RALEIGH, N.C. _ An ESPN SportsCenter promo Thursday had a clip of Duke's Zion Williamson in constant motion, dribbling and dunking, running the floor, posterizing people, stealing the ball, swatting it into the stands. Smiling after the damage was done.
One had to wonder if N.C. State's Wyatt Walker or DJ Funderburk were watching.
Walker and Funderburk have the basketball equivalent of "next." The Wolfpack (18-7, 6-6 ACC) goes into Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday to take on the second-ranked Blue Devils (22-2, 10-1), and Walker and Funderburk are the only two big guys the Pack can throw at Duke's man-child, whose 27 points fueled the Blue Devils' huge comeback win at Louisville this week.
"It's a tremendous challenge," Walker said Wednesday after the Pack's 73-58 win over Syracuse. "It's going to be a fantastic atmosphere but you have to treat it like any other game. At the end of the day, a win is a win and a loss is a loss no matter who you play, but we're definitely looking forward to it."
Sounds like a graduate student, doesn't it? Saying all the right things about Duke, about Williamson.
"I've seen his highlight films," Walker said. "I would say his athleticism, just his raw athleticism, man, you can tell he's a real talented player. It's going to be fun playing against him."
Not many of Duke's opponents have used the word "fun" in describing the Williamson challenge. Not Syracuse's Marek Dolezaj. He stepped in front of Williamson to draw a charging foul and was flattened like a city bus jumping the curb and hitting a stop sign in downtown Durham.
Williamson is listed at 6-7 and 285 pounds. Dolezaj is 6-10 and 180 and appeared dazed for much of the game _ albeit a Syracuse win at Cameron _ after the head-on collision.
Walker has more size at 6-9 and 240 pounds, more strength, plus the basketball smarts that comes with playing in college the past four years. Funderburk is 6-10 and 210, a lanky sophomore who has more bravado when it comes to talking about the matchup with what many believe is the best college player in the country.
"I'm ready for anybody on Duke's team," Funderburk said Wednesday. "No offense to them or anything, they have great basketball team, but we have a great basketball team, too, and they have to lace up their shoes just like us."
Duke has more than Williamson, of course. The Pack's scouting report will be heavy on containing R.J. Barrett's shooting, the overall floor play of Cam Reddish and the poised playmaking of Tre Jones. The Blue Devils' Jack White has experience and impressive athleticism and Marques Bolden is a capable big guy inside.
But Williamson is special. He's unique, a point guard trapped in a giant's body.
Before the season, before Duke's game with Kentucky, White and Javin DeLaurier were asked about the big man from Spartanburg S.C., who has averaged 23.8 points and 9.5 rebounds, and has 23 blocks in the Blue Devils' 11 ACC games.
"I've never seen anyone like Zion," DeLaurier said. "I think one of our athletic trainers put it the best. He said all you guys hit the genetic lottery but Zion hit it twice."
White said overplaying Williamson's left hand might be the best defensive strategy, trying to force him into contested jumpers.
"In saying that, sometimes you do all the right things and he's just going to jump right over you," White said. "He's got that LeBron (James) kind of jumping and dunking ability."
Funderburk said he has seen some of Duke's games this season. His impression of Zion?
"Athletic ability ... but he's really a regular player to me," Fumderburk said. "I'm not really in awe about basketball players, especially not in the same conference or younger than me or the same age as me. I'm just going to go out there and play as hard as I can. I'm known for playing in big games, I love to play in big games, I love playing away."
With two bigs, Pack coach Kevin Keatts has 10 fouls to work with Saturday and may need all 10 against Williamson and the Blue Devils. Walker and Funkerburk did combine for 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Syracuse, and Walker, a crafty type under the boards, has 33 offensive rebounds in ACC play, including a season-high eight against Miami.
There are other problems for the Pack in this game _ Duke's hands-everywhere defense and the turnovers it can cause, and the claustrophobic trappings of playing in Cameron and dealing with the Crazies.
"When you're a little kid and you're growing up that's what you dream about, playing in an atmosphere like that," Walker said.
One of Walker's good friends and a former high school teammate knows as much as anyone about Cameron and that atmosphere. Grayson Allen played with Walker at Providence School in Jacksonville, Fla., before going to Duke. Walker said he and Allen, now a rookie guard with the NBA's Utah Jazz, text a lot and probably would again before Saturday.
"We touch base pretty frequently and he gives me advice," Walker said.
This game it might be: No. 1, try not to get run over by the big kid wearing No. 1.
