The most drawn out and hyped college basketball recruitment in recent memory has finally come to an end.

And with a surprise.

Andrew Wiggins on Tuesday announced his plans to play at Kansas, choosing the Jayhawks over the two presumed favorites, Florida State and Kentucky, as well as North Carolina.

“The other schools were great, but Kansas had my heart,” Wiggins told Grant Traylor of the Herald-Dispatch, the lone reporter permitted to cover the event. “That’s it. I followed my heart.”

The 6-foot-7 Wiggins made the announcement before his parents and teammates at  Huntington (W.V.) St. Joseph Central Catholic School, choosing a low-key signing instead of a big-time press conference or an announcement on ESPN.

Wiggins is the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2013 and is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The Naismith and Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, Wiggins averaged 23.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.5 assists last season.

“Obviously, everyone in Jayhawk-land is overwhelmed and excited today,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

“This was a pleasant surprise because we never had an idea which way he was [leaning]. 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.”

Wiggins will now play basketball in the same state as his older brother, Nick Wiggins, who will be a senior at Wichita State.

Wiggins’ decision gives Kansas two players ranked No. 1 at their position in Wiggins (small forward) and Joel Embiid (center), according to ESPN.com.

In this poll on ZAGSBLOG, only 12 percent of more than 7,000 voters had picked Kansas as Wiggins’s destination. Kentucky led with 44 percent.

Kentucky fans had hoped — and many had expected — that Wiggins would join the parade of McDonald’s All-Americans coming to Lexington next season to play for coach John Calipari.

Kentucky already has a record six McDonald’s All-Americans and Wiggins would have made it seven.

“I don’t think there  have ever been five McDonald’s All-Americans going to the same school in one year, let alone the six that has Kentucky this year,” longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said. “And seven, I don’t think there ever will be.”

Nick Wiggins told SNY.tv at the Final Four that his brother, a naturally quiet, shy kid, might want to make his own mark in college, as opposed to joining a group of studs at Kentucky.

“Definitely, I’m sure that he would want to make his own legacy and you could see it kind of on Kentucky’s team this year,” he said.

“They had a lot of stars and it kind of didn’t jell as well as it did the team before when it had a lot of freshmen that really jelled together. So it’s just difference in players and putting combinations together. Coach Calipari’s a very good coach so I wouldn’t blame it really at all on him.”

Meantime, Florida State folks had hoped Wiggins would follow both of his parents, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and former Canadian Olympic track star Marita Payne-Wiggins, to the school. So did his friend and Huntington Prep teammate, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, a 6-4 shooting guard who committed in October.

Wiggins and Rathan-Mayes are fellow Canadians and teammates on the Canadian Junior National Team.

“Drew, you should come to FSU because you’re my best friend and because of the opportunity we have to do something special together that not too many people can do together,” Rathan-Mayes told USA Today before the announcement. “Other than that, I want you to go where you’re happy; so no matter where you go, I’ll support you 100 percent and be your biggest supporter!”

Kansas is in the mix almost every year for a Final Four and next year will be no different with a class headlined by Wiggins and also including Embiid, Selden, Brannen Greene, Frank Mason and Conner Frankamp.

“We had an unbelievable class when we signed Brandon (Rush), Mario (Chalmers), Julian (Wright) and  Micah Downs (2005-06); that’s a big-time class,” Self said.

“This one has more upside. Andrew has a chance to be the first pick in the draft. Joel Embiid goes from being an unranked player to being the top center prospect in the class. He’s raw but so gifted physically. Wayne Selden is a McDonald’s All-American and top-15 guy. Everybody knows about those three, but they are sleeping on are the other three. Conner Frankamp can play for anyone and so can Brannen Greene. Frank Mason is about as underrated of a point guard as there is in the class. It’s been a great recruiting class, but we need to have a great recruiting class because we lost so many guys on a team that did pretty well this year.”

