Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle named preseason All-Americans by ESPN
Despite the fact that he hasn’t even picked which school he’ll attend yet, Andrew Wiggins was named to ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early” 2013-2014 All-American First Team. Eammon Brennan acknowledged the absurdity of naming an incoming freshman to his All-American squad, but said that Wiggins has the talent to back the hype up:
Sorry folks: I don’t care if the kid hasn’t picked a school. I don’t care where he decides to play. I don’t care if you want to compare him to the last athletic small forward considered an All-American before he ever played a minute of college basketball (Barnes), because the two dudes are … you know, not the same person. I don’t care about any of that. What I care about is that there is not a recruiting analyst, NBA scout, college coach or even fellow prospect who doesn’t think Wiggins is the real deal — an immediate Player-of-the-Year candidate, multiple future NBA All-Star and a Kevin Durant-ian franchise-changer. Everyone believes. Everyone.
Wiggins joins Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State), Russ Smith (Louisville), Doug McDermott (Creighton), and Mitch McGary (Michigan) on the first team, while Julius Randle made the Third Team. Andrew and Aaron Harrison were given honorable mention.
Brennan says this of Randle:
Julius Randle, Kentucky: Figuring out which of Kentucky’s approximately 7,985 McDonald’s All-Americans to include on these preseason lists was probably the toughest part of this arrangement. The Harrison Twins are still a great bet, but so is Randle, who is a little bit like Gordon — a fantastic future pro occasionally overshadowed by Wiggins and Parker, the only two players ranked higher than him in the 2013 ESPN 100. Kentucky is going to be very, very good whether Wiggins decides to play there or not. Randle is going to have a lot to do with that.
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
10 Comments for Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle named preseason All-Americans by ESPN
Randle overshadowed by Parker? What colour is the sky on your planet?
Good one number 1
Randle is more complete as a player than Parker and Wiggins. He plays tougher defense and gets on the boards doing the dirty work that Terrance Jones learned to embrace. He can create his own shot and play very physical. Hopefully his play will rub off on Poythress!
umm.. doug mcdermotts been in college since 2001, is he a grad student next year ala julius mays or some ish?
4) nope, just a standard senior. It does seem like he’s been around for ages though
Jabari Parker will likely have prettier numbers than anybody on UK next season. He will be a really good player, but not as good as Randle or Wiggins. I think Andrew Harrison will warrant selection as an All American next year. He appears to have the least competition for minutes. Won’t be first team, but second or third. If we get Wiggins, I think we will have three All Americans. Also, unless they choose to reward the best guy on the best team, I think it is likely that Wiggins numbers might not warrant First Team All America. It just depends how the voters look at the award. Anthony Davis got the respect despite not putting up monster numbers, I think next year’s squad will be similar.
I think Randle would do just fine against McGary. We’ll see how awesome McGary is withough Burke.
Also, on a side note, Brennan is a Big 10 homer, and Indiana homer that predicted an all Big 10 final 4, and also tried to fuel the whole IU Kentucky series in anyway possible. While I agree with him from time-to-time, he has a difficult time separating his clear love for the Big 10 from objectively covering college basketball. There are many examples of this.
Russ Smith isn’t good enough for the pros, but he’s predicted first team all american? Man, Pitino really did this kid a disservice. If anyone needs me, I’ll be flexing.
Russ Smith isn’t an All-American (first teamer) by a long shot.