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Tag: Andrew Wiggins

  • 2014 NBA Mock Draft Version 1.0 Is In

    2014 NBA Mock Draft Version 1.0 Is In

    NBA teams who are looking to rebuild their lineup have a lot of work in store for them. The upcoming June 26 draft is a chance to change their rosters. Picking players with huge potential can be tricky and the process takes time. Individual strengths and weaknesses of players will still be assessed for the coming months, but SI.com has already revealed a Mock Draft.

    Milwaukee Bucks – Executives have been eyeing Andrew Wiggins, and he is considered one of the favorites. With a height of 6’8” and a weight of 200 pounds, Wiggins could easily be a contender for the two-guard position. However, he also has his flaws, one of them being his lack of aggression. On the upside, he can be a rock-hard defender, and score from anywhere on the court.

    Andrew Wiggins

    Philadelphia 76ers – Rumor is that the Sixers are keeping a close watch on Joel Embiid, a player from the University of Kansas. Embiid is the best bet for the center position among the players in the draft. When paired with Nerlens Noel, the duo would form a strong frontcourt. However, executives will still be looking at his medical results on next month’s draft combine, as he has already had his lower back injured in February.

    Joel Embiid

    Jabari Parker

    Orlando Magic – It seems that Jabari Parker is a good choice, no matter the position given to him in a team. There have been questions about his defense play, but he has already proved to be a strong rebounder and scorer.

    Utah Jazz – Standing 6’6” tall, Australian Dante Exum has already earned praised for his star quality. Scouts have been boasting about his quick first step, and his improvement in his jump shot. Executives will be looking at Exum more closely during the individual and combine workouts to see what more he has to offer.

    Dante Exum

    Boston Celtics – Called the “best player available” by Matt Moore of CBS Sports, Julius Randle may be the best bet for the Celtics. Randle, who is from Kentucky, plays a powerful offensive game that is just too good to not be noticed. He is also a scorer with a talent that is often compared to Michael Beasley and Zach Randolph.

    Julius Randle

    Other picks include Marcus Smart for the Los Angeles Lakers, Aaron Gordon for the Sacramento Kings, Dario Saric for the Detroit Pistons, and Noah Vonleh for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In other Mock Drafts, names that have popped up include Nick Stauskas, Doug McDermott, and Kyle Anderson.

    NBA Executives have a lot of thinking to do as these picks could bring the team to a favorable position, or push the team further away from the top.

    The critics weigh in

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  • Jahlil Okafor, Top High School Recruit, Chooses Duke

    Duke made their stamp as one of the top teams in college basketball years ago, and in their next move to improve as a program, they have recruited Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is the top ranked high school player in the nation, and while he has had a connection with Duke for months now, he made the commitment official as of Friday, November 15th.

    Jahlil Okafor is a senior at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, and will be attended Duke next fall, likely becoming one of the next stars of college basketball. The young star will also be joined by Tyus Jones from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and the two of them had a pledge to attend college together. The two of them committed simultaneously on national television on Friday afternoon.

    Speaking on the two players attending Duke together, Okafor said “The past two-and-a-half weeks, my family, his family, our inner circles, have been having conference calls, just comparing all the schools. They’re all great universities. It came down to it the academic side and Coach K. He is the most winning coach of all time. I’d love to help him get his 1,000th win.”

    Coach Mike Krzyzewski already has Jabari Parker on the team from his hometown of Chicago, who looks to be one of the stars this year, after having an impressive performance against Kansas in the Champions Classic, despite their loss. Kansas was also led by their young star in freshman Andrew Wiggins.

    Unfortunately for Duke, with the star power of Parker, he will likely enter the draft after his freshman year, and will likely not be able to play on the team with Jahlil Okafor. Jones spoke of his excitement to play for Duke by saying “With Duke it’s the opportunity to play for Coach K and the style that they play there. I love the way they use their guards, and I feel like I can make an impact right away. Plus they have a great fan base.”

    It is certainly no surprise that Jahlil Okafor, the top player in the country, would choose Duke, since they always seem to be one of the dominant teams in the nation. He is excited to play for an excelling program where he hopes to help them keep their reputation going, and win a championship.

