed as of late a dramatic increase in comments from outsiders like this:

All this excessive talk about Zion Williamson is annoying.

Excellent.

Even better are comments like this:

Zion Williamson is overrated.

That’s what I like to hear.

Please be annoyed, Duke haters. Blame Zion for the countless headlines that contain his name. Criticize Zion’s every move like you did with the likes of Christian Laettner and Grayson Allen. Follow in the footsteps of media members such as Jalen Rose and Mike Francesa by foolishly doubting Zion’s overall abilities and NBA potential.

It all likely helps Duke’s quest for a sixth national championship.

Williamson, who is averaging 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting nearly 70 percent from the field, is now just three blocks shy of becoming the third Blue Devil in history to have at least 50 blocks and 50 steals in a season (Shane Battier accomplished this feat three times, and Shelden Williams did it once).

His strengths are obvious. But even the weakest aspect of the 6-foot-7, 280-pound freak athlete’s game is steadily improving.

After swishing his only attempt from beyond the arc during No. 2 Duke’s regular-season sweep of No. 3 Virginia with an 81-71 win in Charlottesville on Saturday night — Zion had one of his sloppiest performances and still finished with 18 points, five assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks — his 3-point accuracy eclipsed 30 percent for the season. And excluding his 1-for-11 mark from downtown to start the season, he is shooting 37.5 percent from deep.

Scary.

Meanwhile, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has pointed out on several occasions that Williamson doesn’t like all the positive attention that he receives (like a true winner, the Spartanburg, S.C., native regularly shifts the attention to his teammates). On the flip side, though, Williamson has shown that he has taken great pleasure from hearing boos — i.e., he has admitted to teasing opposing crowds during warmups by refusing to dunk (what they all most desire to see, whether they admit it or not) after he hears negative chants.

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I sense that boos directed at Zion are about to amplify. I hope that o-ver-rat-ed chants will also.

If they do, I’m certain that Zion’s best is yet to come. And if that is true, I believe the Blue Devils (21-2; 9-1 ACC) will celebrate on a stage in Minneapolis on April 8.

That celebration won’t be quite as sweet, though, if nearly every basketball fan seems to enjoy watching Zion become a national champion.

But rest assured, Duke fans, that this writer for Ball Durham will continue to help ensure no fans other than Duke fans find any pleasure from watching Zion cutting down nets. Here’s my promise: I will be as annoying as possible by adding to the incessant articles about Zion, thereby hopefully adding to the growing outside hate for Zion and the Blue Devils.

I consider this my duty as a Duke fan.

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Zion’s next chance to thrive off boos comes on Tuesday at 9 p.m. (on ESPN) when Duke — who deserves to be No. 1 in this week’s poll — plays at currently No. 16 Louisville.

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