BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- "Hey, you're the guy who guarded Zion, right?"
Bryson Bishop has heard that a time or two since a video went viral of him in eighth grade guarding the high school version of New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson.
Williamson, then a 6-foot-6 junior, looked down in amazement at Bishop, then a 5-foot-6 eighth grader, who was clapping it up as he took his assignment to guard Williamson.
The two got together again on Friday night in Birmingham, Alabama as the Pelicans and Williamson were in town for a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. Bishop, now a freshman on the Birmingham-Southern Panthers men's basketball team, recreated the viral moment with Williamson in the hallway near the locker room in Legacy Arena.
Williamson and Bishop caught up for roughly 10 minutes prior to Friday's game where Bishop presented Williamson with a No. 1 jersey from Birmingham-Southern.
"I've been looking forward to this through the last week and we got here and it's literally the coolest moment in my life probably," Bishop told ESPN on Friday night.
All love @Zionwilliamson 🤝 @B_P_B_2 pic.twitter.com/IAUYl371my
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 14, 2022
Bishop said he was a little nervous about Friday's meeting, but Williamson's demeanor immediately put him at ease.
"I think the coolest thing was he picked up like we have known each other forever, so that was pretty cool," Bishop said.
Bishop said he briefly considered transferring to Spartanburg Day School where Williamson was after that season, so the two talked then. But Friday night was the first time they have spoken since.
"I think coming from the same hometown and knowing the same people, that brings you together," Bishop said of his conversation with Williamson. "He's always been somebody who is down to earth and talks to people, especially people he knows. So a moment like that, I think it just speaks to who he really is."
