Article at KUSports has this comment on Wigs:
Wiggins, who averaged 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for the 25-10 Jayhawks, recently rated his one-and-done season a “10” on a scale of 1-10.
Keep in mind he is only one year removed from high school, and certainly I might have said something questionable at that time.
Do you agree that Wigs season was a 10? Try to look at the whole picture, not just the 4 point dud in the final.
@wissoxfan83 I'd call him a 9.5.
A perfect 10 if he had stayed a while.
Agree, a 9.5 with the only deduction being we only got him for a year. By all accounts he was a great teammate, he routinely tried to downplay the personal hype and made the season about the team and not his own personal showcase.
I'm happy to hear he thinks it was a 10. That means he enjoyed his time here. I enjoyed watching him. Best of luck to the young man in the league.
@wissoxfan83 The effect on our recruiting could be massive. I don't know how you can rate the exposure element, but I don't remember a time when KU was featured so much in the media. I'm not saying it was all Wiggins, but Embiid's coming out party certainly got a huge boost from all the attention drawn to our program.
Is it possible that the poor ending could have a negative effect on recruiting? Kentucky obviously wasn't hurt by last years flameout. But we're not Kentucky. We as KU fans 'demand' a team with players who will deliver championships and after this years debacle tend to believe that Self does better with developing players over the years.
@wissoxfan83 If he rates his time at KU a 10 that's fantastic.
It means he had a great experience on and off the court. I think he handled all the hype so well and as stated above - he was about the team. And based on his comments, if I were an up and coming recruit, I'd be giving Kansas a good long look.
I agree.
@wissoxfan83 STOP. Wiggins rated his experience a 10 not his own performance. He gave KU a 10 not himself.
DIrect quote from the article: "Wiggins, who averaged 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for the 25-10 Jayhawks, recently rated his one-and-done season a “10” on a scale of 1-10" It doesn't say his experience. Not sure what you're getting at.
Andrew Wiggins is a 10 in my J-Hawk book! Along w/his bb talents, he's a classy, humble, team-guy. I will really miss him, but wish him the best!
I give him a 10+, What a classy individual, will miss him dearly here at KU but will always root for him.
10 without a doubt!
@wissoxfan83 if he were my son I'd be proud as punch of his character and performance on the court. He did so well in a tough situation and I hope we get more like him in the future.
@wissoxfan83 on an iPhone so can't be long winded. That article refers to an earlier article where the context was made clearer. Can't look it up right now. I really think he was giving a 10 to KU not himself and the article you quote is taking him out of context.
Andrew is a topnotch Jayhawk, a surprising team joy in his one year in the program. I don't envision that 10th league title w/o his contributions. Lulls on offense were somewhat puzzling at times, but perhaps a reflection of the intricate system which AW was forced so quickly to try to master. This one-and-done thing still appears not to gel well with Bill Self's mode of operation. Going forward, will be interesting to see the direction of Kansas recruiting and the overall Self System, the successes or pitfalls for highly ranked future one or two-year players. I'm holding out hope that most future recruits spend at least 2 or 3 years in the program. Bill Self, Andrea Hudy and Co. possess ever so much in the way of development and instruction to prepare patient focused athletes willing to absorb and stick with everything the program is prepared to offer. Selfishly, I am a fan unhappy with one-and-done phenomena; yet, I want our Jayhawks prepared always to compete well with the very best, from late November into early April.
I loved Andrew's character on and off the court. I think he is right to give his time at KU a 10 due to his love of the tradition that bears the name Jayhawks. I believe he carried himself well and with the pride that we all demand of players there. He said he really liked playing in AFH and several times mentioned how the fans showed such love and support. That is a thumbs up for any recruit wondering how the program is and more than any free advertising could do.
He gave KU a "10" and I think KU basketball history should regard him as a "10".
He set freshmen records in scoring, free-throws..etc.
He earned a long list of awards from the moment he committed to KU, to the day he announced he was entering the draft (and probably more in the days that follow). KU gains residual benefits by association.
He was respectful of the tradition, his teammates and the game of basketball and did nothing but reflect positively on the KU basketball program and KU as an institution.
He was articulate and always displayed character in his high-visibility interviews -- under intense scrutiny.
My only regret is that only lingering vestige of his presence in Allen FieldHouse will be "2013-14" on the Big12 Championship Banner.
It is sad to think his number and jersey won't be in the rafters for all time.
KUSports.com has put an incredible collection of Wiggins photos under a gallery called "The Best of Andrew Wiggins"
There are some mind blowing pictures of his Dunks, Pure Energy and Super Elevation...
Although Andrew was at KU only 1 year, however, the impact will last a long time. I am so glad he played for KU, couldn't have asked for a classier individual.
I'm a little more cynical than all of you I guess. What you all say is true. There were no hints of negativity or anything like that. He did put up amazing numbers for a freshman. I guess I can't blame him for playing the system like he did. Without the one year rule, I'm sure he'd be a pro right now hitting the wall. But I have such disdain for this OAD business. It feels like our program is being used by someone who really didn't care that much if his presence didn't lead to a championship, or even a much better year than we had. I'm sorry, but I just can't get too many warm fuzzy feelings over this kid.
Those photos demonstrate just how physical the sport is. It'd be interesting to know if some of those resulted in fouls. For example, the pic of him in the Stanford game shows Wigs surrounded by 4 Cardinals and every one of them has their hands and arms entangled with his.
In his announcement yesterday he said "college goes by so fast" well yeah if it's only 9 months it goes by real fast.
