Zion Williamson breaks silence about recruitment with decision looming

SPARTANBURG Spartanburg Day star Zion Williamson returned to action for the first time since November on Thursday night and scored 31 points in a win against Asheville Christian.

Williamson then discussed where he is in the recruiting process ahead of his decision, which is set for Jan. 20.

Being sidelined for nearly two months was beneficial to him as he gets ready to choose his college destination, Williamson said.

“Being hurt was like a blessing in disguise with the recruiting. It got to show me which coaches recruited me for me, not just the basketball player, recruited me for my personality and the human being, myself,” Williamson said. “I would say it was just a blessing in disguise. It got to show me what coaches looked at me outside of basketball.”

Williamson has made unofficial visits to Clemson and South Carolina and official visits to North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke. It has been rumored that those are his final six schools, but Williamson said he is still open to other programs.

“I’m going to be honest with y’all, I don’t know who released those six schools,” he said. “The last time I checked my recruitment was still wide open, but I’m still considering everybody, just listening to their final messages and what they have to tell me.”

Williamson has mixed emotions about the recruiting process winding down.

He is glad to be able to get the decision out of the way, but he is also going to miss regularly talking with coaches that he has built a relationship with.

“This recruiting process, I really enjoyed it,” Williamson said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss it a lot, just talking to all the coaches, telling me how they plan to improve me and stuff like that. I am ready to make that decision.”

Williamson doesn’t know exactly how he will make the decision but does have some details decided upon.

“I know I’m going to do it in the gym, I just don’t know the time yet,” he said. “If I do have a video I’ll just show it in the big gym. I’ll tell why I picked the school, take a couple of pictures and take my little 15-minute drive back home.”

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Zion Williamson breaks silence about recruitment with decision looming."