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Thursday, February 21, 2019 8:03:35 AM
Zion Williamson Is Injured as No. 1 Duke Falls to North Carolina
By Marc Tracy
Feb. 20, 2019
The final score of one of the most anticipated college basketball games of the season quickly turned into an afterthought on Wednesday night when the star Duke freshman Zion Williamson left the game with a bizarre injury within a minute of the opening tip-off.
Williamson, who is widely expected to be the top pick in the N.B.A. draft later this year, appeared to twist his left foot as his sneaker fell apart — literally breaking at the seam. Then he reached for his right knee and walked off the court.
He did not return for the rest of the game. After the final whistle, Duke announced that Williamson had sustained a sprained knee.
“We’re very concerned about Zion,” Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, according to the team’s official Twitter account. “It’s a mild knee sprain. We will know about length of time tomorrow. It’s stable.”
The shoe company Nike said in a statement: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
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No. 8 North Carolina (21-5), nine-point underdogs before the game at the Blue Devils’ Cameron Indoor Stadium, went on to defeat No. 1 Duke (23-3), 88-72, in a game that was hardly close, particularly once the second half began. The Tar Heels’ senior big man Luke Maye amassed 30 points and 15 rebounds while being conspicuously not guarded by Williamson, the consensus best player in college basketball.
“When the big fellow goes out of the game, it changes a lot of stuff for them,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said at a news conference after the game.
Former President Barack Obama and the film director Spike Lee were among those taking in the first matchup this season between the two Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweights known for their fierce rivalry. The injury to Williamson might be of particular interest to Lee, a well-known fan of the Knicks, one of the several N.B.A. teams that have been hoping to end up with the first pick in the draft so they can select Williamson.
Duke still has two other freshmen who are likely to be selected with lottery picks in the draft, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish; Barrett led the Blue Devils with 33 points and 13 rebounds, while Reddish added 27 points. But Williamson, who is listed at 6 feet 9 inches and 280 pounds but has the speed of a guard, has been the presumptive player of the year and the prime reason for Duke’s top ranking, and he has captured the sport’s imagination with his immaculate dunks and seemingly impossible defensive efforts.
Duke’s next game is on Saturday at Syracuse (18-8) — one of three teams to beat Duke this season. North Carolina will host No. 16 Florida State (20-5).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/sports/zion-williamson-duke-knee.html
By Marc Tracy
Feb. 20, 2019
The final score of one of the most anticipated college basketball games of the season quickly turned into an afterthought on Wednesday night when the star Duke freshman Zion Williamson left the game with a bizarre injury within a minute of the opening tip-off.
Williamson, who is widely expected to be the top pick in the N.B.A. draft later this year, appeared to twist his left foot as his sneaker fell apart — literally breaking at the seam. Then he reached for his right knee and walked off the court.
He did not return for the rest of the game. After the final whistle, Duke announced that Williamson had sustained a sprained knee.
“We’re very concerned about Zion,” Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, according to the team’s official Twitter account. “It’s a mild knee sprain. We will know about length of time tomorrow. It’s stable.”
The shoe company Nike said in a statement: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.”
Embedded video
SportsCenter
?
@SportsCenter
Zion's shoe: destroyed ??
31.1K
9:09 PM - Feb 20, 2019
9,459 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
No. 8 North Carolina (21-5), nine-point underdogs before the game at the Blue Devils’ Cameron Indoor Stadium, went on to defeat No. 1 Duke (23-3), 88-72, in a game that was hardly close, particularly once the second half began. The Tar Heels’ senior big man Luke Maye amassed 30 points and 15 rebounds while being conspicuously not guarded by Williamson, the consensus best player in college basketball.
“When the big fellow goes out of the game, it changes a lot of stuff for them,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said at a news conference after the game.
Former President Barack Obama and the film director Spike Lee were among those taking in the first matchup this season between the two Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweights known for their fierce rivalry. The injury to Williamson might be of particular interest to Lee, a well-known fan of the Knicks, one of the several N.B.A. teams that have been hoping to end up with the first pick in the draft so they can select Williamson.
Duke still has two other freshmen who are likely to be selected with lottery picks in the draft, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish; Barrett led the Blue Devils with 33 points and 13 rebounds, while Reddish added 27 points. But Williamson, who is listed at 6 feet 9 inches and 280 pounds but has the speed of a guard, has been the presumptive player of the year and the prime reason for Duke’s top ranking, and he has captured the sport’s imagination with his immaculate dunks and seemingly impossible defensive efforts.
Duke’s next game is on Saturday at Syracuse (18-8) — one of three teams to beat Duke this season. North Carolina will host No. 16 Florida State (20-5).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/sports/zion-williamson-duke-knee.html
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