Zion skillset
- Thread starter jwheat
- Start date
I'm sure you've probably seen as much or more of Williamson as I have. But in the games and videos I've seen, he always makes me immediately think of Charles Barkley when he was at Auburn. By that I mean just a freakish, unusual mish-mash of size strength and athleticism.
So, I think he's just going to score through people and over people, rebound and block shots against taller players like they were actually shorter than him, etc. Basically, the same sort of things that used to drive many of us young UK fans crazy when Barkley was at Auburn. I don't think anything in basketball shocked me anymore than learning (later in Barkley's NBA career) that he wasn't actually 6'8".
LMAO he can drive and post up.
Remarkable ball handler for his size.
The kid will be a stud.
Everyone needs to move on.
We will be fine.
Remarkable ball handler for his size.
The kid will be a stud.
Everyone needs to move on.
We will be fine.
Best thing K has done is learn from Cal's mistake in 2015 with platooning. K will bring back just enough just enough players to blend with the freshmen. This way they get the majority of shots and minutes but there's experienced players to help out.
If he did come here, he’d foul out in the first 5 minutes of the game. He will be able to get away with anything at Duke though.
It will be funny to see if K can teach a 6-6 275 pound man to flop every time an offensive player touches him.
I would have loved to have Zion here. Truly. However, besides dunking and blocking shots on mixtapes, I haven’t seen anything else from him. Also, all his mixtapes are against competition that is much smaller and less skilled.
I am going to wait to hold judgement. Not many freshmen ever come in and are the best player by far in college ball. There is a reason for that. It takes time to get up to speed, get used to playing against people who are just as good, if not better, etc.
He may come in and have an AD type impact or he may be just above average. I will get excited about our team and the kids who want to be here.
I am going to wait to hold judgement. Not many freshmen ever come in and are the best player by far in college ball. There is a reason for that. It takes time to get up to speed, get used to playing against people who are just as good, if not better, etc.
He may come in and have an AD type impact or he may be just above average. I will get excited about our team and the kids who want to be here.
Honestly he is so damn good he can fit into any system. Especially theirs. He will be living in the paint and average over 20 pts a game. He is imo the best player cal has ever recruited not to choose uk
Have you ever seen Zion play in the post? Or use a low post move? Yea me either!
Better version of Poythress. He won't progress at all at Duke, especially given the talent logjam they have.
If you haven't watched Zion's mixtape and seen that he is an EXCEPTIONAL ball handler for his size then you are delusional. He has tremendous speed for someone who weighs 265 pounds. His size and speed will make him impossible to stop. Unbelievable athlete that has skills to go with it. The ONLY thing he doesn't do extremely well is shoot.
What I have seen of this kid is not that impressive compared to the hype. I am not sure why some UK fans thought he was a must have recruit. I am not saying he is bad or horrible but just not as good as all the hype.
He has the speed and body control of a 6"5 210 pound shooting guard. You take it as it reads.
I'm just not sure why everyone is ignoring the numbers he has put up against top competition at the NBAPA and on the AAU Circuit.
I seriously don’t know what those numbers are. All the mixtapes I have seen look like he plays kids half his size.
Are they good?
You are clearly seeing something I am not seeing. I honestly don't see it at all.
I think you overestimate his speed. He isn’t that fast for a 6’6 guy. He is fast for a 275 pound guy. He has decent handles and a good ability to score at the rim. Has no scoring ability outside 10 feet and needs to work on that. Will need to lose 25-30 lbs to be elite at the collegiate level. Definitely a huge upside potentially but his height willl hurt him playing 6’9+ guys if he played the 4 and his weight will hurt him if he plays the 3. Think he can gaurd a quick athletic 6’6 SF? Not a chance.
I think you make a valid point about the concern over his ability to guard the 3. His lateral quickness is questionable at the 3. I'll give you that.
I just don't see him struggling in college. Maybe in the NBA, but in college he will be a beast from day one.
Poor man’s chuck Hayes. Bwahahahahha. He will play he same way Justice Winslow played via face up drives and like Julius Randle played
That’s because you have only seen highlight mix tapes. He isn’t ranked as high as just because he is big and can dunk (many players can do that). When he goes to the camps with other top players he does much more hence why he is got a couple MVP’s
Thank you Jakarii, some of those guys here act like he gets his ranking because he has a cool name or something.
The kid is good, and will be really good at the collegiate level.
Actually you underrate his speed, he has blown past not only small forwards but sg and point guards as well. If you google his camp scouting reports the past two years you’ll see his speed is a major strength even when guarded by smaller wings.
Basically we will hear the same things you heard about Julius Randle when he didn’t pick Duke, UNC, KU
“He’s too small”
“He won’t be over to over power college players”
“Can’t score outside of the paint so he will be easy to guard”
“Selfish”
And all the other hating comments because he did t go to the school that the fan wanted him to go to. And just Like Randle, Zion will make those hating fans eat crow via dominating and playing his way right into a top 3 NBA draft pick.
