{"id":1485504,"date":"2022-02-25T09:31:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T14:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1485504"},"modified":"2022-02-25T09:31:51","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T14:31:51","slug":"zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/","title":{"rendered":"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It's somewhat of a running joke that injured athletes magically improve while the sidelines. While they don't actually get better, absence makes the heart grow fonder; if a team is struggling, it's easy to look at the one missing piece and assume he's the perfect answer to the issues at hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/zion-williamson\/\">Zion Williamson<\/a> is no longer benefiting from that sentiment, though. Recently, the injured <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/new-orleans-pelicans\/\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> star has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Stan Van Gundy, however, is coming to the big man's defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van Gundy, of course, coached Zion in the Big Easy and knows a thing or two about how he operates. Based on that perspective, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/zion-williamson-detached-sentiment-echoed-stan-van-gundy-think-just-wants-by-himself\/\">he feels bad for Williamson<\/a>. That should resonate with everyone, whether you're a Pelicans fan or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-zion-williamson-is-under-fire-as-a-detached-teammate\">Zion Williamson is under fire as a detached teammate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83d\udc40 JJ Redick calls Zion a &#039;detached teammate&#039; for not speaking to CJ McCollum yet \ud83d\ude33 | First Take\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9KSsAws0rTQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On paper, Zion has the talent to be one of the best players in the entire Association. Injuries have prevented him from reaching that potential, though, and, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/zion-williamson-must-be-out-of-line-for-jj-redick-to-betray-the-duke-brotherhood\/\">according to JJ Redick<\/a>, Williamson has also been lacking in the behavioral department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This is something I addressed with Zion in front of the team,\u201d Redick said in response to the story that Williamson failed to contact CJ McCollum when he joined the Pelicans. \u201cThis is going back to his rookie year, \u2026 a pattern of behavior with Zion that we are seeing again and again. I was his teammate; I can describe him as a detached teammate, that is an accurate statement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The former sharpshooter wasn't done there, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a responsibility that you have as an athlete when you play a team sport to be fully invested,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou\u2019re fully invested in your body, you\u2019re fully invested in your work, and you\u2019re fully invested in your teammates. That is your responsibility, and we have not seen that from Zion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stan Van Gundy offers a sympathetic perspective of the young star <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"834\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg?w=1024&#038;h=683&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Stan Van Gundy and Zion Williamson during a New Orleans Pelicans game.\" class=\"wp-image-1485515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg?w=300&amp;h=200 300w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg?w=768&amp;h=512 768w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=683 1024w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=801 1200w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg?w=90&amp;h=60 90w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" \/><figcaption>Stan Van Gundy and Zion Williamson during their time with the New Orleans Pelicans. | Sean Gardner\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Between those Redick comments and other rumors swirling about a mutual dissatisfaction with New Orleans, it hasn't been the best stretch for Zion Williamson. His former coach, however, stepped in to offer a different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a recent appearance on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/6MgDKXldWpBXt5vhLRKzFg?si=Nlz0vHabRzWKf0cZL4AjnQ&amp;amp%3Bamp%3Bcontext=spotify%3Acollection%3Apodcasts%3Aepisodes&amp;nd=1\">The Dan LeBatard Show<\/a>, Stan Van Gundy shared his view of things in the Big Easy. In addition to sharing that Redick &#8220;really likes Zion,&#8221; the former Pelicans coach also came to the injured star's defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Zion at times can certainly be detached. When he\u2019s playing, I didn\u2019t think he was detached at all last year,&#8221; SVG explained. &#8220;But when he\u2019s not playing \u2014 off-season, breaks, injured, whatever \u2014 I think he just wants to be by himself. I think he doesn\u2019t like not playing, he wants to be by himself and get ready, [and] that\u2019s a big part of it. And at that point, all he wants to do is get back and play to re-attach. So I don\u2019t know that he\u2019s always detached, but I think when he\u2019s not playing, he is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then came the kicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel bad for him quite honestly, I think he\u2019s come under a lot of criticism about his inability to stay healthy and play and things like that,&#8221; Van Gundy continued. &#8220;And now about being attached and detached. He\u2019s caught a lot of flack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Zion Williamson is a human being, but that doesn't absolve him of all responsibility <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Can Kawhi Leonard be a superstar being this quiet? | First Take | ESPN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4xqeFhVx-BQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Given their celebrity status and bank accounts, no one is going to shed a tear for professional athletes. Some criticism, logic dictates, is the trade-off for fame and fortune. Van Gundy's comments about Zion Williamson, however, are a reminder of the other side of the coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let's look at some of the beats from the big man's career. He received flack for seeming less than enthused