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Evans Seven: Friends, coaches, others on Zion Williamson's future

Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson (Bob Blanchard/Basketball Hall of Fame)

Is Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, or North Carolina ready to celebrate a blue chip commitment? Or does South Carolina or Clemson have what it takes to keep their native prodigy home? Zion Williamson, the most heavily followed prospect during the social media era, will announce his college decision Saturday. In this week’s Evans Seven, we asked a handful of past teammates, opponents, college coaches, travel coaches and NBA personnel their thoughts on the class of 2018 five-star.

MORE: Rivals150 for 2018 | Williamson talks final schools before decision date

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1. THOUGHTS FROM A FRIEND/FELLOW PLAYER

There was talk in the spring and summer that Williamson could team up in college with good friend and fellow peer from the adidas circuit, five-star guard Immanuel Quickley. This could still hold true if Williamson selects Kentucky on Saturday. We asked Quickley what makes Williamson stand out from other players, the difficulties of facing him and what it is like playing alongside him.

“It is his ability to dominate on both offense and defense. A lot of people just see the dunks, but when you look at his game, he can play defense and block shots - and obviously the other things that you see on the offensive end. But I just think it is his ability to dominate on both sides.

“On offense, when you are driving to the bucket and somebody is coming behind you to block your shot and throw it into the stands. But then when you are on defense and you have to double him, he finds open teammates. It is just hard on both ends.

“For me, starting on defense, I can pressure the ball because I know that somebody can protect the rim in Zion. But on offense, it just makes it easy because he can score the ball easily and he commands double teams and triple teams. It is just easy for me, along with his athleticism.”

PREDICTION: “Kentucky. I just think that the relationship that we built up over the past couple of years is really special, and hopefully he chooses Kentucky.”

2. THOUGHTS FROM A NORTH CAROLINA PROSPECT 

Nassir Little is a top-five prospect headed to North Carolina, a program that remains heavily entrenched in the recruitment of Williamson. Little has played against Williamson on the adidas circuit and enjoyed playing next to him during a stint at the USA Basketball trials in October. We asked Little what makes Williamson unique and what it is like to defend him and play with him.

“With his size and with his strength, I think that he moves really well. He handles the ball pretty well and is hyper-athletic and he just plays really hard.

“You just have to stop him from getting to the paint. Force him to shoot jump shots. If you let him get into the paint and post up, more times than not, he is going to score.

“It is good playing with him, since he opens up shots for other people. A lot of focus is on him and he just brings so much athleticism to the court, which really helps.”

PREDICTION: “I hope that he goes to UNC, but I am not really sure because he is hard to read. But I hope he becomes a Tar Heel."

3. THOUGHTS FROM A BASKETBALL TRAVEL PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Rhossi Carron is the director of the Basketball University travel program on the adidas circuit, a group that was bolstered by the talents of five-star and Kansas-bound guard Quentin Grimes. We asked Carron what it was like seeing and following Williamson for the past few years on the adidas circuit and what makes him so unique.

“His physical gifts; Zion is a generational player. He is going to be the kind of guy that only comes around once every 10 years. To have that much size, strength, weight and athleticism - all in one body - that is something you don’t see often. I think one of the things that make him so special is that even with all of that, he is not a utility player. He is still a primary guy. He can pass, he can think, he can handle the ball, but he does have to improve his shooting. He is just so versatile, though, and can do so many things. He is just so dangerous and exciting to watch. A lot of people talk about his potential and if he can be good long-term, but that kid has had success at every level and I don’t think that is going to change. I don’t think you can guard him with one guy and as he improves his shooting I think he is going to be a serious problem at the next level and beyond.”

PREDICTION: “I have no clue at all. I do know that wherever he goes to school, he is going to be a star. You cannot guard that kid with one player. The important thing for him is having other good players around him wherever he goes to school so that when he does get double-teamed he can make passes and (make) others around him better, which I think he is really good at, since he is so unselfish. He has such a great spirit, great personality, really likable and I just enjoy watching him play. But that kid is a star.”

4. THOUGHTS FROM AN NBA REGIONAL SCOUTING DIRECTOR

The NBA is the ultimate destination for any prospect. There have been questions pertaining to Williamson’s upside and how he fits in today’s NBA game. We asked an NBA regional scouting director his thoughts on Williamson and some of the hurdles that he might face.

