Wiggins NBA comparison Shawn Marion.

[LarBrd33]

Here's another article from back in May:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1653638-5-bold-predictions-for-andrew-wiggins-freshman-year-at-kansas

It basically predicts that Wiggins will struggle early on at Kansas, but likely will get it together eventually and prove he is #1:

Andrew Wiggins will play his way out of No. 1 pick lock status with his early struggles only to reestablish himself as the surefire selection with an incredible second half.

By the time the NCAA tournament comes to a close and Kansas has at least taken home a Big 12 tournament crown and maybe more by the end of March, NBA scouts will once again be drooling.

Just sayin...  nothing he's doing right now is really unsurprising.  He still has phenom potential. 

[LarBrd33]

Well done, IP.  What a creative and entertaining piece of speculative fiction.

Back to reality, though, I am having serious doubts that Andrew Wiggins will be the player that many had him hyped to be when he was still a high school senior.

Back to reality, though... nothing he is doing is unexpected.  This was from October:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1822499-why-andrew-wiggins-wont-have-best-season-of-any-2014-nba-draft-prospect

Don't let the fact that a couple freshman are wildly exceeding expectations cloud your judgement of Wiggins.  He's still on pace to be a star.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1899019-is-andrew-wiggins-2014-nba-draft-stock-starting-to-slip

Here's an article by the same guy, written about a month ago.

I think that more speaks to the other freshman exceeding expectations.  Wiggins is still an elite prospect.

[Celtics18]

Here's another article from back in May:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1653638-5-bold-predictions-for-andrew-wiggins-freshman-year-at-kansas

It basically predicts that Wiggins will struggle early on at Kansas, but likely will get it together eventually and prove he is #1:

Andrew Wiggins will play his way out of No. 1 pick lock status with his early struggles only to reestablish himself as the surefire selection with an incredible second half.

By the time the NCAA tournament comes to a close and Kansas has at least taken home a Big 12 tournament crown and maybe more by the end of March, NBA scouts will once again be drooling.

Just sayin...  nothing he's doing right now is really unsurprising.  He still has phenom potential.

Great stuff.  I'm glad you are fully on board.  I have my reservations.  Time will tell. 

[LarBrd33]

Here's another article from back in May:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1653638-5-bold-predictions-for-andrew-wiggins-freshman-year-at-kansas

It basically predicts that Wiggins will struggle early on at Kansas, but likely will get it together eventually and prove he is #1:

Andrew Wiggins will play his way out of No. 1 pick lock status with his early struggles only to reestablish himself as the surefire selection with an incredible second half.

By the time the NCAA tournament comes to a close and Kansas has at least taken home a Big 12 tournament crown and maybe more by the end of March, NBA scouts will once again be drooling.

Just sayin...  nothing he's doing right now is really unsurprising.  He still has phenom potential.

Great stuff.  I'm glad you are fully on board.  I have my reservations.  Time will tell.

Again... just for clarification... I don't know jack squat about College basketball.  It just seems to me that what he's doing right now was expected and it doesn't seem to change his status as an elite prospect.

I tend to trust the experts on this stuff and stay out of it.

[Celtics18]

Here's another article from back in May:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1653638-5-bold-predictions-for-andrew-wiggins-freshman-year-at-kansas

It basically predicts that Wiggins will struggle early on at Kansas, but likely will get it together eventually and prove he is #1:

Andrew Wiggins will play his way out of No. 1 pick lock status with his early struggles only to reestablish himself as the surefire selection with an incredible second half.

By the time the NCAA tournament comes to a close and Kansas has at least taken home a Big 12 tournament crown and maybe more by the end of March, NBA scouts will once again be drooling.

Just sayin...  nothing he's doing right now is really unsurprising.  He still has phenom potential.

Great stuff.  I'm glad you are fully on board.  I have my reservations.  Time will tell.

Again... just for clarification... I don't know jack squat about College basketball.  It just seems to me that what he's doing right now was expected and it doesn't seem to change his status as an elite prospect.

I tend to trust the experts on this stuff and stay out of it.

I don't doubt he's still an elite prospect.  He's likely to be a top three pick in a loaded draft, and is sure to have a very good pro career.

However, for him to live up to the early hype, he basically needs to have a Lebron James or Kevin Durant type impact on the game within his first three years in the league.  Yes, those are ridiculously high expectations.  But, they are the ones that were set for him when he was a senior in High School.

Those expectations were probably unfair and unrealistic, and they certainly weren't any fault of his own.  All I'm saying, though, is that I'm skeptical that he reaches those heights. 

I'm rooting for him, though.  To me he has a higher likeability factor than either Parker or Randle (I kind of like Embiid and Smart, as well--I don't know enough about Exum to have formed an opinion either way). 

2014 is an exciting draft to be sure.  And, I'm stoked that, as of right now, the Celtics have two picks in the first round, regardless of where those picks end up. 

