Will Andrew wiggins be a great player in the NBA?

[EH15]

I'm struggling to come up with anything tangible that makes Andrew Wiggins more impressive than Terrence Ross besides 2 inches of height.

Are you really comparing a second year 23 year old NBA player to a 19 year old college freshman?

[Q C]

I'm struggling to come up with anything tangible that makes Andrew Wiggins more impressive than Terrence Ross besides 2 inches of height.

Are you really comparing a second year 23 year old NBA player to a 19 year old college freshman?

No, I'm comparing Terrence friggin Ross to the supposed "Next LeBron"

[EH15]

What does Ross have to do with this then? Compare him to the actual Lebron because Wiggins as a prospect is light years ahead of Ross at age 19.

[Q C]

What does Ross have to do with this then? Compare him to the actual Lebron because Wiggins as a prospect is light years ahead of Ross at age 19.

fun fact: Andrew Wiggins was supposed to come in and be dramatically better than Terrence Ross is right now.

He isn't. Get over the age thing, its not relevant to what I'm saying

[EH15]

What does Ross have to do with this then? Compare him to the actual Lebron because Wiggins as a prospect is light years ahead of Ross at age 19.

fun fact: Andrew Wiggins was supposed to come in and be dramatically better than Terrence Ross is right now.

He isn't. Get over the age thing, its not relevant to what I'm saying

According to who?

[Q C]

What does Ross have to do with this then? Compare him to the actual Lebron because Wiggins as a prospect is light years ahead of Ross at age 19.

fun fact: Andrew Wiggins was supposed to come in and be dramatically better than Terrence Ross is right now.

He isn't. Get over the age thing, its not relevant to what I'm saying

According to who?

Well, I would hope the guy supposed to be taken 1st overall in supposedly historically deep draft would have skills that stand out over a 10/3 player. Anthony Davis was a "19 year old omg freshman!" that had skills and natural abilities that were obviously elite NBA caliber.

[Xerxes_Tetra]

He just scored 4 points against Stanford. This guy has a long way to go. He should probably stay in college another year. I know he won't but he should.

[Shaud]

For all the bashing he receives he still had a good freshman year despite the disappointing game today. Most seniors don't average 17 a game and he's a very good defender.

It's not his fault people said he was the best high school prospect since LeBron. Which is what people said they were not calling him the Next Lebron.

[Shaud]

Compare Terrence Ross as a freshman to Andrew Wiggins.

Ross failed to make the tournament

[Juggynaut]

Wiggins sucked hardcore.

[bigpimpatl]

because the NCAA tournament is the end all be all predictor of NBA success.

[MaxRider]

i personally think this year draft is overrated
jabari parker will be like derrick williams stuck between sf and pf
andrew wiggins is just like gerald green

[ManualRam]

Kansas doesn't use Wiggins right. They should be working to get him the ball more early in the offense or having more movement in their offense but instead they just let him float on the three point line. Even keeping him in the post would've been good against the zone today. College basketball is a bit different with a smaller court, the style of play is meant for jump shooters. Kansas has no real good play makers to help Wiggins out either.

He was supposed to BE the playmaker to help the others out.

he has never been a playmaker, but what he could've done was be good enough offensively to draw extra attention from the defense. he wasn't and isn't.

the "he wasn't used right" excuse is tired and lame though. given his skill set, he is an in the flow, transition scorer and put back guy who can straight slash off of passes. nothing more. when his jump shot is not on, it significantly decreases what he can do offensively in the halfcourt. you can say that they can post him up, but andrew is not strong. he has a weak base and he struggles playing through contact.

[Doctor MJ]

For all the bashing he receives he still had a good freshman year despite the disappointing game today. Most seniors don't average 17 a game and he's a very good defender.

It's not his fault people said he was the best high school prospect since LeBron. Which is what people said they were not calling him the Next Lebron.

You're not wrong. By any normal standards, Wiggins looks elite. But it should also be understandable why people judge Wiggins relative to expectations. I actually think people doing that is a healthy thing so we can recognize just how crazy impressive some other prospects have been.

I think there's also the matter of judging a player in part based on how seemed to react emotionally to the situation. A less hyped prospect doesn't have primacy handed to him as a freshman in college so you don't know how he'll handle in the future. The top prospects like Wiggins though do, and so we learn something about their psyche.

The most clear cut example I can think in the positive direction was LeBron. We've never seen any one straight out of high school (or even one & done) prove themselves so ready to be the man. He seemed to laugh at the notion that the pressure might get to him.

Wiggins is clearly someone on the other side of things. Were I to draft him, I'd be very careful about giving him too much primacy at the very start because he might actually break. Not the worst thing in the world - it's not like LeBron was ready to actually carry a team anywhere good at the start either - but it's not ideal.

[Doctor MJ]

Kansas doesn't use Wiggins right. They should be working to get him the ball more early in the offense or having more movement in their offense but instead they just let him float on the three point line. Even keeping him in the post would've been good against the zone today. College basketball is a bit different with a smaller court, the style of play is meant for jump shooters. Kansas has no real good play makers to help Wiggins out either.

He was supposed to BE the playmaker to help the others out.

he has never been a playmaker, but what he could've done was be good enough offensively to draw extra attention from the defense. he wasn't and isn't.

the "he wasn't used right" excuse is tired and lame though. given his skill set, he is an in the flow, transition scorer and put back guy who can straight slash off of passes. nothing more. when his jump shot is not on, it significantly decreases what he can do offensively in the halfcourt. you can say that they can post him up, but andrew is not strong. he has a weak base and he struggles playing through contact.

