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Spartanburg (S.C.) Day School forward Zion Williamson has expressed the intent to “shock the world” with his college announcement Saturday night.
We can’t speak for the world. But we think it’s safe to reason that the nation’s college basketball followers wouldn’t bat an eye if he picked one of the blue-bloods among his finalists.
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Clemson? Well, that’s a much different story, even as the public has increasingly perceived the needle to swing in the Tigers’ favor over the last month.
Picking the Tigers would qualify as a stunner primarily in the sense that Clemson simply hasn’t historically attracted a wealth of blue-chip ballers.
The majority of its best players – including the likes of Larry Nance, Elden Campbell, Greg Buckner, Terrell McIntyre, Trevor Booker and K.J. McDaniels, among others – were not deemed top-100 talents by the relevant scouting services and recruiting networks of their time.
Williamson (6-6, 270) is ranked as the nation’s No. 3 prospect by Rivals.com. ESPN has him at No. 2 overall, while few would argue he’s the most recognized recruit in the country through his viral highlight dunks.
TigerIllustrated.com conducted considerable research this week to produce a list of the highest-ranked signees in school history.
The data predictably underscored just how significant Williamson’s addition would be to Brad Brownell and the program.
The earliest recorded prospect rankings came in 1987.
To our surprise, the highest-ranked Clemson signee wound up being forward Wayne Buckingham, who charted at No. 9 for a publication called Off The Glass in 1989.
Standout center Sharone Wright checked in at No. 16 in 1991 -- a loaded class that included Michigan’s Fab Five, Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson and a handful of well-known ACC players.
And then we reached Milton Jennings, Vincent Whitt, Noel Johnson and Tony Christie.
Clemson scored a couple of acclaimed players previously in what we’ll call the modern era. But most recruiting rundowns before then were groups of players not rated in an order.
The New York Times used to poll a dozen of the biggest names in college coaching for a list of the nation’s top prospects. Skip Wise was pegged as the country’s top guard in 1974. Ricky Jones was among the top 12 vote-getters in 1984, with UNC’s J.R. Reid and Michigan’s Terry Mills the consensus best prospects. Joe Ward was deemed a top-20 prospect in 1981.
So you get the picture.
It’s been awhile since Clemson has landed someone of Williamson’s stature. A case could be made that the Tigers have never netted this big a fish.
In the video earlier this month announcing his decision date, the voiceover repeats that the best is yet to come.
He might be just down the road.
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