Zion Williamson trafficked in the impossible. His dunks and blocks defied explanation. His combination of size and speed boggled the mind. He seemed more than man but, as all men do, met a sporting mortal end on Sunday. His Duke career is over barring one of the more perplexing head-fakes in sports history.
Williamson accomplished many things playing on Tobacco Road. He captivated the audience in unique ways. His greatness was primal, unavoidable, bludgeoning. If there’s been a more fun college player to watch, the name escapes me.
But let’s be perfectly clear on something. Zion, for all his greatness, did not make Duke likable. This is not something that happened in the real world, no matter how hard pundits pushed the idea, no matter how many hot-take segments floated the topic as an open-ended question.
That’s not how this works. Coach K has had brilliant and engaging players before, who charm with game and personality. The list is long and distinguished. For all their efforts, though, it’s not about the name on the back of the jersey, it’s about the name on the front.
For so many, Duke is the evil empire. The basketball factory that churns out soulless killers. It’s not an incredibly nuanced view, though I’d posit it is prevailing. The Blue Devils’ greatness works against them. Success just breeds more contempt, even if it’s enjoyable as hell to watch them get there.
Duke is that shiny city on the hill. Yes, other programs want to emulate it and reach that pinnacle. Other fans just want to see that city burn. To watch the aristocrats suffer. They yearn for freedom and escape beneath their college basketball overlords.
So, yeah, there were some people who found themselves rooting for the top-seed in the East to keep playing so they could experience Williamson a little longer. And yes, every CBS executive sighed with deep relief as UCF and Virginia Tech couldn’t convert in the final seconds.
Not the common man, though. Hatred for Duke is the ultimate sign of respect. Everyone hates the king. The distaste is largely born out of jealousy.
Williamson may have been the closest we’ll ever come to a player that sways public opinion. Even he, though, fell short of a leading wholesale revolution. There is still great joy in neutral lands this morning with the Blue Devils’ ouster.
That’s kind of the way it should be. The other option is a world without order and equilibrium.
