The Phoenix Suns might draft the next Charles Barkley in 2019

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - April 08: Zion Williamson #12 Spartanburg Day School, Spartanburg, SC during the Jordan Brand Classic, National Boys Teams All-Star basketball game. The Jordan Brand Classic showcases the best male and female high school basketball players who compete in the exhibition games at the The Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York on April 08, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - April 08: Zion Williamson #12 Spartanburg Day School, Spartanburg, SC during the Jordan Brand Classic, National Boys Teams All-Star basketball game. The Jordan Brand Classic showcases the best male and female high school basketball players who compete in the exhibition games at the The Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York on April 08, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 26: Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School attempts a dunk during the 2018 McDonald’s All American Game POWERADE Jam Fest at Forbes Arena on March 26, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 26: Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School attempts a dunk during the 2018 McDonald’s All American Game POWERADE Jam Fest at Forbes Arena on March 26, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Zion’s fame grew out of high school mix tapes. The kid can fly.  I mean it. He has hops the rival Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Darryl Dawkins, and the like. And he was doing it in a man’s body will still only a high school senior.

Then, in a brief exhibition tour in mid-August, Zion – against much better talent than he regularly faced in high school (although admittedly, still not great) – had  a fantastic three game slate, including 36 points,13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks versus McGill University of Montreal, Canada, with most of his scoring coming on finger rolls and short jumpers, very much like Charles Barkley – especially the Barkley of the Phoenix Suns years.

That said, Zion is athletic, but unproven. In high school he was literally a man against boys. There were times when I’d see clips of him and I swore  that he was at least three years older than the Seniors he was playing against.

He never really had to learn the nuances of the game because he could simply out jump everybody, shooting over them, blocking any shots that were in his vicinity, and yes, posterizing kids who will never play a game of basketball beyond their high school graduation.

Even in the highlight video of Zion against McGill, he still wasn’t playing versus young men who were anywhere near as tall or athletic, and most of his impressive plays (and scoring) came with very little athletic defensive resistance – at least nothing like what he will face in true Conference competition, and eventually in the pros.

If Zion is willing to accept that he has much to learn, even only half a year under the tutelage of Mike Krzyzewski should be enough to get Zion’s intellectual growth going, and learn how to use his athleticism to become a better player, rather than a hype man waiting for an alley-oop then disappearing into the crowd of other nine players.