Will Zion Play Again for Duke
Just because Zion Williamson is already the presumptive No. 1 selection in this yr's NBA draft doesn't hateful he has nothing left to proceeds financially by playing once again this college basketball season.
Sports business experts told Yahoo Sports on Thursday that the Duke star could significantly increment his endorsement potential if he returns from injury in time for the NCAA tournament and shines on college basketball's biggest stage.
Williamson is already the No. ane target coming out of college basketball for shoe-apparel giants this year. Spearheading a national championship run during the i month when fifty-fifty coincidental fans pay attending to college basketball would only escalate the shoe-dress behest war for Williamson and make him more alluring to advertisers outside the realm of athletics.
"Bold that the knee is 100 percentage, he should want to get out in that location as fast every bit he tin can," said Bob Dorfman, executive director of San Francisco-based Baker Street Advertisement. "The guy definitely is very charismatic and comfy on camera, and so he has the potential to become beyond just shoe and equipment deals. The more he'due south out there to a general audience, the more popular he becomes and the more advertisers will be attracted to him."
Whether Williamson should sit out the rest of his freshman flavour at Duke has been fervently debated since he suffered a freak right knee joint injury in the opening minute of his team's loss to rival North Carolina on Wed night. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski described the injury as a mild sprain and declined to speculate when Williamson might return. He won't play Saturday against Syracuse.
Current and quondam NBA players including DeMarcus Cousins, Scottie Pippen and Trae Immature have each encouraged Williamson to consider shutting himself downwards the rest of the season no matter how speedily his injured knee joint heals. They suggest that Williamson follow the case of football prospects who have skipped basin games rather than risk injuries that could damage their NFL draft stock.
Before his injury, Williamson scoffed at the idea of sitting out the rest of the season because he genuinely enjoys playing at Duke, he wants to win a national championship and he doesn't desire to let downwardly his teammates and coaches. Should he need another reason to play once he has fully recovered from his injury, he too might want to consider the potential to further boost his make with a brilliant month of March.
"Success in the NCAA tournament will breed more endorsement revenue for him," said Eric Smallwood, president of the Apex Marketing Group. "He is going to make more than coin as a rookie if he finishes the season stiff at Knuckles than he would as a rookie if he sits out. It would requite him a launching pad. He'd take momentum transitioning from college to the pros."
Williamson has been on the radar of advertisers since long before he finished high schoolhouse. The loftier-flying South Carolina native arrived at Duke with nearly 2 million Instagram followers, a production of his charisma in front end of a camera and his rare blend of size, agility and explosiveness.
In the half-dozen months that Williamson has spent at Duke then far, his marketing clout has only steadily increased. No one in college basketball game has driven traffic or interest like the 6-foot-7, 285-pound forward with a vertical jump that practically defies measurement.
Williamson has evolved from projected lottery pick to runaway favorite to be taken No. ane overall by averaging 22.4 points and nine.2 rebounds (inbound Wednesday's game) while displaying dazzling athleticism for his size. At present the rare college thespian identifiable by only his first proper noun, he is responsible for many of the season's nearly viral moments, from dunks from the foul line, to off-the-backboard aisle-oop passes, to seemingly unfathomable blocked shots.
Asked if they can remember a college basketball actor with more potential marketing appeal, sports business experts were left scratching their heads.
"It's been a long while," said Marking Conrad, director of the sports business program at Fordham University.
"I guess you go back to Shaq, possibly?" Dorfman said. "But more recently, I tin't think of anybody. I haven't seen anybody have every bit much attending surrounding him in recent years."
How much more popular Williamson can go prior to the NBA draft will depend on what he accomplishes in March.
If he sits out, it could temporarily halt his momentum and cause him to fall off the national radar until closer to the NBA draft. If he produces a handful of memorable moments and leads Duke deep into the NCAA tournament, it can only increase his stature and stardom.
"A really big March for him absolutely could enhance his endorsement possibilities," Conrad said. "I would argue it could exist worth seven figures, possibly 8 in a long-term deal, if he leads his team to the national title, makes the central baskets, everything yous could want."
Ultimately, Williamson will have to weigh the risk of re-injury against what he'd be giving up by sitting out the rest of what presumably will be his lonely season of college basketball. It would be sickening to run across him become hurt again and damage his shot at NBA riches, but it'southward likewise inaccurate to say he has nil to gain financially by playing for Duke again.
"In the NCAA tournament, you're getting a bigger audition and a lot more than peripheral fans watching," Dorfman said. "That only leads to more popularity and more attending. The bigger the fanbase you lot tin can build, the better long term for y'all."
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Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/zion-williamson-still-something-gain-playing-duke-223454597.html
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