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Volume 126 Issue 99
kansan.com
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
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Wiggins' year anything but a failure
COMMENTARY
Anyone who thinks that Andrew Wiggins' time at Kansas was a failure
At Kansas was a failure is wrong. Plain and simple. They are wrong. They are wrong because this team was better with Wiggins on the court than without him. Bill Self trusted him. Since 2005, only one nonpoint guard has played more minutes per game than Wiggins, and that player was senior leader Travis Releford in 2013. Wiggins was efficient on offense, and this was without getting the kind of star treatment from referees that many stars are afforded. Examples of this efficiency include 29 points on 16 shots against Iowa State, 41 points on 18 shots against West Virginia, and 30 points on 17 shots against Oklahoma State. They are wrong because Wiggins was a shutdown defender. Wiggins could guard four positions. He guarded everyone from West Virginia point guard Juwan Staten to Iowa State power forward Melvin Eijim to Duke's future top three draft pick Jabari Parker. Wiggins also did not have the luxury of having elite defenders around him on the perimeter. Wiggins consistently asked to match up against the best offensive players. Especially after Joel Embiid went down with an injury, his stamina was incredible. Wiggins would spend 37 minutes chasing around the other team's best player while being counted on to carry the team on offense.
Freshman guard Andrew Wiggins announced that he will enter his name into the 2014 NBA draft. His mother, father and oldest brother, Mitch, were by his side. His brother Nick, a guard at Wichita State, stayed at school for class.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
they are wrong because Kansas won a 10th straight Big 12 championship under his leadership. Before his commitment, all the talk was that Marcus Smart was going to return to school and break the Jayhawks' stubborn grip on the Big 12. Before his commitment, Kansas was a marginal top-25 team. Ten months later, and Kansas notched 12 victories over the RPI Top 50. Ten months later, and Kansas has a streak unparalleled in modern basketball. They are wrong because the parity of the NCAA tournament means that a season can't be fully judged by a Final Four appearance or a national title. These are obviously cherries on the top of a successful lake. However, Kansas has made the NCAA tournament 25 times in a row. This is the longest active streak and the second longest in history. Even the best teams in the nation are statistically very unlikely to win the tournament. They are wrong because Wiggins will be an ambassador for the program for years to come. Wiggins' game was built for the NBA. In the NBA, he won't face zone defenses. He won't face as many double teams or opposing teams who milk possessions to keep the ball out of his hands. Wiggins has multiple All-Star appearances written all over him. His future success will be key in helping Self keep his recruiting momentum. Finally, they are wrong because Wiggins did everything asked of him. He lead a team that lost more than 75 percent of its scoring the previous year. His teammates loved him, and fans loved him. He loved being a part of the program.
Remember Wiggins for all he did for the name on the front of his jersey. Don't remember him for a second-round tournament loss.
Edited by Nick Chadbourne
Andrew Wiggins declares for NBA draft
MEN'S BASKETBALL
ONE AND DONE
BLAKE SCHUSTER
sports@kansan.com
For the second time in less than a year, Andrew Wiggins walked into a room lined with close friends, family and teammates ready to announce the biggest decision of his life.
Since Wiggins first started playing basketball, this had been the plan. Not necessarily going to college, but preparing for what came after. The glamour, the fame and the intense competition that his father, Mitch Wiggins, experienced playing professionally.
"It's always been a big dream of mine to follow my father's footsteps," Wiggins said. "I've been waiting for this day my whole life."
Now here was Andrew sitting next his parents and coach and brother and his childhood dream only a sentence away. So when the time finally came for Wiggins to go through the motions everyone knew was coming, the experienced freshman didn't delay or pander.
Instead he smiled. The same bright smile he flashed numerous times in the past year.
Beyond setting the Kansas freshman scoring record, or sharing Sports Illustrated covers with names such as Chamberlain and Manning. Wiggins came to Kansas because he believed it would best help him develop and mature.
KU coach Bill Self knew he'd done just that.
"The time is right for Andrew," Self said. "He had an unbelievable freshman year for us."
that year included scoring 593 points and helping the Jayhawks earn their 10th straight Big 12 Championship. That year included games where Wiggins would put up 41 points in a meaningless loss, and net just three in the biggest game of the season. That year would start with enormous hype and end with even larger pressure.
And that year didn't end the way it was supposed to.
