The Duke Basketball team received great news about the health of star freshman Zion Williamson on Thursday night.
Skys are clearing once again in Durham as Zion Williamson‘s injury doesn’t appear to be serious.
The official Duke Basketball’s Twitter released the following statement about Williamson on Thursday night:
NEWS: Zion Williamson was diagnosed with a Grade 1 right knee sprain. He is progressing as expected, and his status is day-to-day. pic.twitter.com/H8YUZGnOyc
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 21, 2019
Zion was injured in the first 33 seconds on Wednesday night against North Carolina when he tried to drive into the paint, he attempts to come to a jump-stop at the free throw line and his shoe exploded and Williamson almost did a split.
Zion immediately grabbed for his right hamstring, but then quickly moved his hand down his leg to his knee.
The encouraging sign for Duke fans was that he was able to walk to the bench and to the locker room under his own power.
The Blue Devils looked lost and uninterested without Williamson and fell to North Carolina 88-72.
After the game, Mike Krzyzewski diagnosed the injury as a “mind knee sprain”, which was very similar to the diagnosis of many doctors commenting on Zion’s injury throughout the game.
Coach K: “We’re very concerned about Zion. It’s a mild knee sprain. We will know about length of time tomorrow. It’s stable. Obviously it has an impact. You lose the NPOY on the 1st play.” pic.twitter.com/SCq6DBjnkJ
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 21, 2019
Duke has two tough games upcoming, starting on Saturday with the in the Carrier Dome against the Syracuse Orange and then a game in Blacksburg on Tuesday, February 26, against the Virginia Tech Hokies, who have been struggling since losing Justin Robinson.
Since Wednesday goes as a game played, Williamson’s numbers have taken a dip, but still as the favorite for the National Player of the Year Award, Zion is averaging 21.6 points. 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.
It remains to be seen if Zion Williamson will join the rest of his Blue Devils teammates on the court Saturday, but it does not look like he will have an extended absence, which is not only great news for Duke, but great news for fans of basketball.