Andrew Wiggins is not a lock at #1?

[Dr Positivity]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3kO1FvnJeI[/youtube]

Think it's a more impressive clip than Jordan Brand, etc. games, but I continue to think that his strength is his feel for the game and fluidity but the rest is not all that special. Not convinced he is more physically gifted than Harrison Barnes tbh

[Cammo101]

Wiggins will be fine, and very likely will be the #1 pick. Guys like Randle and Parker have an outside shot if the blow up big time, but it is unlikely.

[NBAeinstein]

Some sort of action from Dante Exum could really push him into the conversation

[LloydFree]

Some sort of action from Dante Exum could really push him into the conversation

The best thing Exum has going for him, is the unknown. Nobody can pick out his flaws because they haven't seen him play anybody good, that was actually trying to stop him. This Exum mania kinda reminds me of the Nicolas Batum mania of a few years ago, when if you even hinted that Batum was going to be less than 1st team All-pro, you would have been run off the board.

[Big_C_KU]

I went back and rewatched the game and the thing I really noticed was his feel for the game. Seemed to know where to move to get open whether he has the ball or not. He also had great feel for where his teammates were. I was impressed with the few passes he made off the drive to open players. Looked to me like he can be not just a scorer on the drive but a creator for others as well.

His shot needs a few tweaks. He brings his arms down immediately after he releases the ball meaning inconsistent follow through and spin on ball. He definitely looks more comfortable off the dribble as when he spots up he has a tendency to move forward on his jumper. Luckily the problems he has on his shot are rather easily correctable with coaching and practice.

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[rockmanslim]

watching that highlight video, wiggins looks like venus williams.

[Knighthonor]

watching that highlight video, wiggins looks like venus williams.

Huh?

[HeartBreakKid]

watching that highlight video, wiggins looks like venus williams.

Well, they're both black at least so you're not 100% off.

[rockmanslim]

[Mlockhart]

It is just going to be tough for Wiggins to live up to the hype. Manualram is spot on, Wiggins handle is not his strength. He is a slasher pure and simple, and is great taking one or two dribbles right and getting to the hoop. I am not sure I have seen him go left yet, so defenses are going to be pushing him that way. He is going to have to learn how to shoot it as college teams are going to actually play defense and not just let him run up and down the court and dunk the ball.

With that being said, Kobe's weakness was his jump shot coming into the pros. He had a very good handle, and outstanding scoring instincts. I don't think Wiggins has the same type of feel that Kobe did at 18 or Lebron. Does anyone know about his work ethic? Is he in the gym 24/7 or is he just getting by on talent?

[LUUUKE]

With that being said, Kobe's weakness was his jump shot coming into the pros. He had a very good handle, and outstanding scoring instincts. I don't think Wiggins has the same type of feel that Kobe did at 18 or Lebron. Does anyone know about his work ethic? Is he in the gym 24/7 or is he just getting by on talent?

Not sure where you're getting that info but Kobe's jumps shot was one of his strengths. I believe it was his HS coach that convinced him that having a midrange jumper would benefit and set him apart more than anything since his peers were more concerned about dunks and threes.

[ManualRam]

in the past yr i've watched maybe 5-6 games that wiggins has played in where he hasn't made a single jumper, tonight's game included.
he had 10 points in 20 minutes. 3 of his FGs were dunks or layups. the other was a floater in the lane off of his patented spin move.

kansas' starting lineup needs shooting badly. they didn't really get into a rhythm today until the shooters came in off the bench. if selden is the best outside shooter in the SL, teams are gonna pack the paint vs kansas. wiggins needs to step up his shooting game. he had one particularly awful, unnecessary step back that looked like it fell 3 feet short. he should've gotten yanked again for that shot.

[Mlockhart]

With that being said, Kobe's weakness was his jump shot coming into the pros. He had a very good handle, and outstanding scoring instincts. I don't think Wiggins has the same type of feel that Kobe did at 18 or Lebron. Does anyone know about his work ethic? Is he in the gym 24/7 or is he just getting by on talent?

