Duke’s prized freshman forward Zion Williamson has taken the college basketball world by storm, but he suffered an injury Wednesday night and The Action Network’s Darren Rovell didn’t have the greatest reaction.
Over the last few years, Williamson has become a mythical Paul Bunyan-like figure due to his size, an array of high-flying ferocious dunks and now perceived destiny to be taken by the New York Knicks with the No. 1 overall pick.
The 18-year-old has lived up to the hype throughout his freshman season with the Blue Devils, averaging 21.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while shooting an astronomical 68.3 percent from the field. The forward has become the biggest name in the college basketball world to the point where tickets for Wednesday’s rivalry game between No. 1 Duke and the No. 8 North Carolina were selling for upwards of $2,500 a piece.
Those big spenders didn’t see the young star for long, though, as Williamson exited the game in the first minute after injuring his knee when his shoe exploded, causing him to do the splits while his right knee buckled.
In the wake of Williamson’s injury, many took to Twitter to show support for the young forward, but not Rovell, who was more concerned with Nike’s stock after seeing their shoe rip during college basketball’s biggest game.
Although Williamson is the odds-on favorite to be selected No. 1 overall come June, he currently is a student-athlete at Duke playing for a scholarship, not a check. Coach Mike Krzyzewski announced the forward luckily avoided serious injury suffering only a mild knee sprain and would be re-evaluated Thursday.
The faulty shoe may cost Nike a pretty penny in the short term, but there’s no doubt the Swoosh will recover. If Williamson’s injury was more serious, it could’ve hurt the 18-year-old’s draft stock and cost him millions of dollars in future earnings.
Twitter, of course, didn’t take too kindly to Rovell’s response.
Put some ice on it, Darren.
