It’s been two and a half weeks now since Duke “welcomed” the Tar Heels into Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first meeting of the season between these historic rival squads. Duke was then the top ranked team in the country behind a star studded lineup including #1 and #2 ranked 2019 NBA Draft prospects in forward Zion Williamson and guard RJ Barrett, respectively. The Blue Devils are heavily favored over the #8 Heels. Former president Barack Obama and many more basketball nuts make the environment absolutely electric on a Wednesday night in Durham.
Duke wins the tip and secures the first possession. The roof is already about to blow in Cameron Indoor. With the shot clock expiring, the Blue Devils’ beloved star Zion Williamson comes around the wing to take a hand off from fellow freshman Cam Reddish. As Zion approaches the top of the key, he dribbles aggressively to his right before planting on his left foot to spin back and reverse court. Unfortunately, Zion’s size 11 Paul George signature Nike shoe did not agree with this move, and his foot busts right through the sole as Williamson falls to the ground awkwardly and loses the ball.
UNC quickly takes the ball back for a fast break score, but no one is watching the ball. All eyes are on the nation’s most promising prospect, rolling on the floor, appearing to be in excruciating pain. Williamson is okay however. He is helped off the court and it is later determined that he had sustained a right knee sprain.
With Zion out early, Duke is left without their best defender, rebounder, and one of their top scorers. He is the heart and soul of this team. One could only imagine his teammates were distracted by concerns about Zion’s health as the game proceeded. UNC jumps to an early lead and never looks back. Duke puts up a nice fight with RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish combining for 60 points. But they did not have enough help, especially on the defensive side of the ball, to overcome Roy Williams’ high-powered offense. UNC senior forward Luke Maye puts up an impressive 30 points and 15 rebounds, and is complemented by 26, 7 boards, and 4 assists from fellow senior G/F Cameron Johnson. Duke, clearly not prepared to play without Williamson, is severely out rebounded and much less efficient shooting the basketball. UNC wins 88-72.
After an uproar about Nike, Zion’s future, and whether he should return this season, Coach Krzyzewski announces that Zion will return when he is ready to play. Since the loss to North Carolina, the Blue Devils are 3-1 without Zion including a 10 point win over Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orangemen and a 5 point loss to then #20 Virginia Tech. Although there is a lot of talent on the Duke roster, it is unclear if they are a championship team without Zion.
Saturday, March 9. The Blue Devils prepare to head across town for a rematch with the Tar Heels to finish off the regular season. The Blue Devils, at 26-4, are now ranked 4th. The 25-5 Tar Heels are ranked 3rd in the country. David Hale and ESPN report that Zion will not play. But now, the Blue Devils cannot make the excuse that they were not prepared to play without the star forward. We will see if the legendary Coach K can come up with a gameplan to beat an experienced, well-rounded Tar Heels team. A lot of pressure will be put on RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish to put the ball in the hole. But it is time to see if some of these role players are ready to step up and contribute. Even if Zion returns for tournament play, they are going to need a complete team effort to win the ACC and especially the NCAA tournament. This will be a great test of this team’s grit and tenacity without their star player. Tonight, we find out just how good Duke is.
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