“In terms of being a pro prospect, he is kind of caught in between positions - but that is not a bad thing in a new NBA. The bigger issue for him moving forward is the ability to stretch the floor. At his size, he is going to have to be able to stretch the floor in order to get onto the floor. He is going to have to be able to guard multiple positions, be able to guard 3s and 4s. Obviously, he is a really good rebounder because of his athletic ability, and that is something that translates. The biggest question that I have is: Will he be able to shoot it well enough to impact the NBA game? There still is plenty of time, but that is definitely one of the areas that he has to shore up.

“I would be lying to you if I said that I have watched him a ton, but his athletic ability is going to allow for to him play at a high level for a long time if his skill set catches up. I am talking about his ball handling and shooting. Everybody wants guys like the Draymond Greens of the world (or) a P.J. Tucker from a defensive standpoint. Jae Crowder kind of has that body type, but not that type of athleticism. Those guys all defend. Draymond can facilitate and shoot it. Jae can knock down a shot or two, but all of those guys can defend and none of them are non-factors offensively. If you leave them open, they can knock down a shot, and that is the point that he has to get to for his size.”

WHERE SHOULD HE GO FOR NBA LONGEVITY?Kentucky has the better track record, I think, in regards to putting guys in the NBA and having success - and Duke is starting to catch up with the one-and-dones. To me, it would be Carolina, Kentucky or South Carolina.”

5. THOUGHTS FROM AN SEC ASSISTANT COACH 

South Carolina or Kentucky could receive the commitment of Williamson, so we asked an assistant coach at an SEC program his thoughts on the five-star player and how he would go about defending him if Williamson lands in the SEC.

“Obviously, it is his physical abilities, which is the first thing that stands out about him. I think he is competitive. He is just so talented physically, and once he puts it all together he is going to be really good.

“In transition, you have to guard him with multiple people. Make him a jump shooter.”

PREDICTION: Clemson.

6. THOUGHTS FROM AN ACC ASSISTANT COACH 

Williamson could also select Duke, Clemson or UNC. So we asked an assistant coach from an ACC program his thoughts on Williamson and what it would take to stop the dominant forward.

“He is an ox. He is a man among boys at the high school level. Obviously, his athleticism speaks for itself. He is a YouTube, Instagram, Twitter phenomenon. Maybe one of the most well-known players, arguably since LeBron (James) at the high school ranks. (He) has a chance to be a really good player at the college level with his size, athleticism and strength. It is going to be hard for bigs to match up with him. He has to get better with the ball and with his perimeter shooting - those are probably the two things that he struggles with the most - but he is going to be an elite-level player at the college level.

“I think for one, you have to play off of him, because he hasn’t proven to be an elite- level shooter from the perimeter and we know how important shooting is nowadays. If you play off of him, you worry that if he is able to get downhill and get an angle and get to the basket. I really don’t know though. That would be something we would have to worry about this time next year, but my initial thought would be if he has the ball to play off of him and if he catches the ball on the block, you have to double team.”

PREDICTION: Kentucky. “I don’t think it's Clemson; I think it is Kentucky. I don’t know if they are still in the mix, but for some reason I think it is Kentucky.”

7. FINAL THOUGHTS FROM COREY EVANS

Working for NY2LA Sports at the time, I had one of the first opportunities to profile Williamson, who was a 6-foot-3 freshman wing playing for the SC Hornets at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. In May of 2015, Williamson didn’t hold a Division I scholarship offer, but the next 30 months proved that my first assessment of the now top-three prospect was more than fair.

Yeah, this kid is good! A practical unknown heading into the weekend, the rising sophomore did it all for his squad on a Sunday matinee outing. The lefty can score at every level on the floor and already has so many dimensions within his arsenal. He always makes the right play with the ball and the game just comes so easy for him. With the look of a younger James Harden to him, Williamson might not be as fully developed physically as some of the top kids in his class nationally, but pound for pound, there aren’t many kids more talented.”

PREDICTION: Clemson. Williamson has always done things on his own terms and has taken great pride in representing his home state. The Tigers allow Williamson to do just that as he chooses Clemson on Saturday evening.

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