When potential future lottery pick Jalen Green opted to sign with the G League’s new NBA development team, speculation was flying that it drastically could change college basketball forever.
After his signing, a few other elite prospects decomitted from school and follow his trend, causing criticism of the initiative from college coaches.
But it also sparked a lot of conversation about which players would have taken advantage of these new options. And when it comes to polarizing rookie Zion Williamson, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski thinks the New Orleans Pelican benefitted significantly by going to Duke.
He explained why on “ESPN Daily with Mina Kimes.”
“If you look back, Mina, at Zion coming into Duke, R.J. Barrett was the star of that class,” Wojnarowski said. “R.J. Barrett was the number one player on the country. He was supposed to be the No. 1 pick of the draft. Very quickly Zion changed that when he got to Duke.”
Of course, Williamson was pretty famous before he ever committed to the Blue Devils, especially around elite high school basketball circuits. His mixtapes and dunking ability made him a YouTube sensation at Spartanburg Day School, and his following was massive by the time he committed to play for coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Still, as noted by Wojnarowski, he wasn’t necessarily viewed as an all-around player. His time at Duke, and on national television, fixed that.
“There is no question that Duke, and what he did on that stage, it made him a lot of money,” Wojnarowski said. “I don’t believe that if Zion had gone to a similar setup where he’s just training in a gym in Southern California, playing exhibitions, they’re not going to watch him like an ACC game, 9 o’clock on ESPN.”
College basketball still may be the right move for prospects. The important thing is, that now they have more options for the year between high school and NBA eligibility.
