Andrew Wiggins considered the best of class

Andrew Wiggins

Greg Jones, Charlotte Sports Examiner

Herman Harried believes Andrew Wiggins is capable of more.

This assessment comes after watching Wiggins dominate the Jordan Brand Classic International Game and win the Most Valuable Player award for the White Team. The 16-year-old Canadian scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds as his team won 70-63.

Harried doesn’t have a critical view – more of a constructive perspective.

He has been coaching for about 20 years, so he has seen enough basketball to know what a player of Wiggins’ caliber is a capable of. Harried understands the 6-7 swingman can pass like a point guard, defend anywhere or anybody on the court and finish at the rim like LeBron James.

“He is a talent, but as a coach I believe he has a great upside,” Harried said. “I don’t think he is close to where he  could be. For a young kid his age, he is definitely above the rest. But he has a lot to work on and a lot to learn. But he has athleticism and strength and length. I think if he continues to work on his game the sky is the limit.”

That message has come across well with Wiggins.

He doesn’t feel pressure to choose a college or live up to his father, Mitchell Wiggins, a former NBA player. He remains humble for someone who has garnered a lot of attention since he was 13 and continues to hone his skills despite being the top international player in the world.

With all the attention surrounding Wiggins about where he will attend college and how much better he can get before leaving high school, he only wanted to do one thing this weekend: Win in the Jordan Brand Classic.

And he did.

Asked about dominating the International Game to make an impression on those in the United State, he chose to compliment his teammates and describe the victory as a collective effort.

“I didn’t need to dominate because my whole team was good, and we are the best team in the world,” he said. “I knew I couldn’t be selfish, and I passed the ball a lot. I had great teammates.”

Wiggins will continue to play with the CIA Bounce for the rest of the summer, and he is undecided on a college. He is interested in Duke, Florida State, Kentucky and Syracuse. Florida State might have the upper hand because his parents attended the university and his father played basketball there. Andrew is letting his father handle any recruiters, and he credits his mother and father for his ability and knowledge of the game.

Whether his parents deserve all the credit or not for his prolific skills, Wiggins is a man among boys, at least as far as talent and physical ability. He doesn’t brag, but he isn’t afraid to communicate his gifts.

“I can do everything,” he said. “I can finish around the rim. My biggest strength is slashing to the rim, and I can get in transition and finish with both hands.”

And his performance at the Jordan Brand Classic and high school career backs up his assessment of his play. Wiggins not only had a double-double, but he also had two monster dunks that brought cheers from the crowd.

Rowan Barrett, director of Youth Player Development for Canada Basketball, said Wiggins has achieved everything a basketball player can at his age.

“Andrew Wiggins is a winner, and he has won everything on the club side, kind of like the state championship we have,” Barrett said. “This year again he won the high school championship and provision championship as well as playing with the varsity. He is the top player we have in Canada. And he has been ranked by many as the top player in the world for his age going back a couple of years.

“I just think a game like this gives him a good opportunity, especially playing in Canada, to come showcase his abilities. These are good experiences for young kids. You come to a place where you probably never been before and play in an NBA stadium and play in front of (Michael) Jordan and all these people. And this can be a huge confidence booster for him, and overall I think in the end it is great for him and his family, and it is another thing he is building in his growing legend.”