My Two Cents: I think Andrew Wiggins can finally exhale

The biggest decision that Andrew Wiggins may have made to this point in his young life may have been to attend Kansas but it also does the most important thing as well:  Let him live away from the scrutiny and pressures that existed before yesterday.  Can Ball Ray give his thoughts on what finally committing to a college means for Andrew the person here ...




In case you missed it yesterday, Andrew Wiggins - the Canadian born uncommitted all world high school basketball player - announced that he was going to be attending Kansas University in the fall.

Break out the champagne!

This is great news for the Jayhawks who will lose dynamic freshman Ben McLemore and senior big man Jeff Withey to the NBA.  Wiggins provides that instant athletic offense that will eventually refine into a better player as the season goes on.  And when you couple him with the likes of the other incoming freshmen for 2013-14 it's safe to say that Kansas automatically has one of the best recruiting classes in college basketball. This could easily be the year that the Jayhawks head into the final weekend of the Big Dance for the first time in a long time.

But I think a bigger thing will be missed amongst all this news and celebration:  Andrew Wiggins will finally be able to live the life of a regular high school student.

For the last two years, Wiggins has been tabbed the number one rated player in the 2014 NBA Draft. He has been the talk of all the recruiting gurus and services for his incredible athleticism and his natural feel for the game.  He has been dubbed the "Next Big One" by just about anyone and his YouTube mixtapes are abundant.  Andrew Wiggins is pretty much everywhere at the same time and he is not hard to spot in a crowd since he's 6'8".

Attention isn't a bad thing but all this extra attention has done nothing but blow up the profile of an otherwise quiet and reserved young man.

I'm sure that he had felt pressures from time to time both on and off the court.  On the court it's about working on the game, playing the game and bettering the game.  Off the court it's about commitment to school, family, friends, teams, country not to mention the many adoring fans. And of course, before yesterday there was also the pressure of "which school are you going to?"

That's a lot for a young person to have weighing in on them.  A whole lot.

I'm really happy that Andrew has committed to Kansas.  Bill Self will be an excellent coach and I'm sure that Wiggins will have every opportunity to play, get better and succeed at the NCAA level before he undoubtedly heads off to work for a living in the NBA.  All this is the stepping stone he's worked for to this point in his life.

But what I'm most happy about is that he made his choice.  The questions and speculations can now cease.  The microscope that has been placed on him for so long can finally be put to the side for a little bit.  Wiggins can now take a deep breath and try to squeeze what little time he has left as a high school kid trying to live a normal life.

I think he deserves that much.  From the media, the fans and all those who have had an opinion of him and his potential I think it's time he got his break now.

To digress a little, I have always wondered if the current world we live in that has really become borderless thanks to the information superhighway has made children live adult responsibilities.  Taking basketball as our example, kids barely out of grade school are working long hours to perfect a craft that they may not be able to practice beyond high school.  The Third World garment sweatshop has made it's way across the water and looks like dribbling drills and shooting form games.  This is what regular kids working at the game that we all love, and sometimes live, do.  Lots of pressure there, right?  But what about the best player for his age group?  For a few years no less at that?  

I bring that up to put into perspective the sacrifice that Wiggins' ability to put the ball in the hoop may have put upon him.  Sure he wanted to work on his game or play on that National Team but the fact remains that he was doing adult work during the peak of his childhood.

His committing to Kansas yesterday means that Andrew will have a few glorious weeks of carefree life this summer before he packs his bags, again, and heads to college.  Sure he'll be involved in the National Program at some point and of course he'll probably end up in Lawrence, KS to start summer classes and unofficial team workouts.

But until he's officially there, the best thing about Wiggins' committing is that now he can commit to enjoying himself, pressure free.  Even if it's just for a little bit.

Take in every last second of it young man.  I know you've earned it.