Not sure where you're getting that info but Kobe's jumps shot was one of his strengths. I believe it was his HS coach that convinced him that having a midrange jumper would benefit and set him apart more than anything since his peers were more concerned about dunks and threes.

Let me state it this way. His three point shot was his weakness. He did not have the range on his jump shot that he does now. If you remember the first few years in the league, most defenders backed off of him and let him shoot rather than get to the basket.

[Big_C_KU]

The first half was a teaching moment for Self with Wiggins. Wiggins did not play with the effort needed and was pulled early and when he came back in he was only in for 30 seconds before being pulled again because he didn't hurry down the court. One thing I love about Self is he's not afraid to sit a star recruit like Wiggins when they make a mistake or don't play with the effort needed. When he came back in late in the 1st half he scored 6 quick points with aggressive moves.

Wiggins is unselfish. That along with the system at KU which relies on ball movement and not one-on-one may hurt Wiggins a little early on because he's at his best offensively attacking the basket and not spotting up for jumpers. He showed the ease getting into the lane when he tried but he struggled with his touch on a couple shots. I do like his ability to get the shot off but right now I feel like he's flinging the ball at the basket instead of shooting with touch. His fade-away jumper in the first half was nice but it missed. Also had a beautiful move that led to a pull-up shot 5 ft from the basket but instead of using glass he shot straight at the basket and the release looked off on the jumper. His step back jumper in the 2nd looked uncomfortable but he also got hit on the elbow that caused the shot to be 3 ft short of the basket.

His handles are fine. Not really understanding why people are so down on it. He's goes left or right just fine. He hasn't shown or needed to show much shake though so that's still in question. He right now is only showing the 3-4, straight line dribble right now and I know people wanna see more shake.

Defense is definitely his strongest point. He guards, blocks shots, and rebounds. The one area he struggles on defense is staying with his man off the ball.

I think Wiggins will show better signs as the season goes along of offensive skill, especially as he gets move comfortable being aggressive and attacking more often. I hope he can get his shot going. I definitely understand the concerns with him.

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[sikma42]

Wiggins is not the 'Man amongst boys' that Lebron James was, but he does EVERYTHING as well as Kobe Bryant did at that stage.

no he doesn't. kobe had an amazing skill level for a prep. wiggins does not.

I don't know your experience watching Kobe in HS. I saw him many times. LIVE. Kobe couldn't dribble with his leftnhand, and he surely couldn't finish with his left hand. He couldn't shoot jumpers any better than Wiggins either. Don't re-write history.

Right now Wiggins is the same age as Kobe was in Summer lg. At that time Kobe was skilled as hell. there is a good amount of full game footage that showed his skill level was through the roof. At this age they aren't even comparable in that regard.


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[Komodo]

Thoughts from a Raps fan:

I'm not sure if it was with under a minute left or not, but DD was iso-ing to the left of the key up just at the 3 point line. He did a predictable little move, spun around and faded away from just inside the 3, of course it didn't go in. But that's what's wrong with our players. They're just not talented enough. For years I can remember wanting athletic wings because AP was a shooter and would never emphatically dunk, but now we're on the other end of the spectrum where our wings are athletic but suck otherwise. It's one of the reasons why I'm so guarded against Wiggins; I've seen the athletic wing who doesn't have a great handle/vision/passing in DD/Gay and I hate it. We need a guard/wing who can pass. I'm sick of people buying in to Wiggins' hype around here just cause he's Canadian and he's athletic. Yes, he's ranked highly for a prospect (and I've been most impressed with his defense) but we need someone who can handle and pass. It's what separates the goods from the great, often times. I like Wiggins, I'm just not sure if he's the answer to our roster.

Elite talent is rare. I like Wiggins, his man D looks pretty good. He looks like a very good prospect. But great? I haven't seen it yet other than the D bit it's still incredibly early. I'm just saying we need someone who can pass and make our players better, someone who can bring out the best in our players, particularly Val. Offensively, SO FAR, Wiggins looks like a good complementary piece. That's fine, but we may be better served opting for someone else, time will tell.

