Could Andrew Wiggins fall out of the top 5 picks?

[Birdman]

Hey, I take Wiggins if no one else does..going to be very good..just needs to get his body ready for the grind of the NBA

[merkins]

Im not seeing what your seeing.

Wiggins has been very good so far.  Single handledly helped push Kansas late in that game with inside and outside offense and grabbed big boards.

If 26 and 11 as a freshman against what would have been an undefeated Gator team if not for a buzzer beater on the road is not good enough, I dont know what else you can reasonably expect from him

1st pick all day.

[moiso]

Wow. what are people expecting from Wiggins? To go out and chuck 20 shots? To disrupt the flow of the offense?

I feel like people suddenly forgot what college basketball is like.

This sums it up.  Plenty of great players have to stay within the system in college.  Not every great player is turned loose.  As someone posted, Jordan was super aggressive and averaged 14pts in college.  Russell Westbrook is one of the most aggressive NBA players and only averaged 8pts in college.

And on opposite end of the spectrum, I remember McGrady being considered too lackadaisical in his first few years. 

[wiley]

Wow. what are people expecting from Wiggins? To go out and chuck 20 shots? To disrupt the flow of the offense?

I feel like people suddenly forgot what college basketball is like.

This sums it up.  Plenty of great players have to stay within the system in college.  Not every great player is turned loose.  As someone posted, Jordan was super aggressive and averaged 14pts in college.  Russell Westbrook is one of the most aggressive NBA players and only averaged 8pts in college.

And on opposite end of the spectrum, I remember McGrady being considered too lackadaisical in his first few years.

Hmmm. Some of your quote is missing...
Anyway I agree he's doing just fine.

I suggested the lowest he'd drop is to #4, but not because there's anything wrong with him.  Only because of the amazing Parker and wildcard aspect of Embiid and Exum..

[kozlodoev]

I don't really care much about Wiggins, but I'm starting to warm up to the idea of drafting Joel Embiid.

[Donoghus]

I can see him dropping out of the top 3 but not the top 5.

5 GMs aren't gonna pass on Wiggins.  The potential allure is going to be too strong.  One of them will bite.

Also, if Toronto cracks the Top 5, he's not lasting past them.

[CoachBo]

Embied is a big-time project.

I'd love to have Wiggins, but he's being dragged down by the youth and total lack of cohesion on the Jayhawks right now.

It's probably not fair to evaluate Wiggins - or Embied, for that matter - until Self wades through the current mess.

[kozlodoev]

Embied is a big-time project.

Is he? I can see an NBA-ready body, good mobility and awareness, and developing post moves -- someone with good enough instincts to contribute sooner rather than later.

I don't follow college basketball closely, though, so maybe I'm way off.

[TwinTower14]

Embied is a big-time project.

Is he? I can see an NBA-ready body, good mobility and awareness, and developing post moves -- someone with good enough instincts to contribute sooner rather than later.

I don't follow college basketball closely, though, so maybe I'm way off.

Jimmy Dykes - who coached in College and was a scout for the Super Sonics said last night that Embiid is the closest thing to the Dream he has seen in 25 years....

[manl_lui]

Embied is a big-time project.

Is he? I can see an NBA-ready body, good mobility and awareness, and developing post moves -- someone with good enough instincts to contribute sooner rather than later.

I don't follow college basketball closely, though, so maybe I'm way off.

Jimmy Dykes - who coached in College and was a scout for the Super Sonics said last night that Embiid is the closest thing to the Dream he has seen in 25 years....

his post moves are solid from what I've seen. A guy playing for 3 years, already athletic, good offensive and defensive awareness. Pretty efficient from what I've seen. I can see Wiggins easily falling out of top 3 to Parker, Randle, Embiid, or even Smarts.

[LarBrd33]

I never follow College ball.  I don't feel qualified to comment on it... and I have a feeling there are a lot of people on this forum who are in the same position as me. 

Someone who follows College ball religiously should chime in here.  It's my understanding that the kind of numbers Wiggins is putting up right now is pretty elite for a Kansas freshman.

I don't think everyone understands that college stats are much lower than NBA stats.  Paul Pierce averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds 41%/30%/60% as a College freshman.  Even a "Force of Nature" like Shaq averaged a mere 14 points as a College freshman.

It's different.  Dominant 20 point scorers as Freshman used to be a rarity... hence why everyone flipped out over Melo and why Durant was thought to be possibly the greatest statistical freshman of all time.    For Wiggins to be putting up the numbers he's putting up right now is pretty impressive.  He's an elite can't-miss prospect.

