Have you OD’d on Andrew Wiggins news yet? Good. This morning, Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford called in to Kentucky Sports Radio to give his take on what his star player will do. Here are the highlights:
– Throughout his recruitment, we have really only learned two things for certain about Andrew Wiggins: he is insanely talented on the court, but very private and laid back off of it. Fulford said that the latter trait has created a stall in Wiggins’ decision making process, with the young player hesitant to pull the trigger on a school because a) he doesn’t want to tell people no and hurt their feelings; and b) he still isn’t entirely sure what he wants to do. Fulford compared the current state of Andrew’s recruitment to when he was deciding whether or not to attend Huntington Prep. After two years of wooing Andrew, it was Andrew’s father who finally called Fulford to tell him that his son would be joining his program. Fulford recently said that it wouldn’t surprise him if Andrew had someone else announce the decision, maybe even via tweet.
– At this point, Fulford said you can’t write any of the remaining schools off. He went through each school left and shared his thoughts on why Andrew’s still keeping them on the list.
Florida State: Obviously, Andrew has a deep connection to this school because his parents attended it and he went to camps there throughout his childhood. He also has a good relationship with head coach Leonard Hamilton. Fulford said that Andrew would be “comfortable” there.
Kansas: Fulford mentioned that Andrew liked Bill Self.
Kentucky: Simply put: “Kentucky is Kentucky.” Fulford said Andrew knows he would be surrounded by great players there, and listed them all by name.
North Carolina: Andrew still has family there.
– Reading between the lines, I feel like Florida State is still in contention because Wiggins doesn’t want to offend them by saying no. He has longtime connections there, and Fulford said that Andrew may be hesitant to eliminate them because his teammate, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, is going there next season and he doesn’t want to hurt his feelings.
– Where does Fulford want Wiggins to go? Selfishly, he said Kentucky because of its proximity to Huntington, which would allow Fulford and the staff to see him play as often as possible. Fulford said he also has a great relationship with Orlando Antigua…which, come on, who wouldn’t? Coach O is awesome.
– Fulford shot down some rumors that have been circulating this week. 1) Contrary to UNC message board reports, Andrew will NOT announce his decision next Tuesday. 2) Also, Fulford has NOT been hired as an assistant coach at Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, or Florida State. Fulford pointed out that if he were hired to any of those staffs, Wiggins would then not be allowed to attend that certain school.
– However, Fulford said that Wiggins WILL decide by the spring signing deadline of May 15th. “I have letters of intent on the table waiting for him.”