Louisville buckles up for Duke and 'one of a kind' Zion Williamson

"Who?" 

That was Louisville coach Chris Mack's response Monday morning when asked about Zion Williamson — tongue in cheek of course, since Mack would likely be out of a job if he didn't know the name of one of the top players in the country, especially one slated to appear in his team's arena this week. 

Williamson, the dunking and blocking phenom widely considered the nation's most electrifying college basketball player, roars into town with Duke for a top-25 matchup against Louisville on Tuesday at the KFC Yum Center. 

It's Louisville, ranked No. 20 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, versus No. 2 Duke, but to some it might as well be Louisville versus Zion. 

Williamson is the No. 1 rated player in Division I hoops according to Ken Pomeroy, and if his season stats (21.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.2 steals per game on 68.4-percent shooting) aren't impressive enough, all you have to do is type his name into a search engine to be greeted by an avalanche of highlight plays. 

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Pregame coverage:Zion Williamson affects more than just odds in Louisville-Duke

Williamson leaping up and out from the middle of the paint to block a De'Andre Hunter 3-pointer. Williamson eating up interior space to position himself for an offensive rebound. Williamson streaking the floor for a transition dunk. 

“I think he’s one of a kind," Mack said. "I think he has a body like a tractor trailer. Everybody talks about his vertical and it’s incredibly impressive because he doesn’t look the part, I mean he’s 285, 290 pounds, like he would be able to do that. But what I can’t get over on film is just his reaction time, his ability to change directions. You feel like nine players are in slow motion and one guy is a little bit faster.”

Louisville's focus will be on keeping Williamson out of the lane, where he does the most damage. 

"If you play basketball in college, everybody knows Zion, knows what he does," said Louisville forward Jordan Nwora. "We’ve watched film, we’ve seen some of his habits. It’s really just playing our defense, really packing it in and keeping not only him out the lane but R.J. and some of those other guys out the lane." 

No, despite the Zion mania, the Duke Blue Devils aren't a one-man team. Leading scorer R.J. Barrett (23. 1 ppg) is the No. 3 player in KenPom's ratings, forward Cam Reddish (13.6 ppg) is a 3-point threat and guard Tre Jones leads the ACC in assists (5.6 per game). All three are likely first-round NBA draft picks. 

With few exceptions, the Cardinals' pack-line defense has fared decently as a catch-all against top players around the country. Nwora said he expects Barrett and Williamson will be different animals. 

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"They’re both unique players," Nwora said. "I don’t think we’ve played anyone like them yet. I wouldn’t be able to tell you until I play against them myself, so maybe after I’ll be able to let you know." 

When it comes down to it, there's only so much you can do in practice to simulate the size and athleticism of an opponent like Williamson. Louisville faced a similar problem earlier in the season when going up against Tennessee forward Grant Williams. Mack joked Monday about trying to get freshman walk-on Wyatt Battaile, who measures in at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, to act as a stand-in for Williamson. 

It seems likely that either Louisville center Malik Williams or forward Dwayne Sutton will start out on Williamson. But Mack said guarding Williamson, or Barrett and Reddish, isn't as simple as handing out defensive assignments and studying film. 

"We have to do it as a team and it's no different than some of the other big challenges that we face on an everyday basis in this league," Mack said. "(Williamson) is certainly as good a player as there is in college basketball. We can't think we're gonna assign one player to Zion, to Cam, to all those guys really, and feel like they're gonna be on lockdown and that we've taken care of the job."

"... We have to be on the right position off the ball, make the floor as crowded as we can and make them do their damage around us rather than over us, and that’s easier said than done." 

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More than the individual talents on the floor, collectively Duke (21-2, 9-1 ACC) plays with traits similar to teams that have frustrated Louisville (17-7, 8-3) this season. 

The Blue Devils use their quickness to deny the ball in passing lanes, like Florida State did to beat the Cards. Like Indiana, they put their best players in space and let them react to double teams. And, like North Carolina and Marquette, they are capable of playing inside-out and hitting 3-pointers in crucial moments. 

Tuesday will be Mack's first tussle as a head coach with Duke, but he said his experiences facing them as an assistant coach and watching them on film tell the same story: a team that is unselfish on offense and relentless of defense. 

"They’re a team that steals momentum quickly," Mack said. "The way they offensive rebound, the way they turn defense into offense. We have to be able, as best we can, to take those away. If we do we’ll give ourselves a chance to win, and if we don’t, then we’ll be like their other 21 victims." 

Danielle Lerner: 502-582-4042; dlerner@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @Danielle_Lerner. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/daniellel.