sikma42 wrote:#1. Ok. So you're not saying is a focal point player(only that there is a correlation), which is not what you said before.
#2. I'm just saying he is left open from the college 3 point line to do whatever he wants. He can take open 3s, he can dribble to the foul line or he can drive in to take a floater. The truth is no one is accounting for him for large portions of the game.
#3. The issues being the fact that he is a subpar jumpshooter, ball handler and passer may have more effect in college. However, I think you gotta be able to do a bit of something skillwise to thrive in the NBA. Solely blaming the college game for his faults seems a little myopic. BTW...rookie Kobe(who made the all star team and was gaiing comparisons to MJ) was a lot better than Wiggins, the game was different back then but please don't mistake his rookie stats for what he would have produced in college. You seem to base a lot of your critique around stats and correlation and aren't actually putting things into context or relying on the fact that im only "arguing" correlation. If you watched Kobe at 17 in summer league you would see the massive difference in their development at the same age. And with Lebron it is just obvious as well. Kobe and Lebron were used as comparisons because they were otherworldly talents at that age(which is what Wiggins was billed as), it isn't my comparison but the one most heard. If those guys were less skilled and only slashers then THEY WOULDNT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED THE TALENTS THAT THEY WERE. Maybe Wiggins isn't that level of talent? I'm not ready to say that but the question could reasonably be raised.
And yes...let's compare him to other slashers... he isn't standing out. No one is saying he isn't a great talent worthy of a #1 pick. He is just not what many(not me personally) thought he would be at this point. The fact that many scouts aren't sure he is still the number 1 pick says a lot about what they are seeing as well. Before the season he was thought of a sure-fire hall of famer, now he is a guaranteed top 3 pick.
#1: You completely misunderstand the argument. "Focal point" is just a definition, and is defined entirely through correlating points. Maybe to you that means a lot of iso-ball and 17-18' jump shots; that is your definition with your own correlating points.
I listed my own points I used as a reference (highest PPG, highest points per 40, highest usage rating, most FGA, most FGA per 40). The definition itself is entirely arbitrary and impossible to prove, and can only be shown to correlate to whatever definition we happen to use. If we replace "focal point" with "All-Star" then we could say that a 25 PPG player with 50/40/90 percentages usually correlates to an All-Star, but unlike like All-Star, which has a provable point our argued definition does not have a provable point.
The only argument we can have is over the definitions we use and how well a player's stats correlate to those definitions.
#2: The point I was making is that Wiggins is good at getting past his man, but is often denied a great shot at the rim because defenses go out of their way to defend against his penetration. In the NBA he wouldn't have to worry about bigs camping the lane and will likely have better opportunities to create shots for his teammates if their defenders breaks off to deny his penetration.
#3: Let's talk about Kobe. Here are some actual reports from his rookie year (and before):
Weaknesses- True, he is 17 (close to 18) which is huge but as his dad
said "he's 17 going on 25". Has questionable ballhandling skills (to be
a projected point guard). May not be ready for the rigors of the NBA life
and does not have the body for it right now (although his father, ex-nba
player, will be with him most of the time). Does not have a true
position. Played all 5 in high school and didn't perfect any one of the
five. Is very good at all 5 but not great.
I project him just as everyone else going no lower than 12 or so and I
wouldn't be suprised if he goes much higher. Don't everyone jump on me
at once who read this but I read that the 76ers might be intersted in
keeping him home. He practiced with them in the summer and they loved
him. Even said they would draft him when he came out.
General Info:
Led his team to the state championship, while
averaging 30 ppg. He's currently 17 years old.
Comments:
Has been compared to Grant Hill, but some scouts
feel he doesn't have the ballhandling and shooting
skills to be an effective guard.
Summary:
He'll likely be a top 20 pick.
He was good, yes. But not a Lebron type talent in any way, which is why he was selected 13th overall (though he did pave the way for Lebron and other high school players). A lot of the criticisms you have of Wiggins were also applied to Kobe as a high school player, and he certainly was able to put those criticisms behind him.
Similarly, Lebron was labeled as a great talent very early, but he still had faults. He was a worse jump shooter as a rookie than Wiggins is now (shooting only 29% from the 3PT line), for instance.
Basically, I'm saying that your criticisms of Wiggins aren't dissimilar to criticisms made of Kobe and Lebron. But we never got to see what those players would have done in the college environment, which has been over favorable to big men and 3PT shooters for a long time (even MJ was a much better rookie than college player). I'd say that if Wiggins were in the NBA instead of at KU he'd have better numbers and less criticism.
