Zion Williamson misses 2nd half vs. FSU because of eye injury

ByAndrea Adelson ESPN logo
Saturday, January 12, 2019

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Dukeforward Zion Williamson left the Blue Devils' 80-78 win overFlorida Statelate in the first half Saturday after he was poked in the left 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.

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 coachMike 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.

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