The nation’s reaction to top recruit Andrew Wiggins choosing Kansas

Huntington Prep basketball player Andrew Wiggins smiles along side his mother Marita Payne-Wiggins, right, as he announces his commitment to Kansas University during a ceremony on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at St. Joseph High School in Huntington W.Va. The Canadian star, a top prospect, averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season for West Virginia's Huntington Prep.

Lots of links to get to after top prospect Andrew Wiggins announced Tuesday that he was coming to Kansas …

• In his notes column about the signing, ESPN.com’s Andy Katz talked to some other Big 12 coaches to get their reaction.

Here was what Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said:

“He’s the best high school player who
has come around in a long time. He’s
freakishly athletic and has great size
and great length. He’s a special
player and a special talent in our
conference.”

How good is Wiggins? ESPN.com’s Chad Ford talked about Wiggins’ reputation among NBA folks in this column (subscription required).

Here’s a snippet from Ford:

“Every GM and scout in the league with
whom I’ve spoken believes Wiggins
would be the No. 1 pick in the 2013
NBA draft if he were eligible. Every
one.”

Here’s a long feature on Wiggins from Feb. 7 written by SI.com’s Pete Thamel that discusses Wiggins’ past. It also includes a quote from recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski who says Wiggins could be the “Michael Jordan of Canada.”

After Kansas signed Wiggins, CBSsports.com moved the Jayhawks up 10 spots to No. 9 in its 2013-14 preseason poll. ESPN.com’s Jason King moved KU up from No. 21 to No. 5.

ESPN.com’s Paul Biancardi believes Wiggins’ decision to go to KU will help him prepare for a pro career (subscription required), with Biancardi saying:

Wiggins already is viewed as a
potential No. 1 pick, but looking at
how Kansas made a top-5 player out of
McLemore, Self’s staff could work
wonders in preparing him for instant
success as an NBA rookie.

Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde shared an interesting story about Bill Self in his column about Wiggins committing to KU:

When I saw Bill Self at the Final Four
in Atlanta, I speculated that it was
down to Florida State and Kentucky for
the top player in the Class of 2013,
Andrew Wiggins. “We’re still in it,”
the Kansas coach replied.

CBSsports.com’s Jeff Goodman is just happy that Wiggins didn’t go to Kentucky, as he explains in his column:

Kentucky remains the most talented
team in the land, but Wiggins would
have put the Wildcats in a different
stratosphere. That’s not what college
basketball needed.

CBSsports.com also put together the basics on Wiggins for those who didn’t know much about him before this week.

810 WHB sports radio had KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend on the Border Patrol, and at the 6:20 mark, Townsend talks about the first time he saw Wiggins play at an AAU event following his freshman year:

“This kid single-handedly did stuff
that I hadn’t seen since Vince
Carter.”

USA Today’s Adam Himmelsbach gives a narrative account of how Wiggins told his parents he had decided on KU.

Here’s a small slice of it:

So on Monday night, Mitchell and
Marita Wiggins arrived at a hotel here
knowing that their son had selected a
college, yet still unsure which one.
Wiggins drove to the hotel, entered
his parents’ room and flashed a wide
smile. “I know where I want to go,” he
said. “Guess!”

Himmelsbach also said on his Twitter account that a Vine video from Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison might have steered Wiggins away from the Wildcats.

Buzzfeed gathered together 21 of the best Andrew Wiggins GIFs, including this one.

Grant Traylor of the Herald-Dispatch — the one print reporter allowed to go to Wiggins’ press conference — had some good quotes from Andrew’s father, Mitchell, about why he decided to go to KU:

“They run a lot of pick and-roll,
pick-and-pop — a lot of stuff as he
goes to the next level, he’s already
ready for. The system was probably the
biggest thing and the coach. (Kansas)
Coach (Bill) Self is a very good coach
and Andrew had a good feel for him. I
think it’s going to be a great fit.”

The Herald-Dispatch also has a nice photo gallery from Tuesday’s signing.

ViewfromVegas says that KU went from 25-to-1 to win it all earlier this week to 10-to-1 after signing Wiggins. KU has the second-best odds, only behind Kentucky.

The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy outlines how much time Wiggins could be away from KU in summer/fall because of his commitments to play for Team Canada in two different FIBA championships. DeCourcy also compiled reaction to the signing from other analysts in this story, which includes this quote from talent analyst at Hot 100 Hoops Van Coleman:

“Andrew has similar tools to a young
Carmelo Anthony, He, like Anthony can
dominate the game with his ability to
make plays on both ends of the court.”

ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil says now it’s time to see if Wiggins can live up to the hype.

SI’s Andy Glockner ponders five questions about college basketball now that Wiggins has signed with KU.

He ends the piece with this:

We don’t know exactly what we’ll see
from him next season, but we do know
it’s just the start of what should be
a sensational basketball career. He’s
that kind of prospect, and it’s that
kind of celebratory day for Kansas.

Bloguin shows us that Wiggins’ decision brought out some of the worst of people on Twitter, as Wiggins had fans of other schools wishing him harm and also calling him some pretty awful names on the social media site (Warning: Harsh language/Viewer discretion advised).

Self was on CBSsports radio with Doug Gottlieb, and the coach was asked how he felt about his chances with Wiggins the night before he committed.

Self’s answer?

“I didn’t think it was great, because
I kept texting him and couldn’t get
him to respond.”

To gauge Wiggins’ potential against the top KU players ever, USA Today’s Scott Gleeson ranks the top 10 KU basketball players of all-time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-2vHtm44DU

ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan says the Wiggins addition instantly makes KU a Final Four contender again.

And finally, ESPN.com’s Reggie Rankin says the Wiggins signing makes the young Jayhawks scary (subscription required).

Here’s more from Rankin:

If KU fans thought Ben McLemore was
exciting in transition, wait until
they get an up-close look at Wiggins,
who often appears to be looking down

> at the rim on finishes.