Should prospective No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson walk away from the top-ranked team in the nation to preserve his health, or return to the floor and try to win a national championship? The debate has been raging since Williamson blew out his shoe and suffered a knee sprain in the first minute of a rivalry game against North Carolina on Wednesday, and while media members and NBA players are lining up to tell Williamson he has nothing to gain by playing in college, Stephen A. Smith argued Friday that sitting out would be “unethical” of Williamson.
Duke announced Thursday that Williamson’s injury is a Grade 1 sprain, and that his status is day-to-day moving forward. The Blue Devils travel to Syracuse for a game on Saturday, but Williamson has reportedly been ruled out for the game, according to Jeff Goodman.
It’s unclear what Williamson’s next move will be, but it appears that he should have the ability to return this season for Duke. According to Smith, it would be wrong for Williamson to abandon his teammates mid-season.
“You are in pursuit of a national title. And you’re just going to walk into the locker room and say ‘yo fellas, it’s been nice. But I’ve proven that I’m going to be worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. So bye, y’all, y’all have a nice life, and y’all try to win a national without me. I’m going to go and chill until the NBA Draft.’
That is egregious. That makes no sense. That’s just unethical…. That opinion, from a team perspective is unethical.”
Charles Barkley also ripped people advising Williamson to sit on Thursday night, and said that he hates the idea that the chance to accomplish something in college is irrelevant because future earnings are at stake.
“When did we get to the point where you’ve got clowns on television saying, ‘Oh, don’t play.’ …. I get so mad when people act like money’s the only thing that matters in the world. Like, ‘Oh dude, you’re going to go in the NBA. Don’t play.’ I mean, that’s ridiculous.”
