Bluegrassrivals

Where will Andrew Wiggins, the nation’s undisputed No. 1 Class of 2013 college basketball recruit, go to school? The secret has been more carefully guarded than President Obama.

The national signing period opened Wednesday, and Wiggins still hasn’t put the speculation to rest. While many have tried to get him to bare his soul, Wiggins laughs at everyone trying to handicap the four-school race between Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Last week, Wiggins told his 60,000 Twitter followers: “Lol if you ain't in my family you know nothing about my recruitment , lol stop with the rumors.”

Next week will be a big one in the recruitment of this 6-7, 200-pound star-in-waiting. Wiggins will get visits from UNC's Roy Williams on Monday, Kansas' Bill Self on Tuesday and FSU's Leonard Hamilton on Wednesday, the player’s high school coach, Rob Fulford told SNY.tv. And that indicates that anything is still possible for this talented player who averaged 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds this past year for Huntington (West Va.) Prep.

Kentucky and Florida State have long been considered the frontrunners to land Wiggins, but his decision may come down to this, says Kentucky Kernel sports editor Alex Forkner: “Does Wiggins want to share the limelight on the way to a national title at UK, or be the main man at FSU? I'd call it a coin flip.”

Brendan Bures, the sports editor for the FSView and Florida Flambeau, gives Wiggins a 75 percent chance of coming to Tallahassee, even though the Seminoles are not the basketball powerhouse that the other three finalists are.

“I believe Wiggins chooses Florida State because of his father's (and mother's) alumni status, his best friend Xavier Rathan-Mayes (who’s already committed to FSU) is attending, and he wants to be the guy, not just one of many,” Bures said.

The intriguing school in this mix is North Carolina, especially considering Williams has an opening for a wing scorer with Reggie Bullock off to the NBA. UNC’s other three 2013 recruits are either big men (Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks) or a point guard (Nate Britt). And much like Lexington, Chapel Hill would be Wiggins’ best bet at a national title, should that be on his priority list. Teaming with P.J. Hairston and James Michael McAdoo would form a formidable team. And just think of the people he wouldn't be letting down on this "Andrew Wiggins to UNC" Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Kansas has its own big hole to fill with Ben McLemore declaring for the NBA draft. Wiggins could star in Lawrence with McLemore’s departure, but Pat Strathman, the sports editor at The University Daily Kansan, the school’s student newspaper, gives it a 10 percent chance.

“With Marcus Smart heading back to Oklahoma State, the urgency to get him increased drastically, but I think with the history of "one-and-done" players, Wiggins won't choose Kansas,” Strathman said.

http://www.bluegrassrivals.com/forum/new...read&f=105

Andrew Wiggins, the unanimous No. 1 player in the 2013 recruiting class, will soon make a choice that will rock the college basketball world, regardless of the program he selects. The anticipation has made the buzz palpable.

I know Wiggins has been scrutinized for years. He has a mother who competed in the Olympics, a father who played in the NBA. The young Canadian has been featured on major sports networks, websites and publications.

He’s not in the spotlight. He is the spotlight.

And with that -- all top-10 recruits recognize this, especially those with the coveted No. 1 tag -- comes pressure.

If you’re a top-10 kid in the 21st Century, you’re certainly aware of the circumstances and the stakes. You’re bombarded with text messages from coaches who promise milk and honey. You’re blanketed with love in the Twittersphere, as fans try to lure you to their respective schools. When you choose one of their rivals, the love becomes hate.

These highly skilled prospects believe they’re ready for the moment. They all believe they’re prepared for the expectations. But sometimes those expectations are more overwhelming than what they’d anticipated.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketbal...h-the-wait

The biggest story in college basketball right now is where an 18-year-old from Canada who has yet to play a minute of college basketball will decide to go to school for a year.

Andrew Wiggins, the latest savior in sneakers, is choosing between Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Florida State. He will make one coach and one fanbase really happy. He will disappoint three others. That’s what we know.

On Friday, Keith Jenkins, who is the Editorial Graphics Producer at ESPN (according to his LinkedIn page), tweeted that “Source tells me Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 recruit in the 2013 100, will commit to Florida State. Nothing official as of yet.” Here’s his series of tweets (via Kentucky Sports Radio).

