OT: Zion Williamson leaves game after 34sec due to knee injury caused by shoe malfunction
Title says it all. UNC currently blowing Duke out also.
February 21st, 2019 at 2:05 AM ^
I'll say it again, coaches like Saban and Kyrscsdlfisjde-ski aren't where they are because they are just that much better at coaching than everyone else. They are great recruiters...along with some help. It's not surprising he has accomplished so much with the talent he's had to work with. That's not to say they aren't great at what they do, but put them in the NBA or NFL (see Saban) and you'll see just how similar they are to every other coach out there. Beilein is one of the few where the coach makes the players. Most of the time the players make the coach.
February 21st, 2019 at 7:25 AM ^
There is a reason USA basketball turned to Coach K when our Olympic teams started crapping the bed.
Also, Coach K had to sit out an entire season in the 90s for health reasons. That team, filled with Coach K recruited talent, finished under .500 on the year.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
Coach K saw a disaster coming and made a choice to sit out that season. His back problems that year were akin to Meyer's need to spend more time with his family when he left Florida.
February 21st, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
This. The writing was on the wall that Duke was particularly weak that year. Then, afterward his back needed surgery.
February 21st, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^
Recruiting is part of coaching, as is assembling a staff.
February 21st, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
I agree with this. If you cloned Duke's players, gave them to Beilein and then they faced off against Coach K, who would you take?
February 21st, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
Youre underestimating the work involved with handling star players. That's a skill Beilein may not have. Some people are really good at getting the most out of undervalued players, but not great at handling highly touted kids (and vice versa).
So you can't just say Duke would be doing better if Beilein was their coach. That would be a spot Beilein has never been in
February 21st, 2019 at 7:12 AM ^
Coach K is good at his job (coaching). By all appearances he's also a cheater and a hypocrite.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:11 AM ^
Exactly. Only coach K could somehow get public/ESPN empathy for losing this game. The dude has 3 of the top 5 picks, one goes down and the game is over before it starts. Coach K is so overrated, and fuck Duke.
February 21st, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
Yeah it was embarassing how at the end of the game they kept saying 'without Zion/no Williamson', making sure to put an asterisk on UNC's victory. As if UNC didn't just kick the shit out of the rest of Duke's bought and paid for lineup of superstars so it somehow shouldn't count. Duke will probably still be #1 next week.
February 20th, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^
Adidas just received the best marketing opportunity
February 20th, 2019 at 11:36 PM ^
Have another thought to contribute. This dude is a freak of nature. Two weeks ago he deflated a ball(insert link here), and now, he tears through a shoe?
dublap is his true Spencer.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:46 AM ^
...and thinking about the ball incident makes me wonder if he is actually someone for whom special consideration may need to be given with regards to the shoes he specifically wears. The simpler explanation is probably that there is a bad pair in every shipment and he was wearing them last night. Still, unbelievable to see in real time.
I do hope he is OK though. "Light knee sprain" was the word from Coach K this morning, whatever that entails
February 21st, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
He walked off the court under his own power. It didn't actually look that bad.
February 21st, 2019 at 1:19 PM ^
That's not all that uncommon even with a bad sprain. It's lateral movement that's the issue, not walking straight ahead.
February 20th, 2019 at 11:37 PM ^
Man, Nike is praying his injury isn't serious. If he's ok, people will forget this. If not, Nike will forever be tied to blowing out this kid's knee.
February 21st, 2019 at 12:05 AM ^
Per ESPN's front page, Coach K says it's a "mild knee sprain," which sounds about right.
I love Shulman, but he seemed to insist on air that the knee injury was "separate" from the shoe failure. But the injury was clearly a direct result of the shoe failure, as Zion anticipated his foot stopping and was caught in an awkward physical position when it did not.
I'm glad it's not serious for his sake. I don't blame them for shutting him down. Maybe he could have come back out if it were, say, a tournament game. But when there's an existing injury the stability of the joint is incrementally affected, and the rest of the body may compensate. This may have been Duke-UNC but Duke is still getting a #1 seed and probably going to the Final Four regardless.
February 21st, 2019 at 1:21 AM ^
They won't be a 1 seed if they keep playing like that. They looked pretty ordinary without The Destroyer of Worlds out there.
February 21st, 2019 at 4:39 AM ^
So now the question is: Does he shut it down? This would change the landscape of the tournament.
February 21st, 2019 at 1:22 PM ^
That Shulman comment got me thinking: are shoe companies the third rail of American sport?
February 20th, 2019 at 11:39 PM ^
That game looked like an open gym (with super athletes). No discipline, no strategy, just go as fast as possible and chuck up a shot. Ugly, ugly basketball
February 21st, 2019 at 6:16 AM ^
glad i wasn’t the only one who thought that. Gross style but it was exciting to see the speed.
