Andrew Wiggins, the much-heralded freshman at Kansas, announced he is entering this summer’s NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-8 forward, who was voted second-team All-America on Monday , is expected to go in the top three picks in the June draft.
“It wasn’t an easy decision because the fans showed me so much love here,” said Wiggins, choking up briefly during a news conference at Allen Fieldhouse. “I just wish I had more time. College goes by so fast. I can see why people stay all four years.”
Wiggins was the top-rated recruit when he arrived at Kansas, and his brief career was marked by inconsistency. He struggled to start his college career. Later, he was impressive and often dynamic. But he was just 1-for-6 with four points in an NCAA tournament loss to Stanford.
He averaged a freshman-record 17.1 points and nearly six rebounds per game, and was voted the AP’s Big 12 freshman of the year and first-team all-conference.
“Obviously this announcement needed to happen,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It’s not like this year. He came in with so much hype, and whether he knew it or not, everybody was salivating for a chance to go against a guy with that much hype. And he’s going to the next level with a lot of hype, but men are going to be saying, `Whoa, whoa, whoa, rook. I’ve been doing this a long time and you’re going to have to earn your way.”
Wiggins simply flashed a smile when asked if he was ready for it.
“Just listening to him now,” his father, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, said, “I’m thinking about when he was that little bitty kid that was dirty, and not listening, and now? He’s a young man that I think gets it. I think he’s going to do very well.”