“He’s the best player in the world so I don’t know how far he can bring them,” Syracuse-bound point guard Tyler Ennis of St. Benedict’s Prep told SNY.tv of Wiggins. “But having the best player in the world is not oging to hurt anybody.”

Still, Wiggins’s tenure in  Lawrence figures to be short.

The 2014 NBA Draft is expected to be much stronger than the 2013 Draft, which has been called “historically weak,” and Wiggins figures to headline a draft a year from now which should also include 2014 stars like Kentucky pledges Julius Randle and Aaron and Andrew Harrison and Arizona-bound forward Aaron Gordon.

“He just needs to stay in the gym this summer shooting jumpers as well as working on his game off the dribble which will only increase draft status next year,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv.

Said a second NBA scout: “He is a great young player. He should be right at the top of the college game right away and he is built for the NBA with his physical tools and his exceptional understanding and skill set.”

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony saw Wiggins play last month at the Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn.

Asked if Wiggins could make an immediate impact in the NBA, Anthony said: “It takes time. I wish him the best. Next year if he do what he gotta do and he’s ready to make that step, then more power to him. I support his decision.”

For one year, Kansas fans — and not those from Kentucky, Florida State or North Carolina — can revel in Wigginsanity.

**For previous articles on Andrew Wiggins, click here.

Photo: Herald-Dispatch

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Special to ZAGSBLOG

FRISCO, Texas — Stanley Johnson, the No. 12 player in the Rivals 150 for the Class of 2014, is considering adding another big-time program to his list.

“One school that just offered me is Kansas,” the 6-foot-6 small forward from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei told SNY.tv at the Nike EYBL stop here.

“I’m talking with them a little bit. I got a little bit of interest in them.”

Johnson’s current list consists of seven schools — Arizona, Kentucky, Florida, Oregon, Duke, UCLA and USC 

Kansas is attempting to get in to the star prospect’s recruiting late, something that caused Johnson to raise a question to Jayhawks head coach Bill Self.

“We had a little talk and I was wondering, ‘If I was the type of a kid that you wanted that bad, why haven’t you called me before this?’ Johnson asked Self.

Johnson said Self told him: “I really haven’t seen you, we’ll I’ve seen you, but I really haven’t seen you. Last week you really impressed me and I feel like you’re our No. 1 prospect.”

Johnson showed some of the game that impressed Self on Saturday. After a slow first half in the morning game, he lit up the stat sheet in his normal fashion, ending Day 2 at the EYBL here with an impressive 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

In his first game, Johnson was a no-show until the 2-minute mark of the first half, when he drained back-to-back 3-pointers and two foul shots to pull his Oakland Soldiers within 11 points at the half, eventually finishing with 17 points and 11 boards.

So what intrigues Johnson about Kansas?

“Just having that talk and seeing how he wants to use me in the game, that’s really the biggest thing that attracted me to the school,” he said.

Johnson said it’s too early to officially place the Jayhawks on his current list, but it’s definitely not out of the question.

“I wouldn’t say I’m putting them on my list,” he said. “I want to talk to them a few more times and make sure it’s right, but they’re a really good school and I’m really glad I got an offer from them.”

For now, teams like Kentucky, Arizona and Florida know their competition for Johnson, but that could change quickly and the space at the top could get a little smaller, especially when a heavyweight like Kansas knocks on the recruiting door.

And for now, Stanley Johnson is listening.

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The 6-foot-9 Black is believed to have also met with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Ohio State coach Thad Matta and San Diego State’s Steve Fisher.

According to CBSSports.com, Oregon, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Miami and Minnesota have also tried to get involved or are involved.

The 6-9 Black averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds as a junior last season for the Tigers.

“I will not be conducting any interviews during this process,” he said by text.

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Andrew Wiggins

The 6-foot-8 Wiggins is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2013 and has now visited Kentucky and Florida State, with a trip to North Carolina for the Duke game set for Saturday.

Wiggins is coming off a 40-point performance Saturday when Huntington (W.V.) Prep dismantled Canadian Club team United Leadership Academy, 134-61, at Boyd County Middle School in Ashland, Ky.

