Zion exits early with eye injury in Duke’s victory
Zion Williamson tries to drive to the basket, but Trent Forrest pokes him in the eye and causes him to exit the game. (0:25)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Duke forward Zion Williamson left the Blue Devils’ 80-78 win over Florida State late in the first half Saturday after he was poked in the eye and did not return.
Williamson was driving inside when multiple Florida State players met him. He started fumbling the ball, Trent Forrest hit him in the face, and Williamson landed hard on the court.
He stayed down for several moments, kicking his legs in pain while covering his face, and missed the entire Florida State possession on the other end of the floor. He then came off, saw a trainer, and a few moments later went into the locker room just before the first half ended.
Cam Reddish hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to lead No. 1 Duke past No. 13 Florida State 80-78 on Saturday.
When the second half began, Williamson came out with his teammates and sat on the bench but did not enter the game.
“He had double vision,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward. “He came out in the second half — Nate (James, associate head coach) told me, with about three minutes to go — I wasn’t out on the court yet; he ran back and said, ‘Zion’s got double vision.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s see. He can’t play, obviously, if he has that.’
“And we waited, and it didn’t clear up. The good thing, he didn’t have headaches. Again, I’m not saying intent — he got poked right in the eye. He’s better now. So hopefully he’ll be able to play on Monday. But it’s a big loss. For this game — are you kidding? Especially with the athleticism we’re facing.”
Williamson was not made available to the media after the game.
When Williamson exited, he had 11 points and eight rebounds. With Williamson out of the game in the second half, Florida State made a concerted effort to go inside more. It had more dunks in the second half than the first.