Zion Williamson will make a decision on his college choice tonight. Will he remain in the state of South Carolina like another five-star 2018 athlete or take his talents to Duke, Kansas, Kentucky or UNC?
Clemson football defensive end Xavier Thomas committed to Clemson in early April over South Carolina before signing on December 20, 2017. The early enrollee is currently attending classes.
Could Williamson commit to the Clemson basketball team and join Thomas to give the campus another five-star Florence(SC) area native?
Like Thomas, Williamson honed his skills in Florence before moving away to another city. Thomas actually moved to Florida and specifically, the city of Bradenton to attend IMG Academy. He made the move before his senior year at Wilson High. Williamson left the Florence area after the eighth grade for Spartanburg, SC.
Before moving to Florence, Williamson resided in North Carolina with his parents Sharonda Sampson and Lateef Williamson. The family moved from the Tarheel state when he was two-years-old.
Both parents are former Livingston College athletes, Sampson, a track athlete and Lateef, a football player. The couple met at Livingston after Lateef transferred from N.C. State. They later married, and divorced when Zion was five-years-old. So besides a couple of years in North Carolina, Williamson has always been in South Carolina.
Will he remain in the state?
Thomas narrowed his choices to Clemson and South Carolina before his announcement day and chose the Tigers even though he and his father were Gamecocks’ fans. The success of Clemson lured him to Clemson and head basketball coach Brad Brownell hopes a 15-3 record and the potential of current stars Shelton Mitchell, Marcquise Reed and Elijah Thomas teaming up with Williamson next year can sway the basketball phenom to remain in the upstate. Brownell can also hope that former Tigers’ player, Lee Anderson will be a factor too.
Anderson was a basketball player at Clemson from(1975-78) and is Williamson’s stepfather. Anderson has been involved in the development of his basketball skills and influential in his mature approach to the rockstar attention he has received across the country.
Zion Williamson is like, Rolling Stones,Michael Jackson,The Beatles,Beyonce,Ringling Brothers,Harlem Globetrotters.Walking around in a 6'7 package.That's why EVERYBODY wants him. He brings ratings to broadcast and will sellout every gym he plays in.Stop selling his decision short
— Adrian Lewis (@eltigerey) January 20, 2018
Clemson basketball fans hope the close bond between the two will be enough to get him to join 2018 class members Hunter Tyson, Piedmont Community Charter(NC), Trey Jemison, Hoover(AL) and John Newman, Greensboro Day School(NC). Newman recently gave his own pitch to Williamson in a video for USAToday.
"Alright, man. It’s honestly kind of simple. If you want to come be a guy, come hoop with me. Come hoop with Hunter. Come hoop with Trey. (If) you go to all these other schools, you go to the big blues. You’re just going to be another hooper…another number one, two player in the country. If you come to Clemson, you’re going to be that dude. But I think the thing is, you want to go somewhere you can be a legend and that’s part of the reason, I chose it(Clemson) and I think that should be one of the reasons, why you choose it."
Which school gets the commitment tonight?
Wofford? Although not listed among the finalist, it’s worth mentioning that the Spartanburg school gave him his first offer.
Duke? Lateef is a Duke fan. Coach K is a Hall of Famer.
UNC? Roy Williams has made an effort to see him and was even at the Beachball Classic(Myrtle Beach) even though Williamson was injured. UNC Freshman Jalik Felton is also from the Florence area.
Kansas? A long shot to land him. At one point, Kansas and Williamson were questioned during the outbreak of the Adidas scandal, so I don’t see the Jayhawks as a viable option.
Kentucky? Rupp Arena is the home of one-and-done basketball players plus rapper Drake is a fan, and he is also cordial enough with Williamson to exchange text messages and wear his jersey.
Clemson or South Carolina?
I think Williamson will chose to play his only year of college basketball close to family. How could he pass up the opportunity to be “that dude” and play in front of family and friends before he bolts to the NBA.
The choice is probably Clemson tonight, and he will be able to watch Thomas play on Saturdays. Thomas spoke to Williamson during their visit to Death Valley for the Auburn game and shared a few of those words with Tigernet.
“I told him that we could make history. With the number one player in basketball and the top two players for 2018 in football, I said we could make history by doing that. I was telling him we could do that.”
Williamson will make his commitment at 8:15 p.m ET on ESPN2 at Spartanburg Day gym.