John Calipari Didn't Know Zion Williamson Was This Good: 'Kid's off the Chain'

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari had plenty of opportunities to see Zion Williamson during the recruiting process, and even he's taken aback by how quickly the Duke Blue Devils star has dominated the college game. 

"We recruited Zion," Calipari said Friday on The Dan Patrick Show. "I probably missed him a little bit. I knew he was going to be good. I didn't know he was going to be this good. ... When we played against him, I walked off the court and I said, 'I missed on another one.' ... The kid's off the chain."

Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 2.1 steals in what's likely to be his only season at Duke. He also won the ACC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards.

After he committed to Duke, Williamson told reporters last March that Kentucky "came very close" to securing his signature.

"I had a good relationship with Coach Cal," he said. "He always kept it 100 percent with me. He told me I'd be an all-around player, that if I get the rebound, I could push up the floor and make plays happen. I'd be playing the 2 through 4."

The Wildcats still did pretty well, assembling the No. 2 class in 247Sports' composite team rankings for 2018.

Throw Williamson on an already loaded roster that included PJ Washington, Reid Travis, Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro, though, and Calipari might have added a fifth Final Four appearance to his resume at Lexington.