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Zion Williamson Lawsuit an L for Duke and College Hoops: Unchecked

Duke and Coach K may have done nothing wrong regarding Zion Williamson lawsuit. But star recruits may now look to NBA G League over NCAA basketball.

Robin Lundberg

The lawsuit against Zion Williamson is an L for Duke and yet another one for major college hoops.

Let’s be real, hardly anyone cares if Zion received anything from Duke. But on the other end, there are plenty of people who are probably salivating at crushing the Blue Devils, if only so they can rub it in Coach K’s face to say he isn’t as pristine as his reputation.

By no means am I saying any of the allegations Zion’s former representative has made are true by the way, and they were denied by the school via this statement, "As soon as Duke was made aware of any allegation that might have affected Zion Williamson’s eligibility, we conducted a thorough and objective investigation which was directed by individuals outside the athletics department. We found no evidence to support any allegation. Zion thrived as both a student and an athlete at Duke, and always conducted himself with integrity and purpose.” 

But these sort of scandals now seem par for the course in college. People just expect it at this point. Which means a prospect like Zion can’t truly be one and done, as another shoe could always drop from the time he wasn’t allowed to sign a shoe deal.

That’s why I said after seeing what Jalen Green got, I have no idea why any star prospect would go somewhere like Duke again. Sure, the spotlight can help, but not that much, and there are negatives that come with it too. And someone with Zion’s highlights would be a star regardless.

So, while Duke didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament this year of course, they and other major college programs could be on their way to being eliminated by the G League—at least when it comes to certain recruits.

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Robin Lundberg
ROBIN LUNDBERG

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