Andrew Wiggins, the number one rated freshman NBA prospect in the country, held off the man many consider the most polished player, Duke’s Jabari Parker in their first college meeting a week ago. For anyone who saw him play as a prep star, that was no surprise. Don’t be fooled by the bs reports that Wiggins is a babe caught in the headlights by any of the attention. The young Canuck loves the spotlight and always performs under pressure. That clutch gene, that ice water in his veins, that killer instinct in late game moments, it can’t be taught. Now the world knows Wiggs has the proverbial “it.”
For those in the know, Wiggins does have a weakness: Sometimes he’s too good. He’s that kid in the elementary school that has to be skipped a grade because he often finishes work before his peers and is always bored. In other words, if he’s not playing against Parker, or matched up versus the Julius Randle’s of the college basketball world, he has a tendency to play with a lethargic air that causes people to question if he knows how to compete hard all the time.
What made people fear Michael Jordan, what makes the two who praised Wiggins last week, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, the elite among the elites, is not just that they’re capable of giving opponents 50 on any given night, but that desire to destroy whoever is in front of them. No matter if it’s the Bulls or the Bobcats, they want to make the “I’m un-fuck-withable” statement every time they touch the floor.
We know Wiggins has that in him and he has the opportunity to prove it tonight at 7 p.m. as Kansas plays host to Iona College. If this truly is the year Kansas becomes the rock group known as Andrew Wiggins and the Jayhawks, tonight’s game is the perfect opportunity to make it so.