Wiggins’s parents, Mitchell and Marita Payne, will trip with him to Kansas as they did to Kentucky, which is critical in the recruiting process.

“The [Kentucky] visit was cool,” Wiggins told CatsIllustrated.com. “My parents loved the whole experience, I did as well.

“The game, in particular, was really fun. I appreciate how the fans showed me so much love.”

Wiggins told the site that he already enjoys a close relationship with Kentucky coach John Calipari, and that his parents are getting to know him as well.

“We’ve been close for a while, but it’s getting even better,” he said. “I’m starting to get closer with their current players as well.”

Huntington coach Rob Fulford has said it’s critical that Wiggins’ parents are coming on the trips since their only basis of comparison is Florida State, the school they both attended and the school that Wiggins’ teammate and friend, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, will attend.

“It’s significant for any parent to take a visit,” Fulford told SNY.tv. “They know FSU. The fact they are visiting other places is important because they now get a chance to know the other three.”

As for Kansas, they are widely perceived to be behind Kentucky, Florida State and even North Carolina in the Wiggins Sweepstakes.

Yet now Wiggins and his family will see historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse during a dramatic game in which seniors Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Kevin Young will play their final home game.

“We’re ready for it,” Withey told KUSports.com, “but at the same time we don’t want it to come because it is our last home game. We know that we have to win every game from here on out in order to win the conference (title) and get into our groove for the (NCAA) tournament.”

It could also be the final home game for freshman Ben McLemore, who went for 36 points Saturday and is considered the No. 1 or 2 pick in this year’s draft.

“We just have to focus on what is in front of us right now,” McLemore told KUSports.com. “Our focus is just to go out there and play ball. We want to make our seniors happy and have them leave with a great year — their time here at the University of Kansas.”

As for Wiggins, Fulford said the folks at the McDonald’s All-American Game asked if Wiggins would like to announce then, but no commitment has been made.

Wiggins recently told SNY.tv he’s just waiting for the right “moment” to make his decision.

“I haven’t found it yet,” he said, “so I am just waiting for that moment that will convince me it’s the right place.”

**For more stories on Andrew Wiggins, click here.

Photo: Toronto Sun

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The Jayhawks managed just 13 points in the first half, their lowest first half in scoring since 1988-89.

“It was the worst team that Kansas has ever put on the floor since Dr. [James] Naismith was there,” Self said in this video clip. ”I think he had some bad teams when he lost to Topeka YMCA in the first couple years. But for the first half, there hasn’t been a team play worse than that offensively. That hasn’t happened, anywhere.”

Kansas entered No. 6 in the RPI, while TCU was No. 238.

“In terms of RPI difference between the teams, TCU’s win is the biggest upset in the 20 years I’ve been tracking numbers,” Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com Tweeted.

Kansas has now dropped two in a row, breaking a streak of 264 games without back-to-back defeats.

Kansas was 7-1 in the Big 12 entering the game, and onetime Big East member TCU was 0-8.

Photo: USA Today.

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NEW YORK — Thomas Robinson

“Definitely,” Robinson, the rookie out of Kansas averaging 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds, told SNY.tv before his Sacramento Kings met the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“We lost in the last game so that’s pretty much it. He would’ve helped us win it.”

The 6-foot-10 Robinson had 18 points and 17 boards in the title game, but Kentucky beat Kansas, 67-59.

The 6-5 McLemore, then a true freshman, was ruled ineligible prior to the season.

This year, however, McLemore is tearing it up for No. 2 Kansas, averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds.

In a poll for the National College Player of the Year on ZAGSBLOG, McLemore is the leading vote getter with 42 percent of the votes so far.

Ironically, in another poll for National Freshman of the Year, he ranks third with 18 percent behind Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel and UNLV’s Anthony Bennett.

Still, Robinson says McLemore should be the “No. 1 pick” in this year’s NBA Draft.

