The O.C. Scouting Report: Andrew Wiggins

Andrew Wiggins is arguably the most talked about and hyped prospect since LeBron James and would more than likely have been the number one overall pick in the recent NBA Draft Straight out of High School. He has teams are clamouring to line up a shot and grabbing him through next year’s draft lottery by ‘tanking for Wiggins.’ Including my very own Boston Celtics. But who exactly is Andrew Wiggins? Today I break down the strength and weaknesses of the potential next great NBA Superstar.

ANDREW WIGGINS

University of Kansas

Small Forward

Height: 6′ 7″

Weight: 190 lbs

Huntington Prep, West Virginia

Wiggins’ Status

Former NBA scout Dave Telep once claimed ‘modern Basketball has two era’s, B.L (before LeBron) and A.L (after LeBron)’ it is important to note that Wiggins is not infact the best prospect since LeBron. He is one of, if not the most hyped, but he easily falls behind both Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard heading out of high school.

Wiggins had an above average senior season at Huntington Prep. From the outside it appeared as though his impending decision on which college to attend weighed heavily on his mind. Wiggins won a ton of awards, received national and international acclaim. But in a season when the two other vaunted prospects Jabari Parker and Julius Randle missed most if not all of their senior years, Wiggins at time was unable to establish himself as the runaway best prospect.

Much of Wiggins’ hype has been attributed to the damage he caused at national training camps and team events, including a nationally recognized match-up with Randle, where Wiggins easily established himself as another worldly school athlete.  However at times during these games, Wiggins was accused of not ‘fully exerting’ himself according to Dave Telep: “He sometimes left you wanting more.”

Physically Wiggins has all the tools needed to succeed at the colligate and ultimately the professional level. ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan says Wiggins could “easily step into a NBA rotation now”. What Wiggins currently lacks is a mental maturity to the game that would be rare to find in any 18 year old prospect. NBA GM’s and Coaches are hoping Wiggins’ year at Kansas will allow that maturity to grow as well as prepare his body for the sort of motor required at the top level.

Strengths

Wiggins’ main attribute is his natural athletic ability. He has the ability to either elevate over a defender or explode past them. When he needs to he can extend and rise up into his jump shot. Once inside the lane, Wiggins proved to be a finisher of the highest accord. He’s not the highest of volume shooters and tends to be more economical with his points, some have even argued Wiggins needs to develop more a selfish streak.

The first thing to notice about Wiggins is he stand out size. Matched with his athletisism Wiggins stands at 6-foot-8 with a wingspan of close to 7-foot. Elhassan says: “When Wiggins moves on the floor, it looks almost effortless, and he is able to change direction and speed with an ease that belies his size.” 

Elhassan also argues that Wiggins doesn’t explode into his jumper but “levitates”. It’s hard to argue with as he prefers to jump with both feet, leading to preserve power in his upper body for better finishing at the rim.

Timing and leaping are key abilities in the make-up of Wiggins’ game, making him a great rebounder, a superior player in traffic and a posturizing dunker.  His offense still has scape to grow and expand, but next year be prepared for explosive performance, after explosive performance, that will draw equally stellar reviews.

Defensively, his length and quickness allow him to lock in when he wants to. He also shows exceptional awareness and basketball IQ, but this will be highly tested at the college level, when we will see a true reflection of his defensive pitfalls.

Weaknesses

Although the consensus number one high school prospect, and now the consensus number one pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, regardless of who owns the pick, Wiggins has his flaws.

At times Wiggins displays inconsistency’s that worry some scouts. Telep argues that with “coaching and repetition” these will be ironed out.  Wiggins’ main inconsistency appears to be in his jump shot. During high school Wiggins either drove the ball to the rim or shot 3-pointers, thus making it tough to evaluate his intermediate range and stroke. Wiggins has shown dominant traits that can lead him to dominate both two’s and three’s at the highest level, he’s done it before, just not enough.

One area that needs major improvements is the intangible side. Wiggins’ measurable’s are off the chart, but his competitive edge or ‘killer instinct’ need work. Closing out games don’t often come naturally to high school stars (except Durant) they tend to be so dominant on the floor that they lead their sides to wins by large margins, rather than having to develop the ‘clutch’ gene.

This lack of a killer instinct has been attributed by people within the game to be due to having everything come so easy to him. At times Wiggins can be passive, during AAU games you could easily go 5-10 minutes wondering who was supposed to be the number one player in the country. An unnamed NBA scout told ESPN.com that “Wiggins often goes at 70% I don’t know whether to be worried or impressed”. It’s easy to see what he means, the raw potential he’s showing already is so exceptional you can’t help but salivate at there being a lot more to come. As he transitions from level to level he’ll continue to come across players with the same size and athleticism, and he’ll need to play with a more consistent motor.

Conclusion

Andrew Wiggins is quite simply an extraordinary prospect. However it’s easy to forget that he wasn’t supposed to be a high school senior until the next school year. He’s still young and raw, and desperately needs to compete against tougher talent in order to develop consistent traits that currently are lacking due to the ease at which he plays. How he adjusts to being a Jay Hawk whilst being one of the most polarizing student athletes will be his first challenge, here’s hoping he continues to grow and develops and lands to the Boston Celtics with the first pick of the 2014 Draft…