February 21st, 2019 at 7:13 AM ^
Exactly right...it was a horrible game to watch. Nothing but a bunch of guys showing off for the NBA and the shoe companies. No defense, other than trying to swat shots, no team play. I think there is probably an unspoken agreement (or maybe spoken) between players on teams like that to not interfere too much with each other’s highlight making.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:01 AM ^
Last night reminded me why Michigan had their way with UNC and why I think Michigan cold hold their own against Duke: tempo and turnovers.
Beilein has typically had his way (once he's had 'better' talent) against teams that feast off of turnovers, tempo and athleticism. Making these teams be sharp on both ends for a full 30 seconds would tip the scales at least even with Michigan if not give them an advantage.
February 21st, 2019 at 1:03 PM ^
I like your point(s) a lot. Furthermore, there is so much HS age talent out there today-across all sports. This is why coaching is, counter-intuitively, increasingly important to winning-not less. Sure, there are layers of talent and the "Dukes" (paying the big bucks) distort the playing field but (even) they have got to execute or they will be taken down by the existing parity. And actually, Michigan is "exhibit A" here...look who they have lost to!!! You had better show up and play the game!
February 21st, 2019 at 12:02 AM ^
So this has obviously raised a lot of talk about the veneer of amateurism that is awkwardly crazy-glued to the surface of big-time college sports.
Williamson is about to be the #1 overall draft pick with a big basketball contract and the potential for huge endorsement money, including shoe money.
He has become a huge star this year. Biggest I can remember since KD and Oden were the big names in the same season, and given the quality of his team, he has/had the potential to exceed both in attention (KD was a second-round exit if I remember correctly) prior to the conclusion of his "amateur" career.
Obviously he's not really working for free. There is testimony of Adidas reps attempting to swing a deal to pay for his services. It is almost certain that going to Duke was more lucrative, and highly probably that Nike itself was a source for at least a significant portion of the cash involved.
But Nike really gets him at a bargain rate. For a year of Williamson leading highlight shows and going viral on social media twice a week wearing Nike equipment, they just had to pay a bit more under-the-table money to get him to a prime Nike school. $250k? Adidas was talking $100k or so less than that, I think. That's not a lot, and for that Nike gets control of his image (through their well-paid friends at Duke) for a year and gets the inside track at signing him after he goes pro.
And he is a phenomenon. The best player in college basketball in years, probably. Astonishing almost literally from the tip of the season. And now drawing $2000 + per seat for a regular season game. Based on what he is, and, importantly (especially for him) what he may become.
And then in 30 seconds a shoe--made by that sponsor that doesn't even have to officially consider him an employee or a contractor--disintegrates and jeopardizes his season, his draft, and everything that comes after.
That just ain't right.
People who just say "pay the players" are barking up the wrong tree. Title IX, non-revenue athletes, etc. Even $50k a year doesn't approach this guy's value.
Forget the athletic department. Guys like Zion Williamson should be allowed to sell their NIL rights. They should be allowed to be sponsored. He should be allowed to endorse Triangle-area businesses and appear on their billboards. Perhaps he should be allowed to take shoe company bids, over the table, to assess his true value (I think there might need to be some safeguards installed to prevent shoe companies from controlling recruiting and schools too much, but let the guy make money).
Let the guys (and gals, like Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky and Brittney Griner) earn what they're worth.
I'd love for someone like Zion to sue the Shoe Company/School conglomerate for conspiring to deprive him of earnings and win. But it would be nice if the fraud NCAA would just take this fairly reasonable step to allow athletes to make what they're worth outside of the school without jeopardizing their eligibility.
February 21st, 2019 at 5:48 AM ^
Just let em’ jump right to the NBA from high school, or junior high, or elementary. Those games are meaningless anyway.
February 21st, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
That's actually my take on it. If they are good enough (in any sport) let them go after high school. If they decide they want to go to college for a free education and free training then they need to stay 3 years.
February 21st, 2019 at 1:34 AM ^
Weird night in college hoops. Georgia loses to Mississippi State (a team hanging around the NCAA bubble) by 1 after being assessed a technical in the game's final second, because some fan threw a "stuffed UGA" on the court. That got Tom Crean on the microphone to yell at the UGA fans, although he didn't go Sam Wyche on them.
February 21st, 2019 at 5:36 AM ^
THANKS OBAMA
February 21st, 2019 at 8:53 AM ^
#ManCrushThursday
February 21st, 2019 at 5:50 AM ^
I have been saying for some time that you cannot have a guy the size of an offensive tackle (6'7" 280 pounds) rely so much on change of direction offense without injury. Zion is 20 pounds heavier than Charles (round mound) Barkley was as a pro but Barkley played mostly with his back to the basket and was not relying on faking a guy 60 pounds lighter off his feet for his offense.
