(Photo: Zion Williamson)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – College basketball coaches are always looking for ways to make lasting impressions on the players they recruit; for Game Elite (Ga.) star Zion Williamson the most appealing pitch is the simplest: Don’t box him in.

“I love it when coaches don’t talk about which position they see me at,” Williamson said. “When they just refer to me as a basketball player and talk about all of the different positions they can see me playing in, I definitely listen more.”

Williamson, who took home Co-MVP honors at the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va., last month, began playing basketball when he was 4 years old; back then he ran the point.

“I wasn’t always tall,” said Williamson, a rising junior who is ranked No. 10 overall in the ESPN 60. “I was a shorter so my stepdad had me at point guard so I learned those skills.”

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Early in his freshman year, Williamson hit a growth spurt that shot him up from 5-foot-11 to 6-3. The following year he grew from 6-3 to his current height of 6-7.

“By then I’d developed skills at all of the different positions,” Williamson said. “That’s why you see when I play sometimes I’m handling the ball, sometimes I’m passing, sometimes I’m in the post, sometimes I’m driving or shooting. I feel like I can do it all so I like it more when a school is telling me they see me as a player who can just be on the floor anywhere. That’s the kind of school I want to play at.”

College coaches, you’re welcome.

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