The Power of Andrew Wiggins - SCACCHoops.com

The Power of Andrew Wiggins

by ACCBasketball.com

Posted: 5/14/2013 8:31:19 AM


Imagine being a Florida State Seminoles fan. You’re coming off a disappointing 18-15 season. With senior heavy team, you’re expecting better days to be ahead next Fall. However, as excited as any Seminoles fan can be, they know, I know, the hoarder down the street with no TV or Internet, she knows, we all know we’re not talking about championship expectations. They’re talking about 20 wins, maybe a surprise ACC tournament run and if they’re really lucky, they’ll crash the NCAA’s Sweet 16 like they did in 2012.

Those are the normal expectations.

Yet, thanks to one kid…a Canadian no less, the folks down in Tallahassee can wish big. They have visions of Andrew Wiggins dancing in their heads.

FSU is one of four schools the “greatest player since LeBron” is considering. The others of course are Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina.

However, with or without Wiggins, those other programs are going to be just fine. Those three schools have won a combine 16 national champions, including three of the last six. Those schools have Hall of Fame worthy coaches. Those schools already have elite recruiting classes coming in next Fall. Those schools’ fortunes don’t hinge on the decision of a one-and-done small forward.

Florida State is not like those schools, no matter how much Tim Brando wishes it was.

Florida State is a football school first and foremost. Most of the fan base could name the football teams third-string offensive guard’s mother’s maiden, but couldn’t name a third of the basketball team’s starting lineup. Last year, barely half the stands were filled when Duke showed up, a team they beat the year before.

florida state

This is a team that has been to the dance just 12 times since 1947. They’ve advanced beyond the second round just three times and have never crashed the Final Four.

Don’t get me wrong, they have had some success lately. Since Leonard Hamilton has joined the Seminoles as head coach, he has made FSU the best team in the ACC not named Duke/North Carolina. They have won at least 20 games six times over the last eight years. They recently went four straight years to the NCAA Tournament, earning a 3-seed in 2012.

Also, despite not running what some would call a high-powered offense and despite not recruiting the elites, Hamilton has sent five players to the NBA. That’s good.

Let’s be honest though, if Andrew Wiggins’ parents didn’t play sports at the school, Wiggins probably wouldn’t even take FSU’s call.

Yet here we are.

Could a player like Andrew Wiggins change all that? Could Andrew Wiggins turn Florida State into an elite team?

If the question is in regard to just this coming season, then maybe. Yeah, I know…kind of a lame answer.

If Wiggins heads to Florida State, then he more than likely starts along side (a healthy) Ian Miller and Devon Bookert in the backcourt, with Okaro White and Kiel Turpin inside. He’d also have his best friend and fellow freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes (8th rated shooting guard according to ESPN) getting serious minutes, with a good chance to start.

That’s a solid lineup, but at best I would put them third in my preseason ACC rankings, behind both Duke and North Carolina. I certainly would have them in the NCAA Tournament, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on them going far.

Of course to get to this reasoning, instead of looking at LeBron James, who never played college ball, I actually look at Kevin Durant.

If you recall, Durant played one year of ball at Texas, where he was named “National Player of the Year.” He had a fantastic season and was clearly the best player in the country, but if you recall, the Longhorns lost nine games that year in a weak Big 12 conference. They earned a fourth seed and were crushed by 19 by USC.

As good as Durant was, not even he could carry a team completely on his back to the Final Four. Plus, I would argue that Texas team was better than next year’s Florida State team. That Longhorns featured three future NBA players. On this Noles team, I’m not sure I see any (at least when discussing the current, non-freshmen players) NBA talent. Maybe an improved Okaro White could be drafted late in the second round and work off a pro team’s bench, but that’s about it.

On top of that, Durant’s decision to go to Texas has had zero impact on that program. After Durant bolted to the NBA, the Longhorns did make it to the Elite Eight the following year, but since then, they have been eliminated in the NCAA first-round twice, the second-round twice and this past season they didn’t even qualify. The program has gotten worse…although that says more about Rick Barnes awful coaching ability than it says about Kevin Durant.

In the end, I’m predicting Andrew Wiggins picks Florida State.

First, it’s not really a prediction, but a guess I’m pulling deep out of my ass. It’s also what I hoping for. If the ACC really wants to be the best basketball conference in American, then it needs to be able to get the best player. Now Wiggins could go to North Carolina and achieve this, but let’s face it, the league can’t just be about Duke/North Carolina.

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