Don't get me wrong, Zion is an incredible athlete and has demonstrated he has this ability, but at what point do his ankles and knees pay a price under the incredible stress they are placed under?
February 21st, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
I think it was more the shoe than his body. He has not had injuries to this point, he simply had a defective shoe on. The same thing happened to Ginobli a while back, but fortunately he was not injured.
February 21st, 2019 at 6:14 AM ^
s is seconds, sec is secant
February 21st, 2019 at 6:14 AM ^
should’ve copped those big baller shoes.
February 21st, 2019 at 6:22 AM ^
Freak Athlete and Freak Injury. Hope you recover quickly Zion!
February 21st, 2019 at 7:04 AM ^
If anyone else watched that game, I'm sure you were impressed, as I was, at the lack of defense played by these "one and dones" at Duke. Gave UNC, and Luke Maye in particular free driving lanes to the hoop for dozens of layups or dunks. I like our chances if we get to play Duke in the tourney
Oh yeah, Nevada went down hard to SDSU last night. Beat Mine and MSU this week
February 21st, 2019 at 7:28 AM ^
So much this. I really wish it would have been Dakich calling this game instead of Bilas. Dakich would not have shut the fuck up about how atrocious Dukes defense was. Bilas would barely mention it.
February 21st, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
Bilas did remind us every couple minutes of the injury. Freaking Duke homer. How is he allowed to work their games? I mean, ESPN has so much integrity that they won’t let Herbstreit predict games he is working.
I hope this game becomes known as the start of “The Curse of Obama” a la the Cubs and the Billy Goat and Duke goes at least 100 years before winning again.
February 22nd, 2019 at 4:11 PM ^
Same way Herby gets to do the Buckeyes...;-)
February 21st, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
Yeah, and UNC still gets Duke at home in a little over 2 weeks. Their hardest game until then is at Clemson, and (earlier but more heavily favored) at home vs FSU. UNC could possibly be a 26-5 team with three wins over the top 2 teams (2x Duke, 1x Gonzaga), 3 close losses including to VA and UK, and a slew of wins over top 25 teams, and even more quad 1 wins.
UNC could make Michigan's blowout look pretty good.
February 21st, 2019 at 7:28 AM ^
Kids just can't make Nike shoes like they use to .
February 21st, 2019 at 8:05 AM ^
I stopped buying Nike shoes a LONG time ago because the 7-year-olds stitching them together in sweat shops didn't make very durable shoes. Their business model changed, and I bought some cleats from them a few years ago...which promptly blew out just like Zion Williamson's.
February 21st, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^
DITTO... I went to Adidas and do not regret it...
February 21st, 2019 at 9:13 AM ^
I stopped buying them years ago too. I've never had 1 pair of Nike shoes that were as comfortable as any pair of Adidas I've had.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:35 AM ^
yea my new nike tennis shoes' glue was falling apart after playing on a relative hot day. never bought a nike gear after that.
i am only buying puma these days. cheaper and looks better too.
February 21st, 2019 at 8:35 AM ^
Do these kids get new shoes for every game? Or has he worn those a few times? That guy is a freak athlete at his size, and to stop like that a shoe or a knee is going to give out sooner or later. Just ask Bo Jackson how much being the best athlete in the world effects your body.
February 21st, 2019 at 8:39 AM ^
Jay Bilas claims it was 33 seconds
February 21st, 2019 at 8:50 AM ^
This is why I have been an Adidas fan for over 20 years... I will never forget when my $85 pair of Andre Agassi (that was a lot in 1988) came apart after only having them for 2 months... I switched to the brand w/ three stripes, mad props to RUN DMC, and have never looked back... I have one pair of Nike Brand Michigan shoes that I hate but it has Michigan on them... Beauty is Pain or so I have heard...
February 21st, 2019 at 8:53 AM ^
Here's the big question in all of this: if you're Zion, do you shut it down now and start prepping for the NBA? You're pretty much the consensus #1 overall pick for the draft, so your stock literally can't go any higher. I know last night was a freak accident with his shoe, but its really worth considering if this injury is anything more than day-to-day. If he comes back and injures himself again, how much money could he lose over it?
If its just day-to-day, the only question will just be how much he wants to come back and win a national championship with his teammates. When he's on the floor, Duke is the odds-on favorite to win it all. Without him, Duke is still a favorite, but I don't think they'd be a consensus favorite. The door would swing wide open for the rest of the top-10 to take advantage.