I think he will be a great ambassador for KU, when he talks about his time here as a "10", when kids are on the fence as to where they want to go to school, Self needs to just put them in contact with Andrew and let him talk about his one year.
Maybe he could have the song "the time of my life" playing in the background or something too.
@wissoxfan83 Just to set the record straight, the article you quoted referred to an earlier article from March 21st:
Wiggins ‘loved’ year at KU ↗
"On a scale of 1 to 10, Andrew Wiggins rates his one-and-done season at Kansas University a “10.”
“I loved it,” Wiggins said Thursday.
What has been the best part?
“The whole experience. Never a dull moment,” said Wiggins, who enters the 2014 NCAA Tournament as KU’s leading scorer (17.4) and third-leading rebounder (6.0).
“I had fun the whole year. Every time I was in Kansas, it was fun.
“It did,” he added of his year in Lawrence exceeding his expectations. “(There’s) nothing like college, sharing moments with your brothers you’ll never experience again.”"
Between the title of the article and his quotes, I was sure he was talking about KU, not his performance. The shortened quote from the more recent article is subject to misinterpretation, in my view.
Also, those quotes date to before the NCAA Tournament.
If we want to rate Wiggins from 1 to 10, fine, but he did not rate himself a 10. Do you really think Bedore asked him to rate himself before the NCAAs? He certainly gave himself a very poor grade in the locker room after the Stanford loss.
• Associated Press All-America Second Team
• Wooden All-American Team
• NABC All-America Second Team
• USBWA All-America Freshman Team
• Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team
• NABC All-District 8 First Team
• USBWA All-America Second Team
• SI.com All-America Second Team
• USBWA All-District VI
• Sporting News All-America Second Team
• Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (3.9.14)
• Big 12 Freshman of the Year (Big 12, AP)
• All-Big 12 First Team (unanimous selection, Big 12, AP)
• Big 12 All-Newcomer Team
• Wooden Award Final Ballot (1 of 15)
• Wayman Tisdale Award Finalist by USBWA (1 of 6)
• Oscar Robertson Trophy Finalist List by USBWA (1 of 15)
• Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Candidate (1 of 30)
• Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week (1.28.14)
• Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (1.27.14)
• Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (11.18.13)
I give Andrew a solid 10 mark.
He could have done like most all-star players and just worked on his offensive stat sheet, but he gave more by getting after it on the defensive end. A real sign of character in a time when the word is lacking from college basketball.
I'm not sold on the idea that much of the season Andrew was "unplugged" on the offensive side of the ball. When he faded into games it was because we didn't execute enough strategy to involve him in the offense.
I can illustrate my point by looking back at games where he was "unplugged" and see he was still plugged in on defense.
He will be a great representative for Kansas moving forward. Doubtful you will see him in nude sexual selfies on twitter...
No one in here knows the Badgers like you do. Between now and Final Four tip off, can you post a thread on how you see their game with Kentucky panning out?
I think most of us would like to read more of your opinions on Badger ball!
@RockChalkinTexas Please help me understand this - how can Wiggy be projected as the number 1 - 3 NBA draft pick and only be rated Second team All American?
@nuleafjhawk higher ceiling!
@Crimsonorblue22 I hope I've not mis-communicated my feelings about Wiggins. He is a great kid. He is one heck of a ball player. I know I've bagged on the OAD system a lot, but I'm pretty sure I've never bagged on him (or any other individual OAD).
He was statistically the best, most productive freshman in the history of KU Basketball. That's a mouthful right there.
I just don't understand how he can have all these accolades and not be a FIRST team All American.
I just don't understand how he can have all these accolades and not be a FIRST team All American.
@nuleafjhawk my guess and that's all it is, is a guess is that the people that vote for it saw only a few games, maybe the first Oklahoma St game, or the Stanford game? That or they only looked at his offensive numbers and on some of those bad offensive performances they didn't look at his D in those games, that the guy he was guarding was shut down?
I don't know either, like I said just guesses. Maybe it's because he is a freshman, maybe it's because he's at KU.
I'd like to know though.
@nuleafjhawk I think JRyman's and Crimsonorblue's guesses are as good as any. Would have to know who were the ones voting to delve further.
All I was trying to show was that for the whole season, Andrew had lots of accolades.
@RockChalkinTexas You are absolutely right - he had a LOT of them!!
(wish he were here for 2-3 more years, think how many he'd have then!)
Sorry - I have a hard time letting things go! lol
@nuleafjhawk think how many he'd have then!
Yeah he would have more than Doug McDermott
@Crimsonorblue22 No I agree, Wiggins will have more money by the 4th of July than Mcbuckets has in his first three year contract. Shoe deals. Apparel deals. A top three pick in the draft.
Long term who knows yeah immediate money Wigs will get it and how at 19 do you pass that up? You can't
JJ Ridick and Adam Morrison were co-players of the year back in 2006; look how that turned out; Ridick still around as a 3-point specialist and Morrison long gone. Just because a player is good in college does not mean his game translates to the NBA.
Thanks for the clarification. Don't really have the time to go and dig into every little quote. It appeared in a article from a couple days back, so it appeared to be a recent quote. So whoever wrote the article I quoted sure didn't seem to clarify when that was from.
I'll try. I'm not a basketball strategist or expert. It might be fun. Need a few days to put it together.
@wissoxfan83 "whoever wrote the article I quoted sure didn't seem to clarify when that was from."
Exactly. The problem was in the article, not the way you read it. I felt like clarifying for Andrew's sake. Anyway, nothing wrong with us rating him now that the season is over.