Best left-handed Duke basketball players of the past decade

The best Duke basketball lefties of the past decade: Zion Williamson

If you don’t like Zion Williamson, then you just don’t like fun. It’s not an overstatement to say that Zion Williamson was a college basketball legend, despite playing just one season. Williamson captivated the attention of fans everywhere and drew tons of people to watch Duke who otherwise may have never turned a Duke basketball game on in their life.

For one season, Williamson not only transcended Duke basketball but college basketball as a whole. Everyone wanted to watch him play and talk about how awesome he was. It didn’t matter if you loved, hated, or were indifferent about Duke basketball, Williamson was must-see TV.

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Coming into the season, Williamson had a ton of hype and attention around him. He immediately became the most popular and well-known college basketball player before he ever stepped on the floor.

Williamson was the closest thing to a celebrity that college basketball might see for a while. Despite the hype, he was not even the No. 1 recruit in Duke’s incoming class (he was second behind RJ Barrett). There was also the question of how Williamson’s game would translate to the college level.

Most people only saw the viral YouTube or social media clips with Zion Williamson dunking all over little helpless kids. We all knew that Williamson was an athletic freak and a guy built like he was made in a lab, but few knew how skilled and well-rounded his game was. Williamson could do it all. He could throw down the highlight dunk, initiate a fastbreak, grab rebounds in traffic, protect the rim like a 7-footer, and defend multiple positions.

Williamson was a perfect fit for where the state of basketball was and still is: positionless. Trying to make Williamson play one specific position would have been like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It just wouldn’t have worked. Duke let Williamson be himself and play with ultimate freedom and creativity. The Duke coaching staff let him loose, and Williamson thrived in that structureless environment.

The question of whether Williamson’s game would translate into college was quickly answered. Right from the first game of the season, Williamson showed that he was the strongest and most athletic player in the country. In Duke’s first game of the year and Williamson’s grand entrance to the college basketball world, he dropped 28 points and seven rebounds. He also had one of the most spectacular plays of the season where he stuffed Kentucky’s Nick Richards at the rim then pushed the ball up the floor and made a sweet bounce pass to RJ Barrett for an and-one.

All the dunks and blocks that Williamson made were spectacular, but what amazed me the most was how efficient he was. Williamson shot an unbelievable 68 percent from the field, which led the ACC. When Williamson got the ball down low and had the right positioning, there was nothing the defense could do. Williamson had the strength and athleticism to finish over and through opposing defenders, but he also had the touch and creativity to be virtually unstoppable down low.

On 2-point field goals, Williamson hardly missed. He shot almost 75 percent on 2-point shots, which once again, was best in the ACC. Williamson was pretty much a guarantee for a double-double.

Williamson dominated on the glass. He was not the tallest player but knew how to use his wide body and leaping ability to push out defenders and create rebounding angles, or simply just out jumping them. Williamson was relentless going for rebounds. He competed hard every night on the glass and pursued seemingly every single missed shot.

While all the on-court highlight reels were entertaining, Williamson was able to do things that most basketball players just cannot do. He hit his head on the backboard going for a block in a December game against Princeton. He also put a dent in the basketball while trying to wrestle away a jump ball against Louisville’s Jordan Nwora. Plus, he blew out the bottom of his shoe trying to make a move against UNC’s Luke Maye.

Basically, Williamson provided an incredibly unique combination of size, strength, speed, agility, and aggressiveness that had never really been seen in a basketball player before.

Williamson was also the second-leading scorer in the ACC, only behind teammate RJ Barrett. He had four 30+ point performances, but scoring was not his No. 1 strength. The defensive side of the ball is where Williamson had the biggest impact. He was one of the biggest defensive assets I have ever seen in college basketball. He could truly guard all five positions. Williamson could stick with smaller guards, bully around big men, and had no problem with athletic wing players.

Duke was able to become a great defensive team in large part because of Williamson. He allowed the Blue Devils to switch 1-5, which made it very difficult to get penetration and easy looks at the basket. Williamson also did an unbelievable job of protecting the rim. He led the ACC in total steals and was fifth in the conference in blocks per game.

When Williamson went down with a knee injury and subsequently missed the next six games, Duke was simply not the same team. His presence allowed for Duke to be ultra-aggressive in the passing lanes and to create easy transition opportunities.

He was also a guy you didn’t even need to design plays for. He could easily score 25 points just by outworking his defender, taking advantage of smaller defenders, getting to the foul line, cleaning up the offensive glass, or catching lobs. Duke struggled defensively but also had to work a lot harder on offense during his absence.

There was doubt amongst many members of the media that Williamson would return after he got hurt. If you followed Duke basketball closely that year or actually examined the type of person that Williamson was, there was no doubt that if he was healthy, he was going to play.

Williamson was the definition of a competitor. He brought infectious energy and intensity that spread throughout the entire team. He came back in spectacular fashion with a 29-point, 14-rebound performance while going a perfect 13-for-13 from the field against Syracuse to open up the ACC Tournament.

He continued to dominate throughout March.

He dropped 32 points and 11 rebounds against UNC, including a game-winning putback to advance to the championship game, where Williamson scored 21 points and became the ACC Tournament MVP.

One of Williamson’s most memorable performances came in the Round of 32 against UCF. Duke was being pushed to the brink of elimination, and Williamson willed the Blue Devils to victory. He put up 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, including an and-one on 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall to save the game and Duke’s season.

Duke was just one win away from advancing to the Final Four, and Williamson put the Blue Devils in position to get that win with 24 points and 14 rebounds. But unfortunately, Duke came up just short.

It was a painful way to end an awesome and entertaining season. Williamson will not be soon forgotten. In just one season, he was able to cement his legacy as one of Duke’s all-time greats. He left Durham as the ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, the Naismith winner, and the Wooden winner. Both the Naismith and Wooden awards are given to the most valuable/outstanding player in the country.

It is a shame that Williamson was not able to bring Duke basketball a national championship, but from an individual standpoint, he won about every award possible. He left Duke basketball fans with tons of incredible moments, filled with spectacular plays, and a lot of Blue Devil victories.

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