Zion rejoins Duke for tournament Thursday

CHARLOTTE --Zion Williamsonreturned to action for the first time in nearly a month on Thursday as Duketook on Syracusein the ACC tournament.

Williamson injured his left knee against North Carolinaon Feb. 20, and the Blue Devils have struggled in his absence, dropping three of six games.

Amid debate that the ACC Player of the Year and likely first overall selection in June's NBA draft should sit out the rest of the season, coach Mike Krzyzewski had offered assurances Williamson would return and had pointed to Thursday's game as the most likely date to get back on the court.

Williamson practiced in full throughout the week, and Krzyzewski said he expected the team would have a quick adjustment period working its star forward back into the lineup, putting the Blue Devils squarely back in the national championship picture.

"We have a re-set button," Krzyzewski said after a loss to UNC to cap the regular season. "If Zion's healthy, we have a chance."

Thursday afternoon, Duke tweeted out a photo of Williamson lacing up a pair of Kyrie Irving sneakers by Nike.

Williamson was wearing a Nike Paul George signature shoe, the PG 2.5, on Feb. 20 when he injured his knee. Just 33 seconds into Duke's showdown with North Carolina, Williamson planted to make a move, but then his shoe gave way and tore apart at the sole. He left the game and missed the next five games.