Andrew Wiggins torn apart by ESPN's Jeff Goodman
Andrew Wiggins' stock may have dropped a little bit after Jeff Goodman of ESPN recently visited Kansas to watch the freshman practice.
To put it bluntly, Goodman was not impressed with what he saw.
Per ESPN:
"During one three-hour practice, Wiggins misfired on jumper after jumper, took plays off and was practically invisible. Sure, he showed glimpses of the athleticism that have some putting him in elite company with NBA superstars.
He's been blessed with incredible talent -- the length, quickness and athleticism that few possess even at the NBA level.
But Wiggins eventually blended in during the practice last week. It wasn't the first time he's disappeared. In fact, Kansas coaches maintain that the 6-foot-8 Canadian has yet to be the best player on the floor in any of their practices thus far.
To take it one step further, he's rarely even one of the best two or three players on the floor."
Downplaying the talents of a potentially over-hyped player is common in the sports sphere, but it appears that Goodman isn't alone in his criticism of Wiggins, as he backed up his take on the youngster with two NBA sources who have also seen him play.
This is what the first source had to say:
"Maybe he'll wind up getting there this season, but he's a long, long way off right now," said another NBA guy who came through Lawrence in the preseason. "He looks like just another player. I've seen him a few times in the past, and to be honest, he hasn't been off-the-charts any of those times. I love his athleticism, but I worry about his intensity -- as well as other aspects of his game. He doesn't shoot it great, and he's got zero aura about him. Again, I'm not saying he can't get there -- but people are making far more of this kid than they should."
And here's what the second source had to say:
"I certainly wasn't blown away by him," said one high-ranking NBA executive. "He was just OK. Average. I'm just not buying all this no-brainer stuff about him being the No. 1 pick. I just don't see it yet."