Zion isn’t flawless, he can’t shoot yet but a couple things EVERY reputable Scout says
He’s an elite athlete on any level including NBA
He has elite strength
He is a very high level passer
He is a very good ball handler (was a guard until 10th grade)
He has elite quickness for his size
He is a elite finisher
He is a very good rebounder
He is a great help side defender
His strengths not weakness would change if he went to KU, UNC, UK, UL or the moon. Fans that say other wise are just salty spewing sour grapes because he didn’t pick their college. It’s that simple
Basically we will hear the same things you heard about Julius Randle when he didn’t pick Duke, UNC, KU
“He’s too small”
“He won’t be over to over power college players”
“Can’t score outside of the paint so he will be easy to guard”
“Selfish”
And all the other hating comments because he did t go to the school that the fan wanted him to go to. And just Like Randle, Zion will make those hating fans eat crow via dominating and playing his way right into a top 3 NBA draft pick.
Zion isn’t flawless, he can’t shoot yet but a couple things EVERY reputable Scout says
He’s an elite athlete on any level including NBA
He has elite strength
He is a very high level passer
He is a very good ball handler (was a guard until 10th grade)
He has elite quickness for his size
He is a elite finisher
He is a very good rebounder
He is a great help side defender
His strengths not weakness would change if he went to KU, UNC, UK, UL or the moon. Fans that say other wise are just salty spewing sour grapes because he didn’t pick their college. It’s that simple
I quit reading when you went off on the "hating" comments because it shows you lack any basic objectivity in the discussion. I do the same to other posters. The word "hate" is the most over-used word on this board.
Yep. Happens every year when a kid picks a different college. After checking other boards this is what I found through the years
After SGA decommitted from FL and pick UK
“He isn’t that good, he will be stuck on the bench for four years”
When Randle picked UK
“He won’t be able to over power college players”
Ulis picked UK over MSU
“He will be there for four years and be recruited over”
Noel
“He will get pushed around and get scored on easily”
Anthony Davis
“His highlights just showed him dunking, he won’t be able to do that in college because he’s skinny”. Later “Thomas Robinson is better and will dominate him”
Please don’t be those dummy fans
After SGA decommitted from FL and pick UK
“He isn’t that good, he will be stuck on the bench for four years”
When Randle picked UK
“He won’t be able to over power college players”
Ulis picked UK over MSU
“He will be there for four years and be recruited over”
Noel
“He will get pushed around and get scored on easily”
Anthony Davis
“His highlights just showed him dunking, he won’t be able to do that in college because he’s skinny”. Later “Thomas Robinson is better and will dominate him”
Please don’t be those dummy fans
I’ll trust nba scouts over yours. I’ve also watched 7 of his high school games, and not once watched a mixtape. So no I’m not basing this off mixtapes. He is quick for his size because literally no one else is his size. His passing is not elite and he will struggle to defend. Not trying to argue, this is an opinion.
“Very undersized at around 6'6 , Williamson has long arms, big hands and a strong frame to compensate for his lack of height as a big man, and is more athletic than he appears on first glance. He is fluid, nimble and very quick off his feet, demonstrating outstanding body control that makes him very difficult for other players his age to handle when considering his strength and dexterity. He's also fairly skilled, showing the ability to create his own shot from the perimeter with impressive footwork and ball-handling skills, making him a difficult matchup in one on one situations that most big men his age simply aren't accustomed to dealing with. He's a handful to deal with in the post as he's difficult to keep a body on, and will try to tear the rim down exploding off two feet if given the opportunity. He even shows some ability to knock down jump-shots off the dribble with solld form and touch, although he doesn't quite know his limitations in this area just yet, having a tendency to force the issue and freeze out his teammates at times. He's not a great passer on top of that, being extremely focused on trying to score almost every time he touches the ball. Left-handed, he wants to get back to his dominant hand almost at all costs, which can make him a little predictable at times with his moves. Defensively, Williamson has some impressive instincts, being the type of player who is always around the ball thanks to his natural feel for the game, but doesn't show much interest in making his presence felt on this end of the floor at this stage. His intensity level is low, as he's usually standing straight up rather than trying to get into a fundamentally sound stance, and doesn't show any urgency in closing out on the perimeter or putting a body on opponents. This isn't rare for a player his age, but considering his lack of size, he'll need to put a better effort in to not emerge as a liability in this area down the road”
Like I said, he can handle the ball for a big man, finish at the rim with the best of them. We will see next year how the rest of his game translates.
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He was a decent get for puke. He is overrated and I’m not too upset we didn’t end up having to take him. He will play too slow and too small in college. He can push little kids in HS but will be destroyed in college. He will disappear and good riddance
Dont you think Duke will play a lot of zone? Not sure Zion could guard a guy like Ayton or Bamba for that matter. But he can guard 1-4 pretty easily. Unless a PG has the speed of Fox, zion can defend all those other positions and lets face it majority of college centers. not really seen zion in iso situations or actual half court offense, but he has the skill set to learn pretty quickly. down low he will be doubled quick. hope he is a good passer.
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