Ostensibly Hoops

[hedge]

He made some comment about UK to the effect that if he went there, "we" would win it all. Of course IC went into meltdown over that "we" part. Come to think of it, it doesn't take much to send IC into meltdown mode...

I'm sure it would be fun to play on a team loaded with stud freshmen and if he's even close to as good as advertised, he'd still be a top lottery pick coming out of UK even if he wasn't the dominant player, esp. if they won alot of games and made a deep tourny run (which is pretty much a given), but if he really is as good as they say, he would be the showcase player at Carolina on a veteran team that would also easily be a top 5 team. I think it just depends on if he wants to be "the man" or if he doesn't really care about that. If it's the latter, he'll choose UK. But from everything I've read about him, he might not care about any of that and just knows he's going to be a top draft pick irregardless and so he could go to FSU. Seems a bit ridiculous to go somewhere where you're going to be the sole focus of the other team's defense (although maybe he sees that as a challenge and a way to really prove how good he is) at a school whose fans don't even start thinking about basketball until mid-January (if then), but they say he is a "different" sort of recruit. Who knows? I still think Julius Randle is going to have a better season than Wiggins no matter where Wiggins goes. That kid reminds me of Elton Brand...

[eCat]

He made some comment about UK to the effect that if he went there, "we" would win it all. Of course IC went into meltdown over that "we" part. Come to think of it, it doesn't take much to send IC into meltdown mode...

I'm sure it would be fun to play on a team loaded with stud freshmen and if he's even close to as good as advertised, he'd still be a top lottery pick coming out of UK even if he wasn't the dominant player, esp. if they won alot of games and made a deep tourny run (which is pretty much a given), but if he really is as good as they say, he would be the showcase player at Carolina on a veteran team that would also easily be a top 5 team. I think it just depends on if he wants to be "the man" or if he doesn't really care about that. If it's the latter, he'll choose UK. But from everything I've read about him, he might not care about any of that and just knows he's going to be a top draft pick irregardless and so he could go to FSU. Seems a bit ridiculous to go somewhere where you're going to be the sole focus of the other team's defense (although maybe he sees that as a challenge and a way to really prove how good he is) at a school whose fans don't even start thinking about basketball until mid-January (if then), but they say he is a "different" sort of recruit. Who knows? I still think Julius Randle is going to have a better season than Wiggins no matter where Wiggins goes. That kid reminds me of Elton Brand...

Wiggins strikes me as different than the other kids - a big tell to me is that he doesn't appear to be the kind of kid that is going to put on a big show on his announcement. From what I've read he'll have someone tweet it and be done with it. So he comes off a bit more low key than most kids which I actually don't think bodes well for Kentucky. However, UK has had a ton of influence on him over the past few months, from Randle playing in the McD's game with him and his roommate being Karl Towns , Jr (a f'ing stud of a player, I can't wait to see that kid play). So I think it boils down to, does Wiggins want to be in part of a unprecendented freshmen class that will be considered a failure if they don't win the championship, hell, if they don't go undefeated, or does he want some "normalcy" by playing in a structured traditional environment at UNC, or will he just cave and go with the parents wishes, knowing he can go to FSU and still be the first or second round draft pick (however I do believe that if he doesn't go to UK, Randle is going to put some heat on him for being the #1 draft pick, especially if the team Wiggins is on fails to make an impact in the tourney).

Honestly, I believe Carolina is the safe choice for Wiggins, but the Jay-z Hip Hop, 24/7 reality channel ESPN highlight choice is going to UK. The big question is - does he want that for 1 year of college?

Another thing that is going well for UK is Nerlens Noel. The kid is injured mid season on a team that fails as badly as it can possibly fail - and it looks like he is still going to be the #1 pick in the draft. Would that had happened if he was at UNC (no, because Roy would have talked him into coming back), Duke? maybe , Kansas? probably. But Cal can tell any kid he wants that he can fast track him for the NBA. No other coach can make that claim and back it up right now.

[hedge]

Or he could take it to mean that if you're really that good, the NBA is going to notice, no matter how shitty the team is and then pick FSU...

[eCat]

Or he could take it to mean that if you're really that good, the NBA is going to notice, no matter how shitty the team is and then pick FSU...

He may rationalize it that way but anyone connected is going to tell him that he is rolling the dice with contract money by going to FSU. What kind of investment is a football school going to make in basketball in terms of facilities, travel, scheduling and exposure, etc. FSU will be behind everyone in every aspect of what it can do to help Wiggins get to the NBA.

[hedge]

I agree...

[Bklyn]

Wiggins is so much better than Randle, I don't see them as close at all. Granted, I only saw one TV game and another in person, but Wiggins just fits seamlessly into the DNA of whatever line up he's playing in and still takes advantage of whatever is presented offensively. Randle is really strong and has more "volume" to his game (your eye does gravitate towards him because he looks like a man amongst those dudes). However, I was not sold on his offensive repertoire (although they were all star games, so it's not like the sets were executed after months of playing together). Wiggins surprised me with how "in the pocket" (to use a musical term) he was but still had an undeniable influence on the game.