"This is a happy day," Self said while watching his fourth one-and-done in the last five years. "When student-athletes pick a school and go to college, they go for the chance to have the best life."
Although in many ways it did.
Not even a full year has passed since Wiggins made his last life-altering decision. On a mid-May morning in 2013, while most Kansas students were busy taking finals, Wiggins sat in a gym in Huntington, W.Va., and told reporters he was following his heart. That after taking his time and considering every option, Kansas had won him
over.
The process didn't need to change much this time around. Other than consulting a different coach, Wiggins talked things over with his family and spent as much time making up his mind as he needed to.
He thought about his dad and his dream to play in the NBA like he did. He thought about the Kansas fans and Allen Fieldhouse.
"I wish I had more time," Wiggins said. "I can see why people stay four years."
Not that this will be the last time Wiggins ever comes to Lawrence. He said he'll still
return to train with the team and he's working toward his degree.
He'll just do so as a nontraditional student. He couldn't pass up the moment he came to college for.
So on an afternoon that Self proclaimed Andrew Wiggins Day, his teammates, family and friends waited for Wiggins to step up to the microphone. And when he did there was no hiding that smile.
"I've decided," Wiggins said.
"I'm going to enter the draft."
— Edited by Nick Chadbourne
BASEBALL
Jayhawks, Shockers ready to face off at Hoglund
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Coach Price will throw his midweek starter Drew Morovick Tuesday night against Wichita State. The junior righty has compiled a 5-1 record in six starts with striking out 27 for a 3.38 ERA.
SHANE JACKSON sports@kansan.com
After seeing some of the finest pitchers in the Big 12, with the series against Texas and Oklahoma to start conference play, the Jayhawks will likely see Cale Elam on the mound. He has a 5-0 record in six starts with a 1.47 ERA and was recently named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week.
["The] Big 12 is one of the best pitching conferences in the country", junior short stop Justin Protacio said. "Against Wichita State, we are just going to have get on the board early and get some runs. It's always business when you play your in state rival".
"Not to take credit from Wichita State, but you're not going to see a Friday night guy like you do in the Big 12 with Wichita State," senior catcher Kaiana Eldredge said.
After a conference battle with the Oklahoma Sooners, where all three games were decided by one run, including a walk off double in game three, the Jayhawks are ready to take a break from deadly Big 12 pitching. Kansas (18-10) will do just that when the Jayhawks welcome in-state rival Wichita State Shockers (16-10) at Hoglund Ballpark.
Still, after just missing the tournament last year due to the lack of success in their
In the Jayhawks' home opener on March 11, they lost in a midweek contest against Oral Roberts by a score of 8-7. They dropped a pair of weekly matchups on the road against New Mexico before hitting their way to an 11-0 win against Creighton last Wednesday.
"Historically, we haven't done
midweek matchups, the Jayhawks understand how important it is to win in a midweek game against their neighbor.
"It's always business when you play your in-state rival."
JUSTIN PROTACIO Junior short stop
Coach Price will throw out his midweek starter Drew Morovick. The junior righty has compiled a 5-1 record in six starts, with striking out 27 for a 3.38 ERA.
well against midweek guys, so we need to do what we did against Creighton to get some momentum heading into this weekend," said Eldredge.
Sunday's walk off winner had a different lineup card than normal. Sophomore first baseman Ryan Pidhaichuk was penciled in at first, sophomore second baseman
"I thought they were exploiting our right handed batters, so I changed our pattern up to do more with our short game with our left handed batters," said Price.
Tommy Mirabelli at second, and freshman outfielder Joven Afenir in for junior outfielder Connor McKay in right field.
Offensively, the Jayhawks picked it up on Sunday with a few more base hits, but are desperate for another offensive outing like the one at Creighton. As a team they are hitting just .297, driving in 197 runs. McKay still has a conference best 34 RBIs to go along with his .324 batting average.
It remains to be seen what Coach Price will do with 2013 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Jordan Piche', who was touted as the one of the premier closers in the conference coming in for spring. After Sunday's ninth inning meltdown, where Piche' blew his fourth save consecutive save opportunity, fifth overall, Piche' will likely have a different role this week.
"Him and I are going to talk, we will get him straightened out; we have to get his mindset right," said Price. "I may change his role for a bit to take that pressure off him."
First pitch of this instate weeknight matchup will be at 6 p.m. tonight.
Edited by Krista Montgomery
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