Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
A tweet by Rustin Todd of the Kansas City Star Wednesday night relayed the words of one of the upcoming NBA Draft’s most-sought after prospects, freshmen guard Andrew Wiggins. The Kansas Jayhawks explosive swingman and former top recruit in the “ESPN 100″ was asked about how quickly his freshmen season went by. Wiggins replied, “Too quick. I wish I had more time to stay here and do my thing with my team.”
So what are we to make of this statement? It seems Wiggins wishing he had more time to do his thing with his team is a sneak peek of a possible decision to remain in college for his sophomore year. The thought of Wigging remaining at Kansas for a second year is enough to make all of college basketball nervous about next season before March Madness kicks off. Bill Self, on the other hand, would find his life at Kansas much easier with Wiggins remaining for another stint.
So what’s the realistic chance that Wiggins forgoes the upcoming NBA Draft to keep his talents in Lawrence for the 2014-15 campaign? Slim-to-none, considering the situation Wiggins finds himself in for this year’s draft. Barring injuries or Wiggins completely self-destructing in the Big 12 tournament and NCAA tournament, him being drafted with one of the first lottery picks seems to be a lock.
For a guy who has drawn comparisons to LeBron James and Kobe Bryant while being projected as the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, what reason would Wiggins have to leave millions of dollars on the table and stay in college? A national championship could be enticing, but there is no guarantee that another year at Kansas would result in a championship.
Wiggins also said before the season in a interview for ESPN The Magazine that he just wanted to “enjoy [his] last year of school.” It appears Wiggins has already predetermined that the NBA will be his home next year. Wiggins’ comments about wanting to stay and do his thing with his team next year will undoubtedly raise hopes of him coming back next year.
Realistically, however, hope is all this will turn out to be.
Cody Daniel is a Big 12 Basketball Writer for Rantsports. Follow him on Twitter, Like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