Asked how his game would translate into the NBA, Robinson said of McLemore:

“Perfect because right now he’s looking outstanding. He’s still in the system. When he gets outside of that system he’s gonna be even more of a problem.”

Robinson says he stays in touch with McLemore and offers advice when needed.

“Yeah, I talk to him a lot,” he said. “He’s pretty much got it handled, so I don’t try to hassle him about it too much. It’s just normal talk.”

Robinson said he will go back to Kansas during the upcoming All-Star break and watch the Jayhawks play Texas Feb. 16; Julius Randle is also supposed to visit then a week after visiting Texas.

Asked if Kansas can win the NCAA championship a year after losing in the title game to Kentucky, Robinson didn’t hesitate.

“Definitely,” Robinson said.

Still, he understands that while Kentucky was the heavy favorite to win it all last year, this season there appear to be eight or 10 teams who could win a title in Atlanta.

“Last year we pretty much got doubted in the beginning as a team, and I would say midway through the season we was really respected,” Robinson said. “Kentucky was just respected before the season even started.

“This year, you don’t know. A lot of teams are playing great, guys are getting upset every week, so it will be great to see once March comes around.”

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Self said the 6-foot-5 McLemore will “probably” play Saturday against Texas in Austin assuming he doesn’t reinjure the ankle.

McLemore is averaging 16.4 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Jayhawks (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) and his stock is quickly rising with NBA scouts.

“Shooting up the charts,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “Shoots it straight. Really runs the floor and finishes.”

He’s also the leading vote getter in our National College Player of the Year poll, where he leads Duke’s Mason Plumlee, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Louisville’s Russ Smith, among others.

Photo: Kansas Athletics

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The 6-foot-5 McLemore went for 33 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 1 second left in regulation, as Kansas beat Iowa State, 97-89 in OT, at Allen Fieldhouse.

McLemore finished 6-of-6 from beyond the arc and 7-of-7 from the line. His 33 points were  just two shy of the Kansas freshman single-game record set by Danny Manning.

For the season, he’s averaging 16.9 points and 5.3 rebounds and is in the mix for National Freshman of the Year honors.

DraftExpress.com has him at No. 9 on its 2013 Mock Draft.

“He’s one of the best young guys in college ball this year,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv after the game. “Turns it on when the lights are the brightest, shoots it straight. He’s flying up everyone’s draft board. A must see for everyone who loves college hoops.”

Photo: Kansas Athletics

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Julius Randle

Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports first reported it on Twitter.

The 6-foot-9 Randle from Prestonwood (TX) Christian was originally supposed to visit Kansas Dec. 29 for the American game, but the students won’t be on campus then. Carolyn Kyles, Randle’s mother, called Kansas asking for a different weekend.

Randle is considering Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and N.C. State and will sign in the spring.

He will visit Texas Dec 15-16  for the Texas State game and N.C. State Jan. 25-27 for the North Carolina game.

Randle is currently recovering from a fractured foot that is expected to keep him out three months.

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“Proud to be a jayhawk,” he Tweeted Tuesday.

He added by text: “Great school for big guys, development. I like the players, coaching staff, facilities [and] academics.”

He chose the Jayhawks over Florida and Texas.

“He chose KU over the others because it was in his gut and he believes that they have the ability to prepare him for the NBA,” his coach, Justin Harden, told SNY.tv.

A native of Cameroon, Embiid is unranked by the major recruiting services because he has only played organized ball for a short time.

“His upside is limitless depending on his work ethic,” Harden said. “He has great fundamentals for having only played for two years.”

Embiid joins a Kansas class that includes guards Frank Mason and Conner Frankamp and wings Wayne Selden and Brannen Greene.

BELL TO OREGON

Jordan Bell, a  6-foot-7 center at Long Beach Poly, pledged to Oregon over Auburn and UConn.

“Just’ everything. Coaching staff, players, weather, people that supported the basketball team,” he said by text by way of explanation for his choice. “Style of play.”

Bell is known for his rebounding and shot-blocking.

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