I'm with you about the "wasn't used right" criticism. It's bizarre to me when a top prospect goes to a school with a top coach and is given opportunity right from the start, I mean what else were you expecting him to be given? Top stars in basketball are the ones where you let them do their thing and then figure out what to do with the rest of the guys in response. If you have to have some sophisticated scheme to make it all work, then that's a weakness.

[MacGill]

Wiggins is clearly someone on the other side of things. Were I to draft him, I'd be very careful about giving him too much primacy at the very start because he might actually break. Not the worst thing in the world - it's not like LeBron was ready to actually carry a team anywhere good at the start either - but it's not ideal.

Doc,

winning aside as I know we still have the tournament to finish out, can you sum up your thoughts on Davis versus Wiggins from the college stand point before the draft?

[Shaud]

For all the bashing he receives he still had a good freshman year despite the disappointing game today. Most seniors don't average 17 a game and he's a very good defender.

It's not his fault people said he was the best high school prospect since LeBron. Which is what people said they were not calling him the Next Lebron.

You're not wrong. By any normal standards, Wiggins looks elite. But it should also be understandable why people judge Wiggins relative to expectations. I actually think people doing that is a healthy thing so we can recognize just how crazy impressive some other prospects have been.

I think there's also the matter of judging a player in part based on how seemed to react emotionally to the situation. A less hyped prospect doesn't have primacy handed to him as a freshman in college so you don't know how he'll handle in the future. The top prospects like Wiggins though do, and so we learn something about their psyche.

The most clear cut example I can think in the positive direction was LeBron. We've never seen any one straight out of high school (or even one & done) prove themselves so ready to be the man. He seemed to laugh at the notion that the pressure might get to him.

Wiggins is clearly someone on the other side of things. Were I to draft him, I'd be very careful about giving him too much primacy at the very start because he might actually break. Not the worst thing in the world - it's not like LeBron was ready to actually carry a team anywhere good at the start either - but it's not ideal.

Oh I agree with you and understand why people are bashing him and thinking he was a disappointment because how much he was hyped up.

I actually think it's quite impressive that Andrew Wiggins never showed a selfish side despite the hype. He has always played within the teams gameplan. I do wish he was more aggressive and a better finisher near the rim.

Anyone comparing him to Terrence Ross though didn't watch the two in college as freshmen.

[Dark Faze]

He doesn't handle the ball good enough to be an NBA great.

[Doctor MJ]

Wiggins is clearly someone on the other side of things. Were I to draft him, I'd be very careful about giving him too much primacy at the very start because he might actually break. Not the worst thing in the world - it's not like LeBron was ready to actually carry a team anywhere good at the start either - but it's not ideal.

Doc,

winning aside as I know we still have the tournament to finish out, can you sum up your thoughts on Davis versus Wiggins from the college stand point before the draft?

Well, I always refrain from presenting the image that I believe I'm a great scout. I don't. What I will say though:

Davis had the most impressive freshman year I believe I've ever witnessed. Obviously there's some luck involved when you're on a championship team, but what was clear was that at least at the college level Davis' length & agility made him a man among boys, and he was also so dang smart with his moves. When you look at the advanced stats he's basically as good as any freshman in the data era, and when you look at what he did in the team context he rises to the very top.

From a scouting perspective I was excited because I saw in him what I consider to be roughly the ideal build for a defensive big, and I was astonished at how smooth & shrewd he was given that he had just had that crazy growth spurt. All that made him clearly the most interesting prospect since LeBron for me. At the same time I heard the doubts about him, and I won't claim I knew better. There were some who felt he relied on a physical advantage that he simply wouldn't have in enough quantity at the NBA level to be able to pull off the same type of play, and I felt that was possible. Most also questioned how far he'd go with his offensive game given how limited he seemed in Kentucky - there I disagreed with them if they grew too confident because we knew that he had been a ballhandler in high school and that Calipari had chosen to use Davis as something of a specialist. For much of it, I just felt like we couldn't accurately peg his ceiling.

Wiggins? Well, we're basically just talking potential here right? I mean, he's elite by ordinary college levels, but we can't really say he dominated in college in any one area despite the fact he was vastly more physically talented than everyone else. If I make a list of the top freshman in the Big 12 by PER in the past 5 years, Wiggins slides in between Andre Roberson and Xavier Henry. So to the extent then that there's a conversation about where the great freshman of the 1 & Done era stack up in that 1 year, Wiggins just isn't in it.

That's not a reason to judge Wiggins a bust of course. We're in an impatient era. Tim Duncan's freshman year saw him fail to break double digit averages in either points or rebounds after all. Much of the question with Wiggins comes with how he adapts and gets comfortable in these new situations. If he's someone who simply needs to find his groove, then it's not hard to imagine him flipping a switch like Durant and going directly from prospect to superstar a few years down the road. But obviously, you'd rather have a prospect who seems to come with the light pre-switched on.

[Prokorov]

For all the bashing he receives he still had a good freshman year despite the disappointing game today. Most seniors don't average 17 a game and he's a very good defender.

It's not his fault people said he was the best high school prospect since LeBron. Which is what people said they were not calling him the Next Lebron.

what seniors? most good player never make it to their senior year. they guys that do are usually second round fodder.

16/6 on 45% shooting is a good season for a freshman. but its not super impressive ZOMG he is the next lebron type stuff