[sikma42]

Lets just say they were more skilled, even if they were it's not a huge gap. The only wing prospect I've seen in the past 20 years I think is heads and shoulders above everyone is Lebron. Not only did Lebron have the scoring ability, he had the body and passing ability you hardly see from a top wing prospect.

Kobe and Tmac were great HS players, but please don't rewrite history and make it seem like they were once in a generation type talents.

like i said in a previous post, imo, there is not one single offensive skill that i would say wiggins is on par with prep kobe. so yeah, i would disagree that the difference in skill isn't sizable.
generational type talent? depends on your definition. every decade? every 20 yr? a lifetime? prospects tend to get that type of talk when they're breaking wilt's area scoring records in HS and sweeping every individual accolade available. how many prep players have a combination of prototype size, athleticism, skill, competitiveness, pedigree, iq and maturity coming out of HS? not many at all.

Well, like I said before, I believe you are incorrect. Kobe had a 'high' and sloppy right hand handle, and Kobe Bryant couldn't dribble with his left hand. He was so right hand dominant, when he was forced to go left on drives, he had to contort his body and do reverse layups with his right hand in order to finish. Andrew Wiggins doesn't have that problem. His go-to move, is a spin move to his left, where he finishes with his left hand. So that's at least one "skill" he has that is better than Kobe. The use of his left hand.

That move is actually a trademark of someone with a weak left exploiting his superior athleticism. It isn't always gonna be there because the gap between him and his peers will close in the NBA. It is something you will see a lot from bigs transitioning fm the post to the wing. I don't think that move is a plus when comparing handles.


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[EricAnderson]

in the past yr i've watched maybe 5-6 games that wiggins has played in where he hasn't made a single jumper, tonight's game included.
he had 10 points in 20 minutes. 3 of his FGs were dunks or layups. the other was a floater in the lane off of his patented spin move.

kansas' starting lineup needs shooting badly. they didn't really get into a rhythm today until the shooters came in off the bench. if selden is the best outside shooter in the SL, teams are gonna pack the paint vs kansas. wiggins needs to step up his shooting game. he had one particularly awful, unnecessary step back that looked like it fell 3 feet short. he should've gotten yanked again for that shot.

Frankenkamps progress will be vital.. if he can improve enough to get minutes he could spread the floor a little because hes a deadly shooter

[EricAnderson]

Thoughts from a Raps fan:

I'm not sure if it was with under a minute left or not, but DD was iso-ing to the left of the key up just at the 3 point line. He did a predictable little move, spun around and faded away from just inside the 3, of course it didn't go in. But that's what's wrong with our players. They're just not talented enough. For years I can remember wanting athletic wings because AP was a shooter and would never emphatically dunk, but now we're on the other end of the spectrum where our wings are athletic but suck otherwise. It's one of the reasons why I'm so guarded against Wiggins; I've seen the athletic wing who doesn't have a great handle/vision/passing in DD/Gay and I hate it. We need a guard/wing who can pass. I'm sick of people buying in to Wiggins' hype around here just cause he's Canadian and he's athletic. Yes, he's ranked highly for a prospect (and I've been most impressed with his defense) but we need someone who can handle and pass. It's what separates the goods from the great, often times. I like Wiggins, I'm just not sure if he's the answer to our roster.

Elite talent is rare. I like Wiggins, his man D looks pretty good. He looks like a very good prospect. But great? I haven't seen it yet other than the D bit it's still incredibly early. I'm just saying we need someone who can pass and make our players better, someone who can bring out the best in our players, particularly Val. Offensively, SO FAR, Wiggins looks like a good complementary piece. That's fine, but we may be better served opting for someone else, time will tell.

So after seeing him a few minutes in a exhibition game you are convinced you dont want him #1? lol people really overreact

[Komodo]

No, I'm saying he has some questions that need answering and he's probably been overhyped.

There are different levels of talent-identifying ability and if you don't feel comfortable making statements based on a limited sample size that's your own problem.