Andrew Wiggins announced Tuesday morning that he will play for Kansas next season. Jayhawk fans hope the Canadian phenom can help Bill Self deliver another national title.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Regarded as the No. 1 Class of 2013 prospect by 247Sports.com,
Andrew Wiggins of
Huntington Prep (W.Va.) ended months of heavy speculation Tuesday by announcing he will play for Kansas next season.
The 6-foot-8 wing made it official via Grant Traylor of the Huntington Herald-Dispatch in understated fashion. Traylor posted at 12:09 a.m. ET, "Andrew Wiggins will be attending Kansas."
The low-key approach is no surprise for Wiggins, a native of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, who has attempted to steer clear of media attention whenever possible. He kept virtually everybody in the dark about his plans until the announcement, including Huntington Prep head coach Rob Fulford.
"We never asked him about it," Fulford said. "I found out today when everybody else found about it and it was kind of fun that way.
"It's not an issue of him not liking the media. He just didn't like talking about recruiting. It's a little bit invasive. I think with this decision out of the way it will free him up to just talk about basketball, which is something he doesn't have a problem with."
His pledge is huge for the Jayhawks, who must replace all five starters from a team that went 31-6 and reached the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament last season. Rebuilding isn't in Bill Self's vocabulary and CBSSports.com's
Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish have installed KU as a Top 10 team with Wiggins in the fold.
Wiggins was pegged for stardom before ever playing a high school game in the United States. He was just 15 years old when he represented Canada in the 2010 FIBA U-17 World Championship in Germany, delivering a 20-point performance in a semifinal loss to the United States.
After attending Vaughan Secondary during the 2010-11 year, Wiggins made the jump to the United States and Huntington Prep prior to what was then viewed as his sophomore year.
"We knew we were getting a special talent," Fulford said of Wiggins' arrival.
He was an instant star for the Express and gave the upstart college prep program national credibility. Wiggins averaged around 24 points per game and was named National Sophomore of the Year by MaxPreps.
He backed up his American debut with a superb run on the summer circuit with club team CIA Bounce, leading the Ontario-based outfit to the finals of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League.
Last October, Wiggins elected to fast-track his arrival to college and the NBA by joining the 2013 class. He was immediately installed as the consensus No. 1 prospect, bumping the likes of Sports Illustrated cover boy
Jabari Parker,
Julius Randle and
Aaron Gordon.
"He's not caught up in the (player) rankings," CIA Bounce coach Tony McIntyre told MaxPreps in May of 2012. "He has a dream to play in the NBA and he knows he has work to do to make that happen."
Wiggins earned first team
MaxPreps All-American honors as a senior, averaging 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game while leading Huntington Prep to a 30-3 record. The Express earned invites to major events in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia during the 2012-13 campaign as promoters lined up for a chance to showcase the potential No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Wiggins joins a KU recruiting class that also includes 6-11 center
Joel Embiid, five-star wings
Brannen Greene and
Wayne Selden and guards
Conner Frankamp and
Frank Mason. That group is considered the No. 2 class in college basketball by 247Sports.com, trailing only Kentucky.
Click through after the video for a look back at the club, high school and international career of Andrew Wiggins
