The story of college basketball this year? A kid who has yet to play his first game. The latest in the line of freshmen blessed to have the spotlight on him and given all the praise. Andrew Wiggins. The Golden Child who makes his debut tonight for Kansas.
He's also set up to be the latest in the Hype Machine. You know that machine right? Where 24/7 media can amplify the noise and shape the conversation whether it's fair or not. Where legend transcends fact and facts become enhanced like plastic surgery. Where patience is sacrificed for the right now.
I knew about Wiggins last year but you know who I knew about more? Jabari Parker. In case you forgot, Parker was the SI cover boy about 18 months ago as the clear cut best basketball player in his class. He was the latest Chicago product following the line of greats like Derrick Rose, Nick Anderson, Ronnie Fields, Ben Wilson and others.
All a sudden, he became an afterthought due to him getting hurt his senior year. But to me, he's every bit as good as Wiggins. I've also spoken to colleagues who also say Julius Randle, the best freshman in Kentucky's new stable, is just as good as both too. And don't sleep on Arizona's Aaron Gordon either, who I've seen tear up Cali since he was a sophomore. Case in point, we have a very good freshman class where Wiggins is the star.
