Recruiting Roundup: Weekend Visits and Tidbits
By JACOB POLACHECK Here’s a look towards this
By ADAM ZAGORIA Zion Williamson made an emphatic
By ADAM ZAGORIA R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson
R.J. Barrett made the most of his first
By ADAM ZAGORIA
R.J. Barrett has long dreamed of slipping on a Duke uniform.
Next week he will finally get the opportunity when Duke begins a four-game tour of Barrett’s native Canada on Wednesday in Toronto. The team leaves on Monday, and Barrett expects many family and friends to watch the games in person.
“It’s very surreal [to be putting on a Duke jersey],” the 6-foot-7 Barrett said Friday on a conference call. “I’ve always wanted to wear one so now that I’m on the team and I’m going to be playing on Wednesday, I can’t wait.”
Yes, the R.J. Barrett Era is set to begin at Duke, even if that “Era” will probably only last about nine months. Barrett is the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, where he could become the third Canadian since 2013 to become the No. 1 overall pick.
“The kid’s a winner and wants to be special…very intelligent,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He’s way ahead of his years as far as maturity. Very, very mature player.”
By ADAM ZAGORIA
When Duke’s official measurements came out last month, freshman sensation Zion Williamson was listed at 6 feet, 7 inches and 285 pounds, causing the Internet to go spastic.
“Zion Williamson is comically large as he enters Duke as a super freshman,” blared one SBNation.com headline.
“Top NBA prospect Zion Williamson would be second-heaviest player in NBA,” declared a Hoopshype.com headline, pointing out that only 7-foot-3 Clippers center Boban Marjanovic weighs more
The SBNation story had several great statistics, including these:
Yet Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski — he of the five NCAA championships and three Olympic gold medals — says he has absolutely no concerns about Williamson’s size and went so far as to call him “graceful.”
“He’s graceful,” Coach K said Friday on a conference call ahead of Duke’s Canadian tour which begins Wednesday in Toronto. “His lateral movement and speed and anticipation is off the charts. He can drive, he can post up, he understands the really game well. I know that everyone has watched him on YouTube with all the dunking and obivously that’s impressive but he’s a heck of a basketball player.”
Coach K added: “He’s a gifted athlete. We’ve never had anyone exactly like him, which is OK. He’s a gifted athlete, a great kid.
