Wiggins: Top Freshman in NCAA Basketball and Potential Lottery Pick
Entering the NCAA men’s basketball season Andrew Wiggins was the No. 1 recruit and a projected No. 1 pick in the next NBA Draft later this summer.
Of late, some have talked of Wiggins not reaching the lofty expectations he and others have had for the talented hoops player.
Some experts in the draft believe Jabari Parker from the Duke Blue Devils might have passed Wiggins as the projected first pick in the NBA Draft. Of course, half the season remains, including conference schedules, which will have a lot to do with how these players finish their seasons.
However, this past Saturday, scouts and NBA teams were reminded of the talent Wiggins possesses, when he scored 13 straight points for Kansas during the second half of a Jayhawks victory over their rivals the Kansas State Wildcats.
He turned around two days later and grabbed 19 rebounds, a career high and scored 17 points in Kansas’ win on the road against Iowa State.
Despite some inconsistencies, the freshman sensation for Kansas has played his best basketball against his team’s toughest completion. Versus ranked opponents this season such as Florida, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas State and San Diego State, Wiggins has averaged over 20 points and close to 10 boards per game.
His downfall in the eyes of experts has been against opponents that are unranked, as he is averaging just fewer than 14 points and 5 rebounds per game.
Wiggins has shot better both inside the arc and in 3-point territory against opponents that are ranked.
Entering the season the top freshmen were Parker, Wiggins and Julius Randle. If you compare numbers Wiggins is more efficient offensively than the other two against opponents that are ranked. Wiggins also has faced must tougher competition during the first half of the season at Kansas.
What has kept Wiggins back in the eyes of some is he has not taken control of games as often as Randle and Parker have.
Part of that is because he is not featured in the offense for Kansas the way Randle and Parker have been on their teams. The majority of offense for Kansas has come during the regular flow or off transition in the game without looking for one player to consistently do the scoring.
Transition is where Wiggins is superior to both Randle and Parker and for that matter nearly every other player in the nation. Wiggins is eighth in the nation in transition points per play at 1.45 amongst players who have a minimum of 45 of those plays in this season.
Of course, Wiggins has a long road ahead to become a star at the next level, but he is likely the best player in the freshman class and will be a top 3 pick in the NBA this summer if he decides to leave school, which is what most people familiar with him believe he will do.