[D.o.s.]

Seriously, we're citing Bleacher Report?

 The Gordon and Matrix comparison is fair. Just wanted to make a point with Wiggins that he's not the dynamic offensive weapon that so many thought when we heard all this best prospect since Durant Hype. Not even the best prospect in this draft. Silly scouts.

Wiggins' main weakness, according to all the scouting reports I heard and saw before he hit college, was that he didn't have a strong jump shot. That, to me, implies that he's not going to be a "dynamic offensive weapon" in the Kevin Durant mold.

"Best prospect since Kevin Durant" does not mean "as talented a scorer as Kevin Durant." If you thought otherwise, that's on you.

 Dude DOS what are you talking about. I never said scorer. Let me ask you this does he look like to you the best prospect since Durant??? Like I said Parker and Embid are easily better prospects this year.

Ok, I guess you didn't say scorer. I am curious as to how  his failure to live up to your billing as a "dynamic offensive weapon" is not a reflection on his ability as a scorer, though.

[manl_lui]

Seriously, we're citing Bleacher Report?

 The Gordon and Matrix comparison is fair. Just wanted to make a point with Wiggins that he's not the dynamic offensive weapon that so many thought when we heard all this best prospect since Durant Hype. Not even the best prospect in this draft. Silly scouts.

Wiggins' main weakness, according to all the scouting reports I heard and saw before he hit college, was that he didn't have a strong jump shot. That, to me, implies that he's not going to be a "dynamic offensive weapon" in the Kevin Durant mold.

"Best prospect since Kevin Durant" does not mean "as talented a scorer as Kevin Durant." If you thought otherwise, that's on you.

 Dude DOS what are you talking about. I never said scorer. Let me ask you this does he look like to you the best prospect since Durant??? Like I said Parker and Embid are easily better prospects this year.

Ok, I guess you didn't say scorer. I am curious as to how  his failure to live up to your billing as a "dynamic offensive weapon" is not a reflection on his ability as a scorer, though.

honestly I think "having a strong jumpshot" is kind of irrelevant. If I remember correctly, James didn't have a consistent strong jump shot either coming into the league, and of course he wasn't as big as he is today.

[D.o.s.]

Agreed, but I think that that KG Living Legend conflated the "best prospect since Durant" into an expectation for more scoring, hence his "dynamic offensive weapon" bit.

Michael Beasley had better numbers than Kevin Durant in college. Beasley was never the consensus 'best prospect' in that draft. I think it would be beneficial for some posters to think about that.

[Celtics4ever]

I don't think he will ever be as good as the Matrix in his prime, but after watching my sixth Kansas game

While I agree with all the comments about him not being ready for prime time and the like.  I do not think he is anything like Shawn Marion.   I am not seeing the monster on the boards that Marion was folks.  I think it's a  poor comparison as Wiggins is way more athletic.

[Kane3387]

From the Book on Basketball, 2026 edition:

All the signs were there for the GMs to over think this an screw this up. Everyone had hyped up the freshmen class so much, that when it became evident that there wasn't a 'LeBron' or 'Durant', everyone started relying on tired old tropes so that they wouldn't be the ones holding the bag containing the one bust from the 2014 draft.

The Bucks went first, and predictably they chose the biggest sure thing to be had, OK State guard Marcus Smart. His career was nothing to laugh at, 3 all-star performances and a couple of all-star game MVP's before that second knee injury really took his game down a level until his retirement at 32.

The Magic went next, and happily gobbled up the second most productive player from the class, you know him as Jabari 'The Barber'** Parker. 3 scoring titles, 9 all-star appearances, 6 All-NBA appearances and 2 "oh my god if he just could've had a better teammate" years where you knew he could've been champion.

After that were a slew of disappointments. The Jazz took Joel Embiid who never really made the jump from 'college phenom' to 'NBA rotation player'. Maybe the fact that he'd only played 4 years of organized basketball previously should've been a warning sign.

Julius Randle turned out to be a good, but not great NBA player, only making one All-Star appearance and never stringing together more than 2 good years in a row.

Next up the Celtics, unbelieving in their luck, took Andrew Wiggins. Before the season, it would've been a pipedream to think he could've fallen so far, but as scouts and media pundits began to panic that the college freshman actually looked like a college freshman, teams just talked themselves out of taking them.

Danny Ainge, in an interview from Mars to 'Pick and Pop Diaries' was quoted saying, "Andrew was a godsend. It seemed like teams were just dying to rationalize not taking him, and we were more than happy to let them. We knew from day one when he stepped onto the practice court after the draft that he was going to be special."

Wiggins of course would go one to be a perennial All-Star and winner of the first MVIP award (Most Valuable Intergalactic Player). His five championships in 6 years (8 total) was among the best runs this league has ever seen, which resulted in "Wiggy" being the most popular baby name in the Core Systems for 6 years running.

