If it wasn’t already a consensus, it is now: Andrew Wiggins is the best high school basketball player in the country.
The native-Canadian led CIA Bounce to the Peach Jam title game a week after leading Team Canada to the final at the Nike Global Challenge. But in summer basketball, the wins and losses matter less than what you do on the floor, and what Wiggins can do on a basketball court is unmatched nationally.
The Class of 2014 forward is one of the best athletes in the class. He’s got length on his 6-foot-7 frame and he not only can score in a variety of ways -- attacking the rim, transition, beyond the arc, mid-range pull-ups, in the post -- but he’s a terrific defender as well.
Want proof?:
At this point, most people believe that Wiggins is a better prospect -- and a better player -- than Chicago’s Jabari Parker, a member of the Class of 2013. (Believe it or not, Wiggins, who is technically a year behind Parker, is actually older than him. There is speculation that Wiggins will reclassify to 2013.) While a toe-injury kept Parker out of the Peach Jam -- and prevented a matchup between the nation’s two best high school players -- observers did get a classic matchup out of Wiggins and Julius Randle, who is making a push for the title of top prospect in the Class of 2013:
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.