when he officially joined the Pelicans. Could he have been a better actor and put on a happy face for the cameras? Of course. But, on a human level, it's easy to understand why a competitor wouldn't be thrilled to join a floundering franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jumping forward to the present, a charitable explanation of Zion's behavior <em>could<\/em> exist. As SVG said, Williamson entered the league with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. Since then, he's struggled through injuries and barely seen the court. As more and more rumors swirl about his future, it's reasonable to imagine him being a bit disgruntled, detached, or whatever adjective you'd prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It's also possible, given the way Van Gundy described Williamson, that the big man is simply an introvert. When he's not playing basketball, his default might be to withdraw and only engage with a limited circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That, however, doesn't absolve him of responsibility. As a star player and, more importantly for the Pelicans, a member of the team, Williamson does have some obligations to uphold. He could be more communicative, both with the public and the organization at large and cut less of an isolated figure. Even if that's just window dressing, it would help combat the &#8220;he doesn't even want to be here&#8221; narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, at the same time, fans need to remember that he's a human being. Pro athletes aren't robots performing for our amusement; they're human beings who are allowed to be upset, detached, or any other emotion. It's also important f<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/shaquille-oneal-backtracks-ben-simmons-criticism-personal-experience-mental-health\/\">or fans to treat those feelings as valid<\/a> and not immediately assume they're a ploy, as some have done with Ben Simmons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of that isn't to say that we have to treat athletes with kid gloves; they're working in the public eye, and criticism of their performances are simply part of the job. There is room, though, for both sides to work together a bit more. Players (in this case Zion) can be a bit more open and communicative, and fans can be more understanding that the guys on the court are allowed to feel something other than fired up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/zion-williamson-situation-means-we-need-to-talk-about-the-rookie-contract-problem\/\">Zion Williamson Situation Means We Need to Talk About the Rookie Contract Problem<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the entire basketball world has been piling on Zion Williamson for being detached, Stan Van Gundy offered a more human perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":1485515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4870,11089],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you&#039;ve been jumping on the &#039;rip Zion Williamson&#039; bandwagon this week, you might want to reconsider in that in light of SVG&#039;s comments.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you&#039;ve been jumping on the &#039;rip Zion Williamson&#039; bandwagon this week, you might want to reconsider in that in light of SVG&#039;s comments.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-25T14:31:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-25T14:31:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"834\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Kozlowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@JoeKozlowski_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Kozlowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/\",\"name\":\"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; 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Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope \u2014 both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.\",\"sameAs\":[\"\",\"JoeKozlowski_\",\"\",\"\",\"\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Joe Kozlowski | Sports7 Writer\",\"email\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy - Sports7","description":"If you've been jumping on the 'rip Zion Williamson' bandwagon this week, you might want to reconsider in that in light of SVG's comments.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy","og_description":"If you've been jumping on the 'rip Zion Williamson' bandwagon this week, you might want to reconsider in that in light of SVG's comments.","og_url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/","og_site_name":"Sports7","article_published_time":"2022-02-25T14:31:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-02-25T14:31:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1250,"height":834,"url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joe Kozlowski","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@JoeKozlowski_","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joe Kozlowski","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/","name":"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy - Sports7","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-02-25T14:31:50+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-25T14:31:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/54fa4083caedd42dabe199fbc16f92a2"},"description":"If you've been jumping on the 'rip Zion Williamson' bandwagon this week, you might want to reconsider in that in light of SVG's comments.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Zion-Williamson-Stan-Van-GUndy-1.jpg","width":1250,"height":834,"caption":"Stan Van Gundy and Zion Williamson during their time with the New Orleans Pelicans. | Sean Gardner\/Getty Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/zion-williamson-is-human-too-just-ask-stan-van-gundy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Zion Williamson Is Human, Too; Just Ask Stan Van Gundy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/","name":"Sports7","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/54fa4083caedd42dabe199fbc16f92a2","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/author\/joe-kozlowski\/","name":"Joe Kozlowski","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Joe-Kozlowski-96x96.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Joe-Kozlowski-96x96.jpeg","caption":"Joe Kozlowski"},"description":"Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history \u2014 likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center \u2014 he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. 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