Duke men's basketball social media roundup: 2018 Champions Classic vs. Kentucky

<p>Zion Williamson was all over social media after a dominant showing in Indianapolis.</p>

Zion Williamson was all over social media after a dominant showing in Indianapolis.

Duke's 2018-19 season started off with a bang as the Blue Devils poured in 118 en route to a historic victory in Indianapolis. That was good for the most points ever by a single team in a Champions Classic matchup.

And even though Duke had to compete with Election Night coverage, plenty of people were watching.

So what were folks talking about during and after the Blue Devils' blowout win? Catch up with a look at reactions and videos from the internet.

All of the hype leading up to the season revolved around Zion Williamson—and reasonably so. The rookie has filled up YouTube with highlight-reel jams, starred in the ESPN+ Earn Everything all-access documentary from Duke's Canada tour and preseason prep and currently has 1.8 million Instagram followers.

Thus, before the game even tipped off, plenty of chops were being licked in anticipation of Williamson's debut...

And once the game got started, it didn't take long for others to break out the superlatives.

Even Skip Bayless, who certainly isn't known for the brightest of takes, had high praise for Williamson. The freshman weighs about the same as the average Duke football lineman.

Williamson continued to put on a show the entire night.

In addition to 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field, he added a couple more high-flying dunks and an incredible transition sequence in which he ripped the ball out of Kentucky big man Nick Richards' hands and turned it into a fast-break assist for the Blue Devils.

We didn't see any LeBron-esque chasedown blocks from Williamson, but something tells me that will come with time.

Until then, Williamson will find other ways to remain a one-man highlight show. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently 1-10 after LeBron headed to Los Angeles this offseason. But look on the bright side, Cavs fans, you might get a pretty good player in the draft.

Of course, Williamson wasn't the only Duke freshman to star in the season opener. R.J. Barrett was pretty good, too.

In fact, his 33 points set a record that would've otherwise been set by Williamson Tuesday night.



After the game was over, there was plenty of buzz about the young Blue Devils.

The 10:03 p.m. tip time sent some people to sleep before game's end, however. As a result, chatter carried over into Wednesday morning.

On ESPN's Get Up!, Jalen Rose—a former Michigan basketball player who was part of the Wolverines' Fab Five in the 1990s—claimed that Williamson wouldn't have started for Michigan back in the day...

Your thoughts, Coach Cal?

In the 'embrace debate era' at ESPN, it wasn't going take long for a response to Rose's bold statement.

So who fired back first? None other than Stephen A. Smith. Because of course.

And for once, Smith and Bayless were on the same page. Shocker, right?

Late Wednesday afternoon, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr chimed. Even though NBA rules prohibit coaches from talking about current college players, it was pretty clear who Kerr was talking about.

Coach K might not want to compare Williamson to anyone, but it's clear that others aren't afraid to go there.

Something tells me there will be plenty of Duke highlights and hot takes all over social media this season. I wonder what it could be...

Oh, now I remember.


Mitchell Gladstone | Sports Managing Editor

Twitter: @mpgladstone13

A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak." 

Discussion

Share and discuss “Duke men's basketball social media roundup: 2018 Champions Classic vs. Kentucky” on social media.