12/17/2023 0 Comments Groove agent 6He played only 24 games before being shut down. To recap: Williamson tore his meniscus just before his rookie season, which delayed his debut until late January. Blame the injuries for that and the ensuing frustration began to weigh him down, so to speak. Not that the Old Zion was ever a boor … he just wasn’t around much. This is refreshing because this hasn’t always been the case. He engages and allows others to get to know him and mingles freely. The New Zion smiles more, laughs easily and clowns often. Provided he stays healthy, Zion Williamson could be the missing piece for a promising New Orleans squad. Of course, all the world wants to know is: Can he stay healthy? It’s an odd wonderment about a young man who’s just barely drinking age, about a player who certainly doesn’t look fragile about a body that carries a lack of basketball mileage and therefore is hardly worn down.īut there’s so much more at stake regarding Williamson’s good health: The direction of the franchise, the continued growth of a team that made the playoffs last season without him and the mental health of a young man who wishes to tell the world this message: “At the end of the day, I’m human.” “My mind, my body and my heart is right and therefore I’ll be right,” he said, regarding what’s coming next. All this at a freaky 6-foot-6 and two hundred whatever-whatever pounds. His career shooting percentage is 60.4%, he doesn’t need to dominate the ball to score 30 points, he punishes taller defenders at the rim and snatches rebounds from their grip. In case you forgot, since last season was a complete wash, based on the evidence and the eye test, Williamson is the most efficient talent the NBA has seen in a while, maybe ever. For a player with his unique build and bully-ball instincts, this should only make him more of a handful than what everyone saw in his very limited, but very explosive, time on the floor. Not that Zion was lacking in all three to begin with, even in his old self. With the decrease in bad weight, the likelihood of an increase in power, speed and quickness seems a good bet. Zion Williamson has worked on making changes to his body this year. These days though, after months of cardio and iron, the New Zion does a lot of flexing. This comes as bad news to internet jokesters who were once quick to make the connection between Zion and po’ boys. He came to the Pelicans training camp bringing punch, not paunch. He’s now the after-picture in those fitness magazines. Nobody needs 20-20 vision to observe the most obvious newness of Zion. “It seems as though he has overcome those injuries, am I right?” I noticed he was plagued by injuries but he should treat last year as just a learning experience, and keep in mind that all of his strengths, both physical and mental, come from the Lord. “And also that many times in our experiences, even before we can arrive at a goal considered victorious, we’re going to have some ups and downs. “If I met him, I would tell him that he’s still young,” Gordon said. Gordon Jr., whose Sunday sermons are about salvation, was only too willing to do what he does for a citizen in need. This season, the patient New Orleans basketball community hopes to finally enjoy another New Zion … as in Williamson, a supreme force of basketball nature who has played only 85 of a possible 226 career games, essentially missing a year-plus because of injuries and therefore, will take whatever divine intervention he can get. Well, let’s just say a century-old church has something in common with a 22-year-old basketball savior who could use some blessings as he prepares to resume a short career interrupted twice too many times. Today, the location of this Baptist church remains unchanged, along with the name: New Zion. The man chosen at the meeting to steer that Civil Rights group through the next turbulent decade was a pastor who arrived from Atlanta - none other than Martin Luther King Jr. Back in 1957, the church drew a gathering of Black ministers and leaders and from that, a groundbreaking organization emerged: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference. That’s how long the congregation has flocked to the red brick building on Third Street and heard the Good Word preached weekly. NEW ORLEANS - This town is famous for spirits, those sipped nightly on a street called Bourbon, and those that resonate in the many churches, especially one that recently celebrated its 100th year. Zion Williamson will return to the floor after missing all of last season due to injury.
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