Word has come that Andrew Wiggins will choose his college Tuesday, May 14th, at 12:15. We examine the positives and negatives of each of the schools reported to be on his list.
Nick Wiggins, Andrew Wiggins' older brother, plays for the Final Four-bound Wichita Shockers today, and had some comments that many in the Big Blue Nation might not appreciate.
The 2013 McDonald's High School All-American was loaded with talent from top to bottom. Six players were already committed to the University of Kentucky.
Daniels says UK and FSU lead. Does anyone else have a shot? …
"He seems fairly sincere when he said he wanted to be recruited (by more schools). I think North Carolina could be the wild card in this one. They have actually been recruiting him for a little while, but they haven’t ramped it up. They didn’t know what class he was going to be in. They didn’t know how serious he was about them. I think they had a really strong meeting with him on Tuesday and I think North Carolina is going to give him the full pitch. … But until we see some movement on that end, I think you have to say that Kentucky and Florida State are the co-favorites."
Many analysts see Andrew Wiggins as much more likely to come to Kentucky than Florida St., but as you might imagine, what this amounts to is trying to read the mind of a 17-year old. During the first All-Access Kentucky program, John Calipari had this quote, which I thought was truly awesome:
I tell them, if you want me to call you once a week, I will. But you’re 17 and I’m 50-ish. What are we going to talk about?"
Calipari is all over Wiggins, and just as he doesn't lose coveted recruits to Maryland, he isn't likely to lose Wiggins to Florida St. That's not meant as disrespect to FSU, it's just reality, and I try to spend most of my time in Realville.
Now, if North Carolina gets involved, that's different. That could be a serious battle that Calipari could legitimately lose. But I don't think he will.
Adam Zagoria reports that Andrew Wiggins will not be attending Big Blue Madness 2012:
Andrew Wiggins won’t attend Big Blue Madness at Kentucky this weekend because he will be at home in Toronto visiting family while Huntington Prep has an extended fall break.
"my phone off bro I’m in canada," Wiggins Tweeted to a friend.
The news was first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout.com.
Zagoria also mentions an earlier report that John Calipari was watching Wiggins play the night that Aaron and Andrew Harrison announced that they will play basketball for Kentucky.
"That’s what makes Calipari what he is. A lot of coaches would’ve called it a day after landing two of top the players in the country, and he’ s on a plane heading to Huntington."
This is a point that is under-appreciated about Coach Cal -- his work ethic. When it comes to recruiting, one of the many reasons that help him to be successful is not just working hard, but knowing when to work hard and when not to. He knew he likely, and maybe certainly, had the Harrison twins in the bag, and my guess is, he told them what he would be doing when they announced. Calipari's transparent like that with players.
For those of you who may worry about Wiggins not attending, please don't. Wiggins is a strong Kentucky lean,and I'd be very surprised if we don't see him in Blue and White.
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari is like Chuck Norris. He doesn't sleep; he recruits.
Even on a day that will probably be Kentucky's best this year in terms of recruiting, Calipari was busy working. According to his head coach at Huntington Prep, Rob Fulford, Andrew Wiggins received a visit from Calipari yesterday. Kentucky's tireless coach stopped by Huntington Prep yesterday evening to watch Wiggins work out.
Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio was in attendance, and like everyone else on the planet, was impressed by Wiggins. According to Jones, "Wiggins is the the best high school player I have seen in a decade." That is a pretty common sentiment by anyone who has seen Wiggins ball.
With the Harrison twins on board, Kentucky fans are rightfully dreaming big. A freshman class with the Harrisons, Julius Randle, Andrew Wiggins and James Young wouldn't just dominate college basketball--it might "blue out" the first five picks in the 2014 NBA Lottery.
Of course, such an outlook is a long ways away. According to Jones, Wiggins still has not decided whether or not to reclassify to the 2013 class. But sure, one can dream.
Andrew Wiggins tells KSR he has not yet made a decision on whether to reclassify for the 2013 class
