Williamson Drawing Tons Of Attention, But Barrett Is Getting His Props Too

It’s completely understandable that Zion Williamson has drawn the most attention as Duke’s trip to Canada wraps up Sunday. No one has ever seen anyone like him. He’s huge, hugely athletic and hugely nimble.

And, as we have seen, he’s not a one-trick pony. He’s the most exciting dunker around, he’s an outstanding rebounder, and he can shoot the long shot.

More interesting than all of that, he’s also a really good passer.

So yes, he draws a lot of attention.

As we’ve seen though - queue Yoda - there is another.

Williamson is going to be a great player, but so is RJ Barrett. He just doesn’t jump out as much as the nearly cartoonish Williams, who looks like a scaled down version of the Hulk.

First there’s this bit from braindead Deadspin. Uproxx has this. The CBC has a nice piece up as well and then there’s this from the N&O.

Both guys have been an absolute blast to watch in Toronto (close enough), but as Yoda never said...there is one more.

Well, actually two more.

We’re referring first to Cam Reddish, who is roughly the same size as the other two, who is immensely versatile and who will be a revelation when we see him.

And then there’s the point guard, Tre Jones, who will, as Reddish said this summer, drive the car.

We see both guys as sort of multipliers who will make Williamson and Barrett (and everyone else for that matter) that much better.

Consider Reddish’s versatility. You can use him in so many ways. He can play four positions and is also a good shot. He’ll make a difference quickly.

And Jones, as Reddish said, is the driver. Duke didn't have a natural point guard on this trip which could have hurt but hasn’t, thanks to Barrett’s and Williamson’s ball handling. Jones will free everyone else up to play to their strengths.

We haven’t seen Reddish in person yet, but given his overall talent and what people have said, we expect him to be a really good passer too. There’s nothing that defines basketball more than passing and this team has the potential to be really good at it. And passing, which is contagious, is the best sort of virus.

The single best thing we heard this week was that both Williamson and Barrett said that getting someone else a basket is better than scoring themselves. There’s a lot to look forward too.