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NCAA Tournament 2014: Andrew Wiggins Criticism And Other Takeaways From Sunday

By Nathan Giese

Mar 23, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Wichita State Shockers guard Fred VanVleet (23) misses a three-point shot with 1.6 remaining defended by Kentucky Wildcats forward Willie Cauley-Stein (15) and Aaron Harrison (2) during the second half in the third round of the 2014 NCAA Men
Mar 23, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Wichita State Shockers guard Fred VanVleet (23) misses a three-point shot with 1.6 remaining defended by Kentucky Wildcats forward Willie Cauley-Stein (15) and Aaron Harrison (2) during the second half in the third round of the 2014 NCAA Men /
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Andrew Wiggins did not diminish his 2014 NBA Draft stock

Mar 21, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks the ball past Eastern Kentucky Colonels guard Marcus Lewis (12) in the first half during the 2nd round of the 2014 NCAA Men
Mar 21, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dunks the ball past Eastern Kentucky Colonels guard Marcus Lewis (12) in the first half during the 2nd round of the 2014 NCAA Men /

Of all things I really didn’t think this would be one I’d have to address, but apparently I do.

Despite only taking six shots and having four points in a three-point loss to Stanford, Andrew Wiggins did not diminish his NBA Draft stock. Stop acting ridiculous, people. There’s a reason those saying he dipped in draft stock don’t run NBA teams.  If the NBA Draft was predicated on one game from a player then, yes, he wouldn’t even be selected at all. Wiggins definitely should’ve been more aggressive in the game, looking to take more shots down the stretch, but the Kansas Jayhawks as a whole had a lot of problems.

For one they were playing a team loaded with frontcourt talent without their tallest and most effective frontcourt player, Joel Embiid, who missed the game still ailing from a back issue. Kansas, as a team (yes, there’s still a concept of team in college basketball) shot 32 percent from the field. For those keeping score at home, that’s not very good. Because of their poor shooting, Stanford was able to key in on Wiggins, make him uncomfortable and force the ball out of his hands. A team is not a true team without a point guard and a leader. Kansas had neither of those all season and succeeded despite that fact. It finally caught up to them against the Cardinal.

Could Wiggins have been more assertive in the offense? Sure. Absolutely. But to say that he didn’t show he could/should be the top overall pick in the draft — something I’m not fully convinced he should be anyway — then you’re fooling yourselves. In all honesty Wiggins played like a normal college freshman, which is what he is or now was. His expectations were so astronomically high that there’s no way he could’ve possibly matched them. I’m glad Wiggins’ season is over so he doesn’t have to keep hearing about how much he’s “disappointed.” It’s unfair to him to put the world on his shoulders. He didn’t ask for it but everybody gave it to him anyway.

Let the kid be a kid, one that makes mistakes and one that sometimes doesn’t always live up to your expectations. Good luck to Andrew Wiggins in his future.