THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2013
FRESH TALENT
PAGE 3
Top players eager to show talent
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
The hype surrounding Andrew Wiggins intensified when the freshman appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in October, but Duke's top freshman recruit, Jabari Parker, was featured on the cover of SI a year and a half before Wiggins.
The words accompanying the Wiggins cover compared Wiggins to past Kansas greats, Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning, but the Parker cover was just as exuberant.
"The best high school basketball player since LeBron James is... Jabari Parker," the cover read.
That was in May of 2012. Wiggins reclassified later that summer. They are likely two of the most talented players to ever come out of the same recruiting class.
On Tuesday, the two will face-off at the United Center in Parker's hometown of Chicago.
"I'm excited for it," Wiggins said.
at Big 12 media day, 21 days in advance of the game. "I know Duke is a legendary team, with a legendary coach, so I'm looking forward to it. There should be some good matchups, a good game."
Both Wiggins and Parker are 6-foot-8-inch wing players with the potential to be national player of the year candidates by the end of the season, and are likely to leave for the NBA Draft after one season in college.
This draft is so full of talent that Jeff Goodman of ESPN reports at least one NBA team is using the strategy of losing this season in order to get a higher 2014 draft pick.
One anonymous NBA general manager reportedly told Goodman and ESPN The Magazine. "Our team isn't good enough to win and we know it. So this season we want to develop and evaluate our young players, let them learn from their mistakes — and get us in position to grab a great player. The best way for us to do that is to lose a lot of
games. This draft is loaded. There are potential All-Stars at the top, maybe even franchise changers. Sometimes my job is to understand the value of losing."
Several online NBA mock drafts, including those from ESPN.com and nbadraft.net, project Wiggins and Parker to be two of the top five players selected. All of this adds more anticipation for Tuesday's game.
The Kansas-Duke matchup was ranked by college basketball writer Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports as the second "most intriguing nonconference game of the 2013-14 season."
"This half of the Champion's Classic gets a slim nod over Kentucky-Michigan State only because it serves as the nation's first chance to watch Andrew Wiggins play in college." Eisenberg wrote.
It's not the first time the two highly-recruited freshmen will be on the court together. In April, they faced off as opponents in three different high school all-star games.
At the McDonald's All-American game in April, Wiggins scored 19 points and went 6-of-10 from the field, while holding Parker to 4-of-13 shooting with three turnovers.
Kansas freshman Wayne Selden, Jr., also played in that game against Parker.
"He can shoot the ball, he's pretty skilled. He's good." Selden said.
At the Jordan Brand Classic, Parker was named MVP of his team with 16 points and seven rebounds. Wiggins finished with 19 points and five rebounds.
Both players had poor shooting performances in at the Nike Hoop Summit game, especially from behind the 3-point line, and both ended the game with a single digit in the scoring category.
On Tuesday, the game will be official and the stage is set for a national college basketball audience to get its first true look at Wiggins and Parker.
Edited by Madison Schultz
Freshman guard Andrew Wiggins drives inside during an exhibition game against Fort Hays State, Nov. 5. Wiggins had 10 points in the Kansas 92-75 victory.
EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Sophomore forward Perry Ellis rests during an exhibition game against Pittsburg State, Oct. 29, Kansas won 97-57.
Classic boasts tough match for Kansas
BRIAN HILLIX
bhillix@kansan.com
This is test No. 1 for the Jayhawks.
The Duke-Kansas matchup Tuesday features two of basketball's most prestigious programs.
In what would be considered a daunting game for the young Kansas team, the Jayhawks' opponent is just as inexperienced. The Blue Devils lost four starters from last year's team that made the national quarterfinals and will start three underclassmen. The Jayhawks have a completely new starting five and will also start three underclassmen. Looking more closely, these teams are almost identical.
The game features the top two incoming recruits in No.1 Andrew Wiggins and No.2 Jabari Parker, from Kansas and Duke respectively, whose games have many parallels. Both standing at 6 feet 8 inches, they are athletic players who know how to get to the rim but can
also pull up and shoot the open jumper. They create mismatches with their size and quickness.
Before Wiggins reclassified to the Class of 2013, many experts considered Parker to be the number one recruit. A Sports Illustrated cover dubbed Parker the best high school basketball player since LeBron James.
Each team receives big contributions from Division I transfers. Tarik Black came to Kansas after playing three years at Memphis, where he graduated in the spring. Black is the most experienced player on the Kansas roster and will start at center. For Duke, redshirt sophomore forward Rodney Hood transferred from Mississippi State, where he was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team in 2011-12. He will start alongside Parker in the frontcourt. Neither player has played a regular season game for his team, but each has taken on a leadership role early
in the season.
Duke and Kansas are led by junior point guards who have a knack for finding their teammates and taking care of the ball. Naadir Tharpe ranked third in the big 12 with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, and Quinn Cook ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 2.4 mark.
Even after losing much of their scoring punch from last season's squads, Duke and Kansas head into the season with lofty expectations. Duke is ranked No. 4 according to the Associated Press Top 25 poll and USA Today Coaches Poll. Kansas landed at No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Champions Classic is a three-year event that showcases four powerhouses in the college game that each rank in the top ten in total NCAA Tournament victories. Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State take turns playing
each other once a year on a neutral court. This will be the final year of the series and will take place at the United Center in Chicago.
Kansas seeks its first win at the Champions Classic. The Jayhawks fell to Kentucky in 2011 in what would be a preview of the national championship game. The next year, the Jayhawks were edged by Michigan State in the final minutes. Duke will try to remain unbeaten at the event after defeating Michigan State in 2011 and Kentucky in 2012.
The Kansas-Duke game will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. with the Kentucky-Michigan State contest starting at 6:30 p.m.
—Edited by Sarah Kramer
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