Should Zion Williamson Skip the Rest of the College Season?
Photo: Grant Halverson/Getty Images
A very interesting article came across my twitter feed today, written by Charlotte Observer’s Langston Wertz Jr. In it, Wertz described how NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen believes Duke star Zion Williamson should skip the rest of the college basketball season to start preparing for the NBA draft. Pippen believes that Williamson has already done enough to solidify the number one pick in the draft and lock up the biggest shoe deal. He and Tracy McGrady, former NBA star, compared his situation to the trend of college football players skipping bowl games to prepare for their NFL careers.
Before I type anything else, I feel like I should mention I’m a UNC fan. Now with that being said, I absolutely do not think Zion Williamson should skip the rest of his college career. I don’t like the college football trend, and I wouldn’t like it in basketball, even if it is a Duke player. Zion made a commitment to play basketball for Duke. He didn’t make a commitment to play half a season and then quit right before the heart of the ACC schedule and the looming March Madness schedule. That would be quitting, plain and simple. That would be quitting on the fans, the university, the program, and most importantly, his coaches and teammates. It would send the wrong message to college athletes, and future college athletes, everywhere. Without a doubt, it would start a trend.
Scottie Pippen is right that Williamson will be the number one pick. And he will make tons of money on a shoe deal. His talent is limitless, and he just seems to have a superstar persona about him already. By playing the rest of this season would be to put himself at risk of losing draft stock and potential money. But everything in life is a risk. Do people think he should live the next five months of his life in a bubble to diminish any chance of possible injury before the draft? Even if he did sit out the rest of the year, he would play pick-up ball and participate in other physically demanding activities that could potentially injure him. It’s really all about the principle here. Doing what is right would be to put your team first and finish what you said you would do. To do what is wrong would be to quit on your team, not follow through with your athletic commitment, and tell the world it is all about yourself. Zion seems like a good kid and the ultimate competitor, so in no way do I see him skipping the rest of this season, no matter how many people try to convince him to. And if that’s what happens, good for him.
Note: An easy way to fix this would be to let kids go from high school straight to the draft like they used to. Some are ready for it, like Zion Williamson. The “one-and-done” has hurt college basketball far more than it has helped. But that’s for another story.
Garett