Those tweets have since been deleted. Jenkins changed his Twitter handle from @KJenkins_ESPN to @MrKeithJenkins. The last Wiggins-related tweet he has not deleted came on March 28 when his “source” told him Wiggins was visiting with Kentucky coach John Calipari. That was also reported here and here. There’s an unconfirmed report (that I just made up) that Jenkins’ source also told him Wiggins is from Canada.

This is what we know, from Wiggins:


This is what happens when 18-year-olds make fans and Editorial Graphic Producers wait. We want to know. We want to speculate. We want sources. We want to know before they know.

But really, only the 18-year-old and his family know. Sometimes the family doesn’t even know. Sometimes the 18-year-old doesn’t even know yet.

Wiggins could be waiting just to make us wait. The late signing period does not end until May 15. He could like the attention. Or, most likely, Wiggins is waiting because he has not made up his mind yet. And he’s not the first 18-year-old basketball prodigy to make everyone wait.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/16056...s-decision

High school senior Andrew Wiggins is many things: a 6'7" small forward, top-rated recruit in the class of 2013, Naismith Award winner, recipient of the long overdue "Maple Jordan" moniker.

He is not yet, however, a college commit.

One of the most hyped talents of the one-and-done era is also one of the last players in his class to make a verbal commitment.

Wiggins has been uncommonly tight-lipped about his intentions, but he has at least narrowed his list to four schools: Florida State, Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.

Below we'll take a look at how the Canadian uber-prospect might fit on each of those rosters.



Florida State

Wiggins has deep roots in Tallahassee. His dad played ball for the 'Noles. His mom ran track at FSU. His first dunk took place at the Tucker Center.

And if indeed some cocktail of sentimentality and opportunity draws the young man down to the Sunshine State, it'll be the recruiting coup of coach Leonard Hamilton's career.

That's not to say the 'Noles are devoid of talent. Wiggins' good buddy, Xavier Rathan-Mayes (No. 40), is on his way to Tallahassee, and Okaro White should be one of the ACC's better frontcourt players. Compared to the other three teams on this list, though, Florida State's cupboard is relatively bare.

Should Wiggins go to FSU, he'll be the undisputed alpha dog. Lots of shots. Lots of minutes. Lots of highlights. If Wiggins is as good as advertised, I'd expect something along the lines of what Michael Beasley did in his lone year at Kansas State. Worst-case scenario, he's Renardo Sidney at Mississippi State. Although it should be said that a Sidney-like career is highly unlikely for a player of Wiggins' ability.

Point is, Wiggins would go to Florida State as the focal point of the offense and savior of the program.






Kansas

Kansas lost all five of its starters to either graduation or the draft, opening the door for a fleet of talented to freshmen to play early next season.

Joel Embiid should get a long look at center, and Conner Frankamp figures to challenge rising junior Naadir Tharpe for the starting point guard spot.

The highest-rated prospect in Bill Self's incoming class so far is 6'5" small forward Wayne Selden, and one might wonder how Wiggins and Selden could coexist. My guess? Just fine, thank you.

Wiggins has three to four inches on Selden, and his flexibility is such that Self could easily play the two alongside Embiid down low.

If there was some sort of positional conflict between the two, Wiggins would likely win out. But I doubt it'd come to that for the Jayhawks.


Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images


North Carolina

Coach Roy Williams went small at the end of last year to great success, and it'd be interesting to see how Wiggins' presence might alter that approach.

James Michael McAdoo (6'8), P.J. Hairston (6'5"), Leslie McDonald (6'5) and Marcus Paige (6'0") are already in place as rotation players. Isaiah Hicks (6'8") and Kennedy Meeks (6'9") are on their way in from the high school ranks.

Wiggins fits in somewhere as a 3 or 4 given the current roster alignment, but it'd take some lineup shuffling to find out exactly where.

Were Wiggins to play the 4, UNC would have roughly the same composition it had last year. If Williams moved Wiggins to the 3 or even the 2 (which he is capable of playing), there'd be room for a true post player like Meeks, Hicks or Brice Johnson.