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  • Andrew Wiggins Leads Kansas to Victory Over Duke

    Last night was the night college basketball fans and NBA scouts had been waiting for since April. The Champions Classic, a three year agreement between Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State, featured the three most-touted college freshmen in America – Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and Andrew Wiggins. All three athletes had received a fair bit of attention before the season began with a plethora of media interviews, television appearances, and magazine coverage. Despite all the early attention and speculation, there could be no true measure of each star’s talent until they were all featured in a national spotlight. And while Jabari Parker and Julius Randle stole the stat-lines with their explosive offensive performances, Andrew Wiggins stole the night by leading the Jayhawks to victory – the only one of the three freshman to come away with the W.

    Wiggins was the Number 1 recruit for this incoming freshman class, a class that has been considered by many to be the best of all time. Yet, Wiggins was perhaps the most mysterious of the three super-stars coming out of high school due to his calm, mild-mannered demeanor. Sure, everyone had seen the highlight reels of Wiggins absolutely killing his high school opponents and breaking legs left and right. But fans, NBA Scouts, and even Bill Self questioned whether that same level of talent would show in the college game, especially given Wiggins’s commitment on every play. One NBA scout stated that Wiggins “is not always playing hard and motivated. That scares people. That scares me a little. You need a gym rat, someone that absolutely loves it. It’s 82 games. It’s tough. Those guys are harder to win with than guys who love it.”

    Following Kansas’s game against Fort Hays State, even Bill Self commented on Wiggins’s lack of hustle, stating that Wiggins “didn’t seem as engaged as he should be.” Tuesday night, however, that was not the case.

    The Champions Classic match-up presented the perfect opportunity for Jabari Parker to showcase why he should have been the number one recruit out of high school – Not only had Parker outplayed Wiggins in their respective first games as collegiate athletes, but Parker was returning to his hometown of Chicago. And for the first 30 minutes, it was Parker who owned the head-to-head contest against Wiggins. In the first half, Parker made an outstanding case to be the first pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. Parker showed a variety of skills, slashing to the basket with ease, pulling up for the mid-range jumper over his defenders (a la Kevin Durant), and stroking the 3 with ease. Parker’s first-half performance was so outstanding that it prompted Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to use such words as “terrific” and “sensational” to describe the performance. Oh, and there was also this:

    (image)

    So where was Wiggins while Parker was going off? On the bench with 2 fouls. In total, the Duke vs. Kansas game saw 53 fouls. Sitting for a long stretch in the first half may have been the medicine Wiggins needed to spark that hustle NBA scouts were lamenting about. After passively watching Parker torch the nets for 19 in the first half, Wiggins came out in the second with abandon. After only scoring 6 points in the first 20 minutes, Wiggins had 16 in the second half, including 4 points on consecutive plays – a step back jumper which reminded many of Jordan’s for UNC in 1982, and a break-away dunk that also saw Parker pick up his fifth and final foul with just over a minute left in the game.

    While Wiggins had a more than satisfactory second half effort offensively, it was his poise and defensive effort which really made his performance stand apart. Early in the game, Wiggins had implored Bill Self to allow him to guard Parker. However, due to foul trouble, Self was wary of making said decision: “People have made a lot about Andrew’s personality, because he’s so mild-mannered and non-demonstrative. But he is competitive. That dude wanted [to guard Parker],” stated Self. Despite his eagerness to go mano-a-mano with Parker, Self was still reluctant.

    Understanding the necessity of the decision, though, Wiggins decided to put matters in his own hands and started guarding Parker without Self’s approval: “I didn’t put him on Jabari. He just went over to guard him, and I think got a piece of his shot. I thought, ‘Maybe I should have listened to him.’ ” By the end of the game, the maybe was a definitely. Over the last 10 minutes, Parker was essentially non-existent on the floor, finishing the second half with a total of 8 points.

    When asked about his unilateral decision to guard Parker, Wiggins replied, “It’s just all pride. You take pride in what you do, if it’s offense or defense.” It is this attitude from Wiggins that makes him one of, if not the, premiere athletes in college basketball. Raw athletic talent and physical attributes are good, but a humble attitude and willingness to work on both sides of the ball make greatness.

    Overall, Tuesday night’s Champions Classic proved one thing – College basketball is back and as amazingly awesome as ever.

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  • Duke vs. Kansas: Here’s What Twitter Is Saying In Real Time

    Currently #4 Duke is playing #5 Kansas in the Champions Classic in Chicago. This is the follow-up game to the thriller that was Kentucky vs. Michigan St. where we saw Michigan St. come out on top.

    Follow what people are saying about the game in real time.

    Here’s the #DUKEvsKANSAS conversation:


    What are your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments area below.

    (Image: ESPN Events)