Wiggins could go to a JuCo and be the #1 pick, at this point. NBA scouts are just waiting for his eligibility to get here, they're not waiting for anything from him basketball-wise.

[eCat]

I'm not going to argue that Wiggins isn't the clear #1 choice at this point, but I don't buy it for a second that if he were to choose the wrong school - and I'm not sure that even FSU can diminish his talent any- it would effect his draft status. It just doesn't make any sense to take that kind of chance with so much riding on a 7 month period in his life where he could lose millions.

[hedge]

"Wiggins could go to a JuCo and be the #1 pick, at this point. NBA scouts are just waiting for his eligibility to get here, they're not waiting for anything from him basketball-wise."

Yeah, but it seems like everybody was saying the same thing about Harrison Barnes three years ago. Not saying he turned out badly or even anything close to bad, I'm glad we got him and he was a very good player for us and now is a solid starter as a rookie on an NBA playoff team. But he certainly wasn't the only or even the main reason Carolina had really good teams the two years he was there. It could be argued that any of Henson, Zeller or Kendall Marshall were at least as important to those teams' success as Barnes. Again, not dissing him, but he really wasn't the world-changer that the hype on him coming out of high school pegged him as. Not saying Wiggins won't be that kind of world-changer, but as a Carolina fan I've been hearing about "the next Michael Jordan" for going on 30 years and I haven't seen him yet. Stackhouse and Carter were close, I guess, and of course I'd take players like that every time, but again, I haven't really seen it yet. Maybe Wiggins will be the one, but I'll wait til he shows it in college before I go too crazy...

[Bklyn]

I'm not going to argue that Wiggins isn't the clear #1 choice at this point, but I don't buy it for a second that if he were to choose the wrong school - and I'm not sure that even FSU can diminish his talent any- it would effect his draft status. It just doesn't make any sense to take that kind of chance with so much riding on a 7 month period in his life where he could lose millions.

Well, I hear you there. Smart money says that UNC, then UK should be his first two options. I just don't think FSU will hurt too much...and I was not on the Wiggins bandwagon 5 months ago. He's shown me a lot in only a small amount of viewings. If you guys get him, it's Final Four tickets time.

hedge

Well, I will never call out a "next MJ." The last time I did it was Harold Miner and immediately retired the phrase. I'm not even sure Jordan was the next Jordan at Carolina. He just kept getting better and better as the years rolled on.

[hedge]

FSU News reporting Wiggins to UK...

http://www.fsunews.com/article/20130422 ... rontpage|s

[crotch]

WKYT in Lex is running a POLL on should UK remove Richie Farmer's jersey from Rupp if he is convicted of a felony.

[eCat]

WKYT in Lex is running a POLL on should UK remove Richie Farmer's jersey from Rupp if he is convicted of a felony.

based on what I've read, you can remove the "if" part.

[Saint]

I don't care about Wiggins. He's only going to be there 1 year and then forgotten. Shit, even Marvin Williams who played on a national championship team at Carolina is hardly remembered any more.

[eCat]

per the insiders at inside Carolina, Wiggins parents have been in contact with Carolina this week.

[hedge]

I bet they've been in contact with all the other coaches in the running as well...

[Saint]

Hedge's 18 yo lolitaughter just sashayed across the newsroom in full jiggle...

[Bklyn]

I don't care about Wiggins. He's only going to be there 1 year and then forgotten. Shit, even Marvin Williams who played on a national championship team at Carolina is hardly remembered any more.

Well, in fairness, Marvin Williams was barely remembered by Roy the night of the Championship Game.

[eCat]

Grant's seat got a bit hotter - Trevor Lacey is transferring

[hedge]

I got in trouble with the MIF (and the youngun) last night, we had gone out to a bar (same damn bar every time, there's only 2 or 3 in this town) on Sat. night, same old crowd (me, the MIF and her only friend Lisa, who is single) plus some out of town folks including my brother and some of his friends who were in town for some high school hall of fame awards banquet (Stu refused to get me a ticket). Anyway, as these things always go, we got fairly drunk, the MIF was in the other room dancing with my brother and one of his friends, but you can see right in there, it's not like a completely separate room (basically the dining area with the tables moved) and I'm sitting there with Lisa and another friend, evidently I put my hand on Lisa's leg, I don't really recall but obviously I wasn't trying to hide anything, this place is wide open, and anyway, the MIF is over there dirty dancing in my and everybody else's full view. Anyway, the MIF kinda said something about it, either that night or the next morning, I can't remember, but she really didn't make any big deal about it and actually seemed to kinda be kidding me about it. But last night she just unloads on me in a fury, acting like she's furious at Lisa too for "letting me" put my hand on her leg, although of course now it's gone from "leg" to "upper inner thigh", and when I finally said "So you're basically accusing me of fingering Lisa in public view right in front of you?" she said "That's basically what you were doing!" I'm about tired of this bullshit...

[Jungle Rat]

RUN