Again, Wiggins is versatile enough that he'll find minutes no matter what. But there'd be some jostling involved early in the season.




Kentucky

Look, we know Andrew Wiggins will get a good run wherever he lands. But if he goes to Kentucky, he'd send a mighty fine player or two to the bench.

Coach John Calipari already has the nation's top recruiting class locked up, including power forward Julius Randle and small forward James Young. Forwards Alex Poythress and Kyle Wiltjer are also slated to return.

My first inclination is to say that Wiggins would take Young's minutes and perhaps play alongside Poythress, Randle and returning center Willie Cauley-Stein. Plug in star guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, and Calipari would have a starting lineup where every player is either 6'5" or taller.

That's not an implausible scenario, but it does leave potentially productive players like Young, Wiltjer, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee riding pine. If Wiggins doesn't play well early, any of those guys could eat into his minutes.

That's an unlikely scenario, but it's something Wiggins would at least have to consider if he went to program with so much talent already committed.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/16083...onsidering

The way that Wiggins has handled the decision on where he will play college basketball has turned me off to him completly. It appears that Wiggins needs to be the center of attention. He has had more than enough time to evaluate his final list of schools and now it appears to be an inside joke for him and his family. It's all about Wiggins seeing his name in the paper. Give me guys that put the team first and I hope we run into him down the road!!

Stardust Wrote:Where will Andrew Wiggins, the nation’s undisputed No. 1 Class of 2013 college basketball recruit, go to school? The secret has been more carefully guarded than President Obama.

The national signing period opened Wednesday, and Wiggins still hasn’t put the speculation to rest. While many have tried to get him to bare his soul, Wiggins laughs at everyone trying to handicap the four-school race between Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Last week, Wiggins told his 60,000 Twitter followers: “Lol if you ain't in my family you know nothing about my recruitment , lol stop with the rumors.”

Next week will be a big one in the recruitment of this 6-7, 200-pound star-in-waiting. Wiggins will get visits from UNC's Roy Williams on Monday, Kansas' Bill Self on Tuesday and FSU's Leonard Hamilton on Wednesday, the player’s high school coach, Rob Fulford told SNY.tv. And that indicates that anything is still possible for this talented player who averaged 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds this past year for Huntington (West Va.) Prep.

Kentucky and Florida State have long been considered the frontrunners to land Wiggins, but his decision may come down to this, says Kentucky Kernel sports editor Alex Forkner: “Does Wiggins want to share the limelight on the way to a national title at UK, or be the main man at FSU? I'd call it a coin flip.”

Brendan Bures, the sports editor for the FSView and Florida Flambeau, gives Wiggins a 75 percent chance of coming to Tallahassee, even though the Seminoles are not the basketball powerhouse that the other three finalists are.

“I believe Wiggins chooses Florida State because of his father's (and mother's) alumni status, his best friend Xavier Rathan-Mayes (who’s already committed to FSU) is attending, and he wants to be the guy, not just one of many,” Bures said.

The intriguing school in this mix is North Carolina, especially considering Williams has an opening for a wing scorer with Reggie Bullock off to the NBA. UNC’s other three 2013 recruits are either big men (Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks) or a point guard (Nate Britt). And much like Lexington, Chapel Hill would be Wiggins’ best bet at a national title, should that be on his priority list. Teaming with P.J. Hairston and James Michael McAdoo would form a formidable team. And just think of the people he wouldn't be letting down on this "Andrew Wiggins to UNC" Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Kansas has its own big hole to fill with Ben McLemore declaring for the NBA draft. Wiggins could star in Lawrence with McLemore’s departure, but Pat Strathman, the sports editor at The University Daily Kansan, the school’s student newspaper, gives it a 10 percent chance.

“With Marcus Smart heading back to Oklahoma State, the urgency to get him increased drastically, but I think with the history of "one-and-done" players, Wiggins won't choose Kansas,” Strathman said.

http://www.bluegrassrivals.com/forum/new...read&f=105

^^
didnt see where Cal is sup 2 make a last min visit, so maybe thats saying Cal knows something either way...