"Made me come out of my shell": When $46,100,000 worth Zion Williamson recounted getting put on the "second team" by Coach K

Zion Williamson once shared an insightful story from his early Duke days, highlighting Coach K's tactics. Speaking on a 2020 episode of the "Ringer NBA" with fellow Duke alum and then-New Orleans Pelicans teammate JJ Redick, the forward shared that he was a regular part of the white scrimmage team since day one.

However, a week into summer practice, Mike Krzyzewski shifted Williamson to the blue squad, leading him to scratch his head in confusion.

I think it was like a week's span when kind of whenever we would scrimmage he'd go, 'Alrighty, you're on the blue team,'" Williamson said (at 0:38). "I'm like, 'What? I'm on the second team?'"

Nevertheless, Zion Williamson, who has a net worth of $46.1 million per Forbes, shared that Coach K had a tendency to play chess with his players. The New Orleans Pelicans star added that he relegated him purposely, helping him unleash his full potential.

"He did it for a reason, he plays mind games so well that he said, 'I just wanted to bring the beast out of you,'" Williamson said.

"He felt like I was holding back because I had other stars around me and him putting me on the blue team really made me come out of my shell and attack those guys and always make my presence known on the court."

Williamson spent just one season at Duke, where he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks in 33 games. He went on to become just the third freshman ever after Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis to win the Wooden Award as the top men's player in the country.

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Coach K believes the hype behind Zion Williamson remains unmatched

When Cooper Flagg stepped into the college basketball landscape last offseason, he brought a certain hype and fandom with him. His stint against Team USA further helped the case.

However, Coach K believes that the build-up and fanfare behind Zion Williamson's Duke debut was much greater than the Maine native.

"(Flagg) has been amazing, really, there's not even a glimpse of anything negative," he said to Andy Katz in January. "There's no negative DNA in his room. He came in with hype, not as much as Zion, because Zion's was his like you couldn't believe that body type could do all that."

Zion Williamson was one of the most-hyped college players out of high school. His posterizing and powerful dunks took laps around social media while his HS games even drew NBA players to the sidelines. Williamson, due to his athleticism, size and dominance, was also regularly compared to LeBron James during this stretch.