2003 Top 50 List: Not eligible
Dan Collins List: Not eligible
I’ll be honest, I have no idea what to do with Zion Williamson. In terms of peak value, he’s probably one of the ten greatest players in ACC history. In terms of career value, he’s probably not in the top 300.
One of the many things I learned from reading Bill James is that in sports, greatness is associated with uniqueness. The greater a player is, the more unique he is. Let me illustrate what I mean. I’m going to give you statistical records of two players. Pause for a minute and see if you can identify them.
| Player 1 | G | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Year 1 | 35 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.462 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.391 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.778 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0 | 1.8 |
| Year 2 | 35 | 2.7 | 6.2 | 0.431 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.347 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.724 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 8.1 |
| Year 3 | 33 | 3.6 | 7.2 | 0.506 | 2 | 4 | 0.496 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.719 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 10.5 |
| Year 4 | 32 | 4.3 | 10 | 0.425 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 0.395 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.709 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 1 | 0 | 12.7 |
| Career | 135 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 0.452 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 0.412 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.719 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 8.1 |
| Player 2 | G | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Year 1 | 33 | 4.5 | 10.9 | 0.413 | 2.9 | 7.2 | 0.399 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 0.919 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 15 |
| Year 2 | 37 | 4.6 | 11 | 0.423 | 2.8 | 7 | 0.395 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 0.953 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 15.9 |
| Year 3 | 33 | 6.1 | 15 | 0.408 | 3.7 | 9.1 | 0.403 | 5.9 | 6.3 | 0.938 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 21.8 |
| Year 4 | 36 | 8.4 | 17.9 | 0.47 | 3.9 | 9.2 | 0.421 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 0.863 | 2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 26.8 |
| Career | 139 | 5.9 | 13.7 | 0.433 | 3.3 | 8.1 | 0.406 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 0.912 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 19.9 |
I’m guessing that no one was able to identify Player 1 as Dante Calabria. Why? Because it would be fairly easy to find 20 other players with similar statistical profiles. There is nothing that stands out. On the other hand, I’m guessing that many ACC fans would be able to identify Player 2 as JJ Redick.
I say all that to say, Zion Williamson is perhaps the most unique (with apologies for that ungrammatical construction) player in college basketball history. Who are you going to compare him to? His stats are unique. His game is unique. He’s a uniquely gifted athlete.
Here’s another way I like to think about it in terms of a thought exercise: suppose a wizard cast a spell on you that impaired your vision such that every player on the court looked like a silhouette. Whom would you be able to recognize? I suggest that you would be able to recognize the all-time greats instantly. Jordan, Magic, Bird, Ewing, Olajuwon, Shaq, Barkley, Kobe… after 30 seconds, you would know them by their silhouettes. Well, Zion is like that. His silhouette would be instantly recognizable.
He is one of the three greatest freshmen in the history of college basketball; only Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis are at his level. In his one year at Duke, he accomplished everything it’s possible to accomplish, except win a national championship. He was ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, unanimous All-American, and National Player of the Year – and only the eighth player in ACC history to accomplish all of those in the same season (Heyman, Laettner, Jamison, Brand, Battier, Redick, Hansbrough).
He’s the only one-and-done player on the list. I am not generally seeking to reward or recognize Duke’s one-and-done players for their contributions; honestly I can’t keep track of them all. But I felt that I had to recognize the greatness, and the uniqueness, of Williamson.