One of the most heated college basketball matchups took place on Wednesday night when North Carolina matched up with Duke. Unfortunately, fans were robbed of seeing the likely No. 1 pick play when Zion Williamson injured himself after slipping out of his shoes in the first minute of play. Williamson was wearing Oklahoma City star Paul George's shoe when the injury occurred, and the All-Star and MVP candidate was torn apart on Twitter:
Make a better shoe @Nike and @Yg_Trece smh. Prayers for Zion#GoDuke
— Chase (@realCAbernethy) February 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/NicoyaCharm/status/1098422795472531456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1098422795472531456&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flarrybrownsports.com%2Fbasketball%2Fpaul-george-takes-heat-on-twitter-over-nike-shoe-failure%2F485315
Bad look for @Yg_Trece with Zion blowing out his signature shoe in tonight’s game. So sad to see his MVP year go down the drain like that.
— Beaver Intelligence Agency (@beaverwheelz) February 21, 2019
This backlash is definitely understandable. Once you put your name on a shoe, you expect it to live up to the highest standards. If it fails in the biggest spotlight, it could ruin your reputation.
In the end, Williamson's injury was diagnosed as a mild knee sprain, and he should return fairly soon.
After the Williamson injury, Duke seemed shellshocked. They ended up losing the game by a final score of 88-72, and the game was never close.
Duke's other freshman stars had themselves a night, but it wasn't enough against a quality UNC squad. R.J. Barrett recorded a double-double with 33 points and 13 rebounds, while Cam Reddish scored 27 points with three boards.
After the loss, Duke fans can only hope that Zion Williamson makes a full recovery from the devastating injury. If it costs him significant time, Paul George will be held accountable, fairly or not.
Follow Us
Subscribe