The life of another Duke basketball season was flashing before my eyes.
The top two freshmen scorers in program history, who have worked in tandem to raise the bar for how future Duke players should act on and off the court, were in serious danger of finishing their days as Blue Devils 15 days too soon.
Zion Williamson was standing at the foul line with 14.4 seconds remaining and No. 1-seed Duke trailing No. 9-seed UCF, 76-75, in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 in Columbia, S.C., on Sunday evening.
In his typical fashion, the 6-foot-7, 280-pounder — a gift the future delivered to delight Duke fans — had just attacked the basket with the formidable authority of a ruthless dictator yet the soft finishing touch of a Bob Ross brushstroke.