Andrew Wiggins, the nation’s No. 1 high school senior basketball player, will announce his long-awaited decision at about 12:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday from his school in Huntington, W.Va. He is down to Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Florida State, and Wiggins has declined to reveal much if anything about his decision. National recruiting analysts Dave Telep of ESPN.com, Jerry Meyer of 247Sports.com and Evan Daniels of Scout.com discussed Wiggins on Monday afternoon.
Dave Telep, ESPN.com, @DaveTelep
On Wiggins’ preference to have a mostly private announcement:
I’m not surprised it’s going down the way it’s going to down. … I think the way he’s making his decision fits squarely in line with his personality.
On why Florida State is a contender:
The kid’s two relatives who went to Florida State, both uber-successful there, and that’s the only reason Florida has been in it this long. They had a poor season, and they haven’t been nixed. One of his best friends is going there next year. If you’re going to be in school for one season, it seems like as good a place as any on a personal level for him to be. They’ve kind of hung around, and I think some of the bluebloods have kind of knocked each other around a little bit. And while all this has been going on Kentucky just continued to amass an arsenal of weapons. I don’t Andrew Wiggins is worried about playing time in any way, shape or form, but the old phrase, ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ comes into play at times.
On what UK’s class would be like if it added Wiggins:
We would be in uncharted waters. There’s no more adjectives to toss around to talk about the talent of that recruiting class, and it would probably be a very long time before we saw anything that rivaled that. You’re talking about the No. 1 or No. 2 player at every single position that you recruited in a given year. If he goes to Kentucky, Noah’s Ark would be jealous of that recruiting class.
On the impact Wiggins could have on college basketball next season:
I think Andrew is the best prospect going into college next year; I’m not sure he’s the best player going into college. But I think what’s going to happen is that there’s going to be an explosion in his game from this sense. Part of the reason is he’s so intriguing is he a higher ceiling than anyone else. So what you’re going to see is taking a Ferrari, tuning it up, giving it a paint job, and all sudden it looks even better than it was. By that I mean, Andrew is going to respond very well to a college strength and conditioning program, a college nutrition program and the ability to be coached by one of these four guys. I think his game is going to explode. There’s one area, I think, he needs to improve. He has to develop, for lack of a better term, a killer instinct, a go time, the hammer. If he were to develop that in his one season in college, he would have a significant impact. If he just improves his body and tones up his skills, you’re looking a guy who’s an all-conference player and the No. 1 pick (in the 2014 draft). If he develops the mental side of his game, everybody he plays against could be in trouble.
Jerry Meyer, 247Sports.com, @JerryMeyer247
On the level of anticipation for the announcement and how little Wiggins has talked about recruiting:
I would think this is one of the most anticipated announcements that maybe I can remember in the 10 years I’ve done this. It’s sort of interesting that it’s so anticipated and he’s taking a low-key approach to the actual announcement. It sort of makes it different, and his recruitment has been very difficult to read. I agree that no one with certainty or feels 100 percent confident about where he’ll end up, but we’re getting ready to find out.
On why he has predicted Florida State:
“I just don’t think the chemistry is there between Wiggins and some of the other Kentucky recruits for him to want to play there. One of Wiggins’ best friends has already signed with Florida State, and Florida State has recruited him for the long haul and you have the family relationship with Leonard Hamilton at Florida State. I don’t want to say Florida State by default, but to me that kind of feels like what’s going on. North Carolina and Kansas just haven’t been recruiting him over the long haul and don’t have the same type of relationship with him and his family. Honestly I don’t know where he’s going to go, and he might pick Kentucky, but I almost wonder if that’s just too much. That would be a lot of elite players to try to juggle, and then you have players who aren’t freshmen, like Alex Poythress, who basically plays the same position as Wiggins. I think Coach Calipari has a lot to handle already as far as managing egos and juggling playing time, and it would take a monumental effort if they added Wiggins to that mix.”
On what UK’s class would be if Wiggins picks the Cats:
“It just makes it even greater, and it would be historically epic. You can add any adjective you want about how grandiose a class it would be, but how it’s going to shake out on the court, that’s a whole other issue. If Wiggins were to join them, that’s seven highly ranked five-stars, and I think there’s a blueprint for how that works out. Does it go smoothly, and it’s like an NBA team and they just crush everyone? Or is it too much to juggle and manage ego-wise with playing time, and it blows up? It’s probably somewhere in the middle, but exactly where in the middle, who knows?”
Evan Daniels, Scout.com, @EvanDanielsFox
On Wiggins’ never speaking about recruiting much at all:
I think Andrew is unique in that regard. He’s really held this whole deal close to the vest, and he’s got a lot of people guessing right now. That’s kind of who Andrew is. He’s a quiet kid. He doesn’t really like the spotlight. And he’s been pretty quiet about this whole ordeal. I think it’s kind of unique to see a kid who shies away from that, and not even letting media into his announcement is kind of who he is and how he’s done this whole thing. But this is rare. I think he’s got a lot of people in the dark, and it’s been awhile since we’ve had a top guy like this really hold everybody off.
In the event he is to pick Kentucky, what would that do for their class, which you already have No. 1?
Right now, it’s the No. 1 class in the country, and if they were to get him, it probably makes it arguably the best class of all time, and it would be a ridiculous collection of talent. I think it would kind of set them over the top and make them the likely favorite to win the national championship next year.
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