By now, just about everyone has heard about Zion Williamson, even if they don’t keep tabs on college basketball recruiting. The 6-foot-6 Spartanburg Day forward, a five-star regarded as the latest can’t-miss prospect, has wound up on SportsCenter for his dunks and gotten shout outs from the likes of Drake and LeBron James. And thanks to geography, the South Carolina Gamecocks are on the shortlist for his college destination, which he’ll announce tomorrow at 8 p.m.
It’s always a difficult situation for the in-state schools to navigate when bluechip basketball talent appears in South Carolina. It’s depressingly rare — for both USC and Clemson — to land the top players in their own backyard, as regional powerhouses like North Carolina, Kentucky, and Duke simply swoop in and pluck that talent away.