NBA Draft 2014: Andrew Wiggins Of Kansas Scores 41 Points But Loses The Game! Was This A Show For The Scouts?

Andrew Wiggins is lingering around the top of the NBA Draft 2014 mocks. Recently he scored 41 points in a losing effort. Impressive, but does it also send some wrong signals?

Not really. The opposite is true. It sends all the right signals.

First things first- Wiggins is not a selfish player. In fact, the main criticism for him is that he does not do enough or crave the ball enough. Most scouts have dismissed him for not wanting to be 'the man.' He has quietly played his role, and this has pushed teammate Joel Embiid to dislodge him from the top spot in Chad Ford's mock draft.

Wiggins has been conscious of that. He wants to show that he can be a team player and fit within a system and that gave the wrong impression that he does not have the capability of being a franchise player.

But Embiid was not in the West Virginia game.

CBS Sports had their review of Wiggins' performance: "He was fantastic throughout the game, showing aggressiveness on the offensive end -- something he's shown flashes of throughout the season -- and a determination to get into the lane and either draw contact or finish at the rim. Defensively, he demonstrated once again why he has the potential to a dominant defender at the next level. He made plays away from the ball and came up big in help defense."

The stat line and the implications: "The talented freshman finished with 41 points on 12-for-18 shooting, along with eight rebounds, two assists, four blocks and five steals. It was maybe the best performance of any freshman this season, and showed the ridiculously high ceiling of Wiggins."

In a game when he needed to carry the team, Wiggins delivered on both ends of the floor. He had to bring the ball down himself, set up the play, grab offensive rebounds and block shots. West Virginia had their best game and blew Kansas out, