Andrew Wiggins Puts On A Show At Scott County High School With John Calipari On Hand
By Joshua Kays
Andrew Wiggins is the number #1 player in the 2013 recruting class after reclassifying from 2014, and he is considered by most to be the best high school player since Lebron James. On Sunday I got a chance to go watch him play at Scott County High School in Georgetown, Kentucky. I pulled in about 90 minutes before tip off, and Big Blue Nation was already waiting outside in line to get in. I would say there was about 300-500 people already in line when I arrived. Gates didn’t open until 3, and by that time I wouldn’t doubt if 1500 people were now in line waiting. It looked like Kentucky had a game.
First of all I want to give credit to Big Blue Nation for showing up and really letting Wiggins know that we want him to be a Kentucky Wildcat next year. I heard chants of C-A-T-S break out, and was later followed up with “Go Big Blue” after one of Andrew’s major put back dunks. Believe it or not recruits take that into consideration when making their choice. How much? Well all I can say is that it can’t hurt our chances of landing this superstar.
Now, when I walked into the gym at Scott County Huntington Prep was warming up, and I walked almost shoulder to shoulder with Wiggins. I couldn’t believe how big he was. I have saw some pictures of him on the internet, but that doesn’t compare to his physical apperance in person. They list him at 6-8, but I would put it more at 6-6. Huntington Prep was just getting warmed up by shooting jump shots and layups at a very easy pace. I kept my eyes on Andrew, because I wanted to see how his jump shot looked. At one point he didn’t miss for 12 straight shots from beyond 3 point land.
In the actual warmup(fast pace) about 5 minutes before tip, Wiggins brought the house down with an amazing dunk that I have never seen before. Anytime he dunks his whole head and part of his shoulder are over the rim. In that dunk he spun in the air and took it around the back for a one handed slam. You can say that I was in shock by what just happened. Another good thing I can say about Wiggins is that he goes 100 MPH even in warm-ups.
Andrew started out very slow, he missed his first 4 shots and most of them were jump shots, Christian Faith Prep(NC) had a good game plan of trying to keep Wiggins out of lane. It only lasted until about 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, and then he started to find his groove from outside. He ended up with 10 points before half and got all of those in a 3 minute span time, including a deep 3 pointer with 2 defenders in his face.
In the second half Kentucky fans got what they paid for when Wiggins brought the house down once again with a put back dunk, and he got fouled. He showed a lot of strength on that play as he went up with defenders on his back. Maybe the most impressive play of the game was at the end when Huntington Prep was pulling away, Xavier-Rathan Mayes who committed to Florida State hit him with a pass down low, and Wiggins went up with a tomahawk jam. Wiggins ended the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds and sent Kentucky fans very hopeful to land this young phenom.
Andrew Wiggins is an amazing talent and I was very grateful to see him in person. I and many more Kentucky fans will be able to see him again November 30th at the Marshall County Hoopfest. O, and they also have the Harrison Twins on hand as well, so it would be a great event for Kentucky fans to see what the future may look like.
Another name to keep in mind is Sophmore Montaque Gill-Caesar, he visited Kentucky over the summer and looked very good strong today. He is a top 25 Sophmore in the class of 2015.