New Orleans Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson made a huge impact for the Duke Blue Devils in his one season of college basketball.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft solidified his status as a top prospect after a dominant collegiate season, averaging 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in 30 minutes per game and drawing plenty of praise.
According to the College-Basketball-Reference page, Williamson won 26 awards in one season, including AP Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year and All-American.
Duke went 32-6 that season and lost in the Elite Eight to the Michigan State Spartans, but that team featured fellow top-10 picks RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish. Overall, seven players from that year's Blue Devils team went on to play in the NBA.
Of course, not everyone takes the same path to becoming a professional basketball player — Williamson played one season in college, but some players, including international prospects, never make it to the college league at all.
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic did just that.
He began his professional career with Real Madrid at age 15. He was selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 NBA Draft and was traded to the Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights to Trae Young.
Young played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. If Doncic had gone to college in the US, where would he have gone?
Williamson offered some speculation.
Pelicans star Doncic, Orlando Magic's Paolo Banchero and Jayson Tatum of the defending champion Boston Celtics recently spent time together overseas at a Jordan Brand event.
Many videos about their trip have gone viral, but one that's been going viral lately is one in which they all answer questions about where the Slovenian native went to college.
Williamson listed the USC Trojans, Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators as his three options, and even though the Gonzaga Bulldogs were suggested, he doesn't think it was an option.
Luca said that if he had gone to college in the US, he would have gone to Arizona. pic.twitter.com/R3mAcHYse7
— Overtime (@overtime) September 21, 2024
Banchero and Tatum, both Duke graduates, gave different answers, with the Magic star thinking Doncic would have gone to the Blue Devils, while Tatum suggested a school out west, possibly the Arizona Wildcats, which Doncic also picked.
