At this point, the conventional wisdom is that Andrew Wiggins will either join Kentucky’s already -loaded 2013 recruiting class or join his best friend, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, at his parents’ alma mater, Florida State.
But don’t count out North Carolina.
According to Grant Traylor, the Herald-Dispatch beat writer for Huntington Prep, Carolina coach Roy Williams has been the most visible head man in Huntington this season.
“There is no one who has been more visible in Huntington than Williams, whose first order of business after surgery to remove benign tumors from his kidneys was to visit Wiggins at the Marshall Rec Center on Oct. 23,” Traylor wrote in this piece on Wiggins.
“He’s been back twice since — Dec. 12 for a Huntington Prep game at Spring Valley and last Thursday for another practice.”
Having been shut out for both Jabari Parker (Duke) and Julius Randle (uncommitted), Williams may well have opted to turn up the pressure on the 6-foot-8 Wiggins, widely considered the best player in high school basketball.
Carolina’s 2013 recruiting class currently includes point guard Nate Britt, power forward Isaiah Hicks and big man Kennedy Meeks. They lack a lethal wing player in the class, and Wiggins certainly fits that bill.
Wiggins plans official visits for after the season to North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas. He has already visited Florida State.
Kentucky already has six prospects in its 2013 class and if Wiggins were to go there, he would join Aaron Harrison and James Young on the wing. While Wiggins will play wherever he goes, there’s no doubt that the wing position would be crowded should he land there.
Still, John Calipari has watched Wiggins several times during games in Kentucky and West Virginia this season — and the Kentucky fans have been all over his games seeking autographs.
“UK has a lot of fans in all of the states we play,” Wiggins told Traylor. “I think most of the time I’m hearing from fans about them, but I’m going to go where is best for me to go.”
Meantime, FSU has the pull of being his parents’ alma mater and the destination of his teammate and close friend.
“He tries, he tries [to recruit me],” Wiggins said of Rathan-Mayes. “It’s not really a factor, but it would always be a fun thing to play with him. We are one of the best one-two punches in the United States.”
Wiggins will likely play in the McDonald’s All-American Game April 3 in Chicago and the Jordan Brand Classic April 13 in Brooklyn before the late signing period begins April 17.
*Wiggins and Huntington Prep will face Kentucky-bound Dakari Johnson and Montverde (Fla.) Academy at 4 p.m. on March 3 at Freedom Hall, according to the Courier-Journal.
**For more stories on Andrew Wiggins, click here.
Photo: Herald-Dispatch
