How good is Huntington (W.Va.)¿Prep’s Andrew Wiggins?
“Quite frankly, his potential is still to be determined. Right now, I don’t see a limit to his potential right now,” said Paul Biancardi, a former college basketball coach and the current national recruiting director for ESPN.
“He has every physical tool you can imagine as well as a great skill level and great understanding of how to play the game. And he plays hard. He really competes every time.”
Wiggins is contemplating whether to remain in the 2014 recruiting class, where he is ranked No. 1, or move to the 2013 class, where he will also be ranked No. 1. His AAU¿coach has said the 6-8 forward has signed up for classes this fall to make it possible for him to graduate this year, and Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford said earlier that Wiggins did not need two years of high school to be ready for college.
Kentucky and Florida State, where Wiggins’ father played, continue to be the perceived leaders for Wiggins. Biancardi says he will star in any system, but would be perfectly suited to the style John Calipari uses at Kentucky.
“He has always been so athletic. He is just an incredible athlete, one you have to see to believe,” Biancardi said. “He has one of the highest verticals (jumps) in his class and then one of the quickest second jumps I have seen in a long time. He’s always had incredible athletic ability, but his skills have gotten better as far as shooting the ball with range.
“He has a nice pull-up game.¿He’s almost unstoppable when he drives. He will either score get fouled because of his strength, athletic ability and length. He just explodes to the rim. That’s why he lives at the free throw line.”
Biancardi says there is no obvious weakness in Wiggins’ play.
“He has it all from a scoring standpoint. He has every conceivable physical tool and his skill level is so good,” Biancardi said. “Like any player, he can always find things to work on. But he’s very, very good and he’s going to be a player that makes someone a great college player.”
Wiggins had to go against another Kentucky¿target, 6-9 Julius Randle, this summer and outplayed him. Randle is also unique in that he has guard-like ball-handling skills and plays often on the perimeter rather than staying inside. That helped him lead the USA Basketball under-17 team to a gold medal this summer.
“Julius had a really good second half against Wiggins,” Biancardi said. “I believe he scored 15 points, all in the second half.”
Wiggins had 28 points and 18 rebounds in the overtime win, while Randle had 15 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
“Randle is the most physically imposing player in the class,” Biancardi said. “He makes play rebounding and scoring based on his physical nature, incredible strength and size and power. He is just so, so powerful.
“He can score inside. He demands double-teams when he catches the ball inside 15 feet. He can be relentless on the glass because he is so strong and athletic. He lives at the foul line, but he can also handle the ball away from the basket. Sometimes he tries to do too much, but he is a flat-out finisher and great player.”
“Quite frankly, his potential is still to be determined. Right now, I don’t see a limit to his potential right now,” said Paul Biancardi, a former college basketball coach and the current national recruiting director for ESPN.
“He has every physical tool you can imagine as well as a great skill level and great understanding of how to play the game. And he plays hard. He really competes every time.”
Wiggins is contemplating whether to remain in the 2014 recruiting class, where he is ranked No. 1, or move to the 2013 class, where he will also be ranked No. 1. His AAU¿coach has said the 6-8 forward has signed up for classes this fall to make it possible for him to graduate this year, and Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford said earlier that Wiggins did not need two years of high school to be ready for college.
Kentucky and Florida State, where Wiggins’ father played, continue to be the perceived leaders for Wiggins. Biancardi says he will star in any system, but would be perfectly suited to the style John Calipari uses at Kentucky.
“He has always been so athletic. He is just an incredible athlete, one you have to see to believe,” Biancardi said. “He has one of the highest verticals (jumps) in his class and then one of the quickest second jumps I have seen in a long time. He’s always had incredible athletic ability, but his skills have gotten better as far as shooting the ball with range.
“He has a nice pull-up game.¿He’s almost unstoppable when he drives. He will either score get fouled because of his strength, athletic ability and length. He just explodes to the rim. That’s why he lives at the free throw line.”
Biancardi says there is no obvious weakness in Wiggins’ play.
“He has it all from a scoring standpoint. He has every conceivable physical tool and his skill level is so good,” Biancardi said. “Like any player, he can always find things to work on. But he’s very, very good and he’s going to be a player that makes someone a great college player.”
Wiggins had to go against another Kentucky¿target, 6-9 Julius Randle, this summer and outplayed him. Randle is also unique in that he has guard-like ball-handling skills and plays often on the perimeter rather than staying inside. That helped him lead the USA Basketball under-17 team to a gold medal this summer.
“Julius had a really good second half against Wiggins,” Biancardi said. “I believe he scored 15 points, all in the second half.”
Wiggins had 28 points and 18 rebounds in the overtime win, while Randle had 15 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
“Randle is the most physically imposing player in the class,” Biancardi said. “He makes play rebounding and scoring based on his physical nature, incredible strength and size and power. He is just so, so powerful.
“He can score inside. He demands double-teams when he catches the ball inside 15 feet. He can be relentless on the glass because he is so strong and athletic. He lives at the foul line, but he can also handle the ball away from the basket. Sometimes he tries to do too much, but he is a flat-out finisher and great player.”
