Andrew Wiggins was a Man Amongst Boys in High School

PHOTO: USA TODAY Sports

Well, I decided that changing my fantasy football lineup for the 3,461st time was enough late this morning as we waited for Playoffs week 1 to get rolling. So naturally, I started spiraling down the rabbit hole that is YouTube, where I came across an interesting video.

Interesting and coincidental because Jim Peterson, color commentator for the Timberwolves on Fox Sports North, just rolled video from this same event a few games ago as part of the network’s preview leading up to a game.

This is different video but it touches on the same subject.

Andrew Wiggins was a MONSTER in High School

First thing I noticed when watching this is that Wiggins looks like he is 3 years older than the rest of the kids on the floor. Keep in mind, this is Peach Jam, a camp that invites a small number of ELITE recruits every year. Even Julius Randle looks average.

About halfway through that video, Wiggins blocks Randle like he’s his middle school brother, followed by a second nasty block because just one wasn’t quite enough. 

The amount of confidence Wiggins has is palpable. It resonates off of Andrew on the floor. Everyone there knows who the best player is. It’s Andrew Wiggins. I think we forget, because of what we’ve seen over the last couple of seasons, what people expected Wigg to be when he came out of high school and even Kansas, during and after his “one-and-done” season.

People were calling him the next LeBron James. Don’t believe me? Read it for yourself here, here, and here.

via GIPHY

The big question now remains. What does Wiggins become? Before the last few games, I would’ve been hard-pressed on giving you anything positive. However, his play over the last few games, since he declared ‘he was back’, has been a lot more comparable to the Wiggins we once saw. The star in waiting…

If the Wolves are going to have any chance at relevance in the West before Karl’s contract is due in a handful of years, Wiggins will have to be a big part of that. If he can’t produce star numbers and star effort, the Wolves will be fucked for the foreseeable future. Just like our past…

No pressure…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan |  Mentioned in this article:

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