[fairweatherfan]

It's different.  Dominant 20 point scorers as Freshman used to be a rarity... hence why everyone flipped out over Melo and why Durant was thought to be possibly the greatest statistical freshman of all time.    For Wiggins to be putting up the numbers he's putting up right now is pretty impressive.  He's an elite can't-miss prospect.

Michael Beasley put up 26 and 12 with 3 stocks while shooting 53% his freshman year, which was even better than Durant the year before.  Can't miss prospects sometimes do.

[LarBrd33]

It's different.  Dominant 20 point scorers as Freshman used to be a rarity... hence why everyone flipped out over Melo and why Durant was thought to be possibly the greatest statistical freshman of all time.    For Wiggins to be putting up the numbers he's putting up right now is pretty impressive.  He's an elite can't-miss prospect.

Michael Beasley put up 26 and 12 with 3 stocks while shooting 53% his freshman year, which was even better than Durant the year before.  Can't miss prospects sometimes do.

Right, but I remember when that happened they were like "Woah... the only other guys we've seen put up numbers like this are Melo and Durant"

[nickagneta]

It's different.  Dominant 20 point scorers as Freshman used to be a rarity... hence why everyone flipped out over Melo and why Durant was thought to be possibly the greatest statistical freshman of all time.    For Wiggins to be putting up the numbers he's putting up right now is pretty impressive.  He's an elite can't-miss prospect.

Michael Beasley put up 26 and 12 with 3 stocks while shooting 53% his freshman year, which was even better than Durant the year before.  Can't miss prospects sometimes do.

Right, but I remember when that happened they were like "Woah... the only other guys we've seen put up numbers like this are Melo and Durant"

Actually if you read my OP nothing I said about Wiggins game has to do with stats. Nothing. Not one thing.

Scouting college talent has NOTHING to do with stats except maybe the physical measurement and athletic speed and rep numbers.

Wiggins has been criticized by people following college ball not because of his stats which are good but because of the intangibles involved:

Decision making
Offensive aggression
Distaste at time for defense
Inconsistency
Mental drifting
Physically drifting out of plays
Inassertiveness
Not making his team mates better

The announcers during the Colorado/Kansas game and last night on ESPN during the Florida/Kansas game talked about these things.

Having watched him 4 times now he reminds me of Jeff Green. All the physical tools in the world but lacking that aggressiveness and game in game out quarter in quarter out need to compete and win that moment. He disappears for halves and games at a time just like Green.There just seems to be something missing.

He's probably still a lock for a top 3 pick but I don't think its as guaranteed as it once was. He doesn't look like the type of guy I would want to hang the future of my franchise on. He's no Lebron or Duncan or Durant. He's just not.

[fairweatherfan]

It's different.  Dominant 20 point scorers as Freshman used to be a rarity... hence why everyone flipped out over Melo and why Durant was thought to be possibly the greatest statistical freshman of all time.    For Wiggins to be putting up the numbers he's putting up right now is pretty impressive.  He's an elite can't-miss prospect.

Michael Beasley put up 26 and 12 with 3 stocks while shooting 53% his freshman year, which was even better than Durant the year before.  Can't miss prospects sometimes do.

Right, but I remember when that happened they were like "Woah... the only other guys we've seen put up numbers like this are Melo and Durant"

Actually if you read my OP nothing I said about Wiggins game has to do with stats. Nothing. Not one thing.

Scouting college talent has NOTHING to do with stats except maybe the physical measurement and athletic speed and rep numbers.

Wiggins has been criticized by people following college ball not because of his stats which are good but because of the intangibles involved:

Decision making
Offensive aggression
Distaste at time for defense
Inconsistency
Mental drifting
Physically drifting out of plays
Inassertiveness
Not making his team mates better

The announcers during the Colorado/Kansas game and last night on ESPN during the Florida/Kansas game talked about these things.

Having watched him 4 times now he reminds me of Jeff Green. All the physical tools in the world but lacking that aggressiveness and game in game out quarter in quarter out need to compete and win that moment. He disappears for halves and games at a time just like Green.There just seems to be something missing.

He's probably still a lock for a top 3 pick but I don't think its as guaranteed as it once was. He doesn't look like the type of guy I would want to hang the future of my franchise on. He's no Lebron or Duncan or Durant. He's just not.

Sometimes conversations stay on the thread topic but deviate from the argument of the OP.  As it should be, there are lots of different possible angles on a topic. 

But regarding the original argument, it seems to me that if the worst comparison that can be made for Wiggins is a more athletic version of top-5 pick Jeff Green, the OP already answered its own question.