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Zion says he put on 100 pounds in 2 years during high school

Lance King / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It's hard to imagine the word "small" being used to describe Zion Williamson, but that's how the Duke phenom viewed himself as a freshman in high school.

Williamson told GQ's Devin Gordon he was caught by surprise after gaining 100 pounds between his freshman and junior years at Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina.

"I didn't pick up all this weight until junior year. Freshman year, I was small. I was 6-3, 175 - like, I was small," he said. "And over the course of about two years I picked up a hundred pounds. I mean, I wouldn't look at myself and go, 'Wow, I'm 250!' I wouldn't know I was 250 until I stepped on the scale, and then I'm like, 'Oh. I'm 250? I don't feel 250. I don't feel slow.'

"Like, with all that weight just came more athleticism and finding myself able to do new things. People always say you have to grow into your body, but for me, it wasn’t even growing into my body - the more weight came, it didn't phase me. It made me faster, stronger. It helped me become a more versatile player."

Williamson, who's now listed at 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds, is averaging 22.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Blue Devils this season while shooting 68.3 percent from the field.

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