The tickets for Wednesday night’s game at Cameron Indoor said Duke vs Eastern Michigan, but they could’ve just as well said “The Zion Williamson “Oh My God” Dunk Show,” as the 6’7″, 285 freshman phenom from Spartanburg, South Carolina lit Cameron up with 6 incredible dunks.
With spectators everywhere were in awe, fellow freshman phenom RJ Barrett says the show we got is common place for them because Zion does that type of stuff in practice all the time.
RJ: Zion does stuff like that everyday in practice. pic.twitter.com/qrhy6MwCJk
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) November 15, 2018
Coach K was asked afterward if he is left in shock by what Williamson does and he said it’s not the dunks, but his incredible body control that is fascinating.
“More so than how high he jumps is his incredible body control, especially on a fast break. Kevin White (Duke Athletics Director) and I were talking, and even though ‘slither’ isn’t a word you would normally use to describe him, he basically does that, which is crazy.”
The Blue Devils weren’t happy with themselves after they were challenged by Army Sunday afternoon and it showed Wednesday. They played swarming defense – setting the tone early by allowing only one Eagle FG in the first 7:50 minutes and 13 points in the half. On the offensive end, Duke shared the ball well – an improvement Coach K says was spurred by improved communication on the court.
“I thought this was probably the best game where we talked well on both ends of the court. We encouraged one another. I think in the past few days we grew up a bit more as far as communication goes, so really good. We shared the ball well and got every loose ball in the first half. It was really fun to watch, and I’m proud of my guys.”
Next up for the Blue Devils is a trip to Hawaii to participate in the Maui Invitational.
Game Notes:
- Duke extended its non-conference home winning streak to 141 games, the nation’s longest active streak.
- Duke led 48-13 at the half — the 13 points being tied for 13th-fewest by an opponent in a half against Duke all time and tied for the 6th-fewest in a half under Coach K.
- Freshmen Zion Williamson (21 points) and RJ Barrett (20) each scored 20+ points for the third consecutive game. They each scored 76 points this season – the most through the first three games for any Duke freshman in history. The previous record of 70 points was set by Jabari Parker to begin the 2013-14 season.
- Williamson, Barrett and Parker are the only three Duke freshmen to begin their careers with three straight 20- point games.
- With nine rebounds, Williamson has 32 through the first three games, one shy of Duke’s freshman record for the first three games of a season (33 by Mike Gminski in 1976-77).