New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is coming off one of the greatest freshman seasons in NCAA Men’s Basketball history, becoming the driving force behind a dominant Duke Blue Devils team.
However, though he was slated to take the NBA by storm in his first season, the 19-year-old phenom tore his meniscus in the offseason, which was expected to keep him out for six to eight weeks.
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said Williamson is making progress in his recovery, and the rookie is “itching” to return to action.
Here's a quick transcript of everything Gentry had to say at practice today about Zion Williamson's recovery.
Zion underwent surgery to repair his torn meniscus exactly six weeks ago today. pic.twitter.com/RBbw8WeheT
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) December 2, 2019
Zion’s astonishing freshman season led to him winning a glut of postseason awards with Duke, including the Wooden award, the Naismith Award, ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP.
With 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, Williamson was easily the most feted draft prospect in recent memory – and for good reason.
Zion set the all-time record in player efficiency rating in his freshman campaign with a patently absurd 40.8 in that advanced statistic, and his true shooting percentage of 70.2 percent was also outlandishly high. That 70.2 percent in TS% was the highest in ACC history among players that had played at least 900 minutes – shocking stuff.
Certainly, Pelicans fans and NBA fans in general hope that Zion will return to action sooner rather than later, so that his high-flying exploits can be enjoyed. However, he must be fully healthy first – no reason to rush him back unnecessarily.
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