**'The Barber' has to be one of my favorite NBA nicknames out there. Rumor has it that Jabari was at the MoonBar one night with Ricky Davis, Delonte West, and Larry Johnson, when they all realized that Parker only had 15 minutes left to make his shuttle back to Earth. Parker lept up and sprinted the whole 4 miles of the MoonWalk, barely making it on time. Cutting it so close that he must be, "a Barber'.

Did you just write this?  Because it's amaze-a-balls.

Yeah you can tell from the typos. I had a few minutes.

Lol. Tp to IP. Classic stuff.

[manl_lui]

From the Book on Basketball, 2026 edition:

All the signs were there for the GMs to over think this an screw this up. Everyone had hyped up the freshmen class so much, that when it became evident that there wasn't a 'LeBron' or 'Durant', everyone started relying on tired old tropes so that they wouldn't be the ones holding the bag containing the one bust from the 2014 draft.

The Bucks went first, and predictably they chose the biggest sure thing to be had, OK State guard Marcus Smart. His career was nothing to laugh at, 3 all-star performances and a couple of all-star game MVP's before that second knee injury really took his game down a level until his retirement at 32.

The Magic went next, and happily gobbled up the second most productive player from the class, you know him as Jabari 'The Barber'** Parker. 3 scoring titles, 9 all-star appearances, 6 All-NBA appearances and 2 "oh my god if he just could've had a better teammate" years where you knew he could've been champion.

After that were a slew of disappointments. The Jazz took Joel Embiid who never really made the jump from 'college phenom' to 'NBA rotation player'. Maybe the fact that he'd only played 4 years of organized basketball previously should've been a warning sign.

Julius Randle turned out to be a good, but not great NBA player, only making one All-Star appearance and never stringing together more than 2 good years in a row.

Next up the Celtics, unbelieving in their luck, took Andrew Wiggins. Before the season, it would've been a pipedream to think he could've fallen so far, but as scouts and media pundits began to panic that the college freshman actually looked like a college freshman, teams just talked themselves out of taking them.

Danny Ainge, in an interview from Mars to 'Pick and Pop Diaries' was quoted saying, "Andrew was a godsend. It seemed like teams were just dying to rationalize not taking him, and we were more than happy to let them. We knew from day one when he stepped onto the practice court after the draft that he was going to be special."

Wiggins of course would go one to be a perennial All-Star and winner of the first MVIP award (Most Valuable Intergalactic Player). His five championships in 6 years (8 total) was among the best runs this league has ever seen, which resulted in "Wiggy" being the most popular baby name in the Core Systems for 6 years running.

**'The Barber' has to be one of my favorite NBA nicknames out there. Rumor has it that Jabari was at the MoonBar one night with Ricky Davis, Delonte West, and Larry Johnson, when they all realized that Parker only had 15 minutes left to make his shuttle back to Earth. Parker lept up and sprinted the whole 4 miles of the MoonWalk, barely making it on time. Cutting it so close that he must be, "a Barber'.

Did you just write this?  Because it's amaze-a-balls.

Yeah you can tell from the typos. I had a few minutes.

Lol. Tp to IP. Classic stuff.

MVIP, 5 chips in 6?? I can live with that

[aporel#18]

in my opinion

1a Embiid - he's got the chance to be an MVP center. You take him.

1b Wiggins - he, as Embiid, will look better in the NBA than in the NCAA. He might be better than Embiid, but with similar potential, you have to take the big kid.

3 Parker - best all-around player, will struggle more than the former 2 when adjusting to NBA game. Wiggins shut him down, imagine what someone like Iguodala can do to him.

4 Randle/Smart/Exum/Gordon - all very good, they might be top 3 players of this Draft, but right now they seem to be a step behind the other 3.

8 Here's where the Celtics will pick (hope I'm totally wrong and we can get Embiid/Wiggins/Parker). Who knows.

Wiggins will be a totally different player (and better) than Shawn marion. Think about Vince Carter with Pippen's D as best case scenario.

[MBunge]

Can Doug McDermott sue Adam Morrison for defamation?  I mean, I understand not taking him in the top 5 but NBDdraft.net has McDermott, probably the best player in college basketball this year, going at #15.

Mike

[D.o.s.]

Also, does anyone really think that Wiggins is going to be at his best as a small ball PF?

Can Doug McDermott sue Adam Morrison for defamation?  I mean, I understand not taking him in the top 5 but NBDdraft.net has McDermott, probably the best player in college basketball this year, going at #15.

Mike

If he was ever going to be the best player in college hoops he wouldn't have played four years for his dad. Definitely a good basketball player though.

On the flip side, that team is so absurdly fun to watch. Three bomb after three bomb after three bomb.

[bostonsportsfan]

with all the hype hes getting he better be closer to Kevin Durrant or Lebron james , Larry Bird, Michael Jordan  than a guy like shawn marion no disprespect to marrion we are talking about Andrew wiggins here