Jones to Zion alley-oop draws comparisons to Hurley to Hill in 1991
Zion Williamson was streaking down the right side of the court — and just a glimpse of him was enough for Tre Jones.
The Duke freshmen combined for a highlight-reel worthy alley-oop in the second half of the Blue Devils’ 75-73 victory against Virginia Tech on Friday night. The soaring slam by WIlliamson gave Duke its largest lead of the game to that point, forced a Hokies’ timeout and quickly drew comparisons with another Duke alley-oop.
CBS immediately showed replays of Grant Hill’s 1991 dunk on a pass from Bobby Hurley against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament title game. Hill slammed it down one-handed. Hill was a member of the CBS broadcast team Friday night.
“Is that the one he caught with one hand?” Williamson asked after the game. “He caught that with one hand. That one’s got to be better. I know what one you’re talking about. That one was incredible.”
Williamson’s dunk was pretty special, too. Jones stole the ball in the backcourt, starting the fastbreak. Jones lobbed the pass from outside the 3-point line in transition, and Williamson soared for the two-hand slam.
“I saw Zion streaking down the right side and that’s one of the best sights to see during a game,” Jones said. “So I put it up there for him pretty high and he was actually able to go up and get that one for me.”
Said Williamson: “I’m running the lane and he throws it up. I don’t even know where the rim’s at. So I jump and I have to turn my head quick and kind of drop it in. The best part about that play is how lit Tre got. Tre was hype. That gets everybody else hype.”
Williamson said he and Jones have developed a trust on those passes — no lob is too tall.
“I’ve never thrown a pass that I thought was too high for Zion. That was pretty high up there,” Jones said. “But when you know what he can do, you never think something is too high for him.”
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who coached Hill and Hurley in that 1991 title game, said he would leave comparisons of the two dunks to others.
“Zion can do amazing things. He can actually jump higher than Grant,” Krzyzewski said. “But on that play Grant did with Bobby, he was, I think, the highest he’s ever jumped. And when you’re playing with a great point guard sometimes they lead you and put you in a position where you extend and you pass the limit you already had, because they have such confidence in you.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Jones to Zion alley-oop draws comparisons to Hurley to Hill in 1991."
