Huntington (W.Va.) Prep's Andrew Wiggins laughs during a break in practice last season at Marshall University's recreation center in Huntington W.Va. Wiggins the top high school basketball players in the country chose Kansas as his college destination Tuesday.(Photo Randy Snyder for USA TODAY Sports)
It goes without saying that whichever team landed the nation's top recruit one whose talent has drawn comparisons to a young LeBron James would be lauded immediately as a national title contender.
It took until Tuesday afternoon to find out which school that would be Kansas.
RELATED Andrew Wiggins picks Kansas
Andrew Wiggins will go from being the American Family Insurance USA TODAY Sports Player of the Year to being go to guy on the 2013 14 Jayhawks team the star of an already highly touted incoming freshman class. Wiggins a 6 8 forward from Huntington (W.Va.) Prep who scored 23.4 points and grabbed 11.2 rebounds per game this season passed up a chance to be part of what's being hailed as the greatest recruiting class since the Fab Five Kentucky's. Instead of being one star among two handfuls he'll be the guy at Kansas.
Obviously everyone in Jayhawk land is overwhelmed and excited today Kansas coach Bill Self said in a statement. This was a pleasant surprise because we never had an idea which way he was leading. Andrew did this the exact way he said he was going to. He played his cards very close to his vest as did his mother and father. I knew we were one of four. The competition was very stiff and we were fortunate that we were able to ink him today. He's a tremendous talent and a terrific kid. Probably an even better kid than he is a talent. We think he has a chance to be about as good a prospect as we've ever had.
He brings athleticism length scoring ability and he's also an assassin an alpha dog and we definitely need that when you have a whole bunch of young kids Self said. I think he's going to be not just a good player but have the chance to be a great one. I know the people that support our program are going to be pleasantly surprised when they see him run and play the very first time he gets the opportunity.
PHOTOS Andrew Wiggins in pictures
The Jayhawks will now have the No. 2 recruiting class in the country behind Kentucky and the class will play early. The Jayhawks are losing all five starters from last year's Sweet 16 squad most notably redshirt freshman standout Ben McLemore who averaged 15.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. McLemore's decision to go pro (he's projected to go as high as the No. 2 pick in June's NBA draft) plus the departure of seniors Jeff Withey Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson leaves Kansas with a lot of holes to plug. Sophomores Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor and junior guard Naadir Tharpe are essentially the Jayhawks' only significant returnees and the trio combined for just 13.4 points a game last year.
This means coach Bill Self must rely on his freshmen. Surrounding Wiggins with two other five star recruits in center Joel Embiid and wing Wayne Selden and two top 50 prospects guard Conner Frankamp and forward Brannen Greene could make the Jayhawks a strong contender for a 10th consecutive Big 12 regular season title.
We need to have a great recruiting class because we lost so many guys on a team that did pretty well this year Self said.
ESPN.com recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi calls Wiggins the exclamation point of an already exceptional recruiting class.
PROFILE USA TODAY Sports on Wiggins
The void of McLemore leaving can create a nice presence for Wiggins Biancardi said. They were already a top 10 20 team by most pollsters. With Wiggins they check in as a top five team and it strengthens their chance for another Big 12 title. Kansas likes to explode off misses and steals and he can help open things up for them.
Wiggins who is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft chose Kansas over Kentucky Florida State (his parents' alma mater) and North Carolina. He'll be about two hours away from his brother Nick who will be a senior at Wichita State this fall.
Contributing Scott Gleeson and Jim Halley
Nicole Auerbach a national college basketball reporter for USA TODAY Sports is on Twitter NicoleAuerbach.
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