It’s been a few days since Zion Williamson finished up his UNC official visit. We had a detailed report posted Sunday night, so if you haven’t read it check it out here –
One-on-One: Zion Williamson Talks UNC Official Visit
There are a few things folks should know about Williamson before we continue that seem to have been glossed over. Despite his size, athleticism, Youtube videos and fame, he’s still a teenager. When you’re in the spotlight and doing media interviews, magazine covers, and SportsCenter segments, it’d be easy to lose some of the naiveté and innocence of youth. We’ve seen it dozens of times with players we’ve covered over the last few years. They start off fresh and energized, and as their ranking and stature climb, they are skeptical of any outside influences, cold with the media, and in general don’t have as much fun.
As Zion’s recap of his UNC official visit showed, this hasn’t happened yet and doesn’t seem like it will. To me, that’s refreshing.
When it comes to Zion and North Carolina, I think we can safely say that the Tar Heels were in better position than we first thought, as evidenced by the fact that UNC got the visit and the reports from the visit - both from Zion and from the UNC side - being as glowing as they were. UNC did as much as they could possibly do this past weekend. He left genuinely impressed with the players, the coaches, the school, the atmosphere, and the program.
Also, don’t sleep on the impact of UNC’s freshman big guys on Williamson were he to pick the Tar Heels.
“It definitely helps them,” Williamson told Inside Carolina when asked about the Tar Heels’ post depth. “It lets me know that, like I don’t mind playing in the post some, but it lets me know that I won’t be there all the time. Brandon Huffman is a beast on the post, and Garrison is my boy. The other guy (Sterling Manley) is a big guy too.”
We've confirmed Roy Williams is headed to Spartanburg Day today (Wednesday) to build on the official visit progress.
Honestly, we have no idea what Williamson will ultimately decide. At some point during his recruiting process several schools – Kansas (most recently), Kentucky, Clemson, Duke and North Carolina (early summer 2016) – all have thought to be in the lead. The fact of the matter is, no one really knows. I think he’ll pick from the five schools above, but saying else would be purely speculative at this point. If he indeed plans to sign during the fall period, we’ll know his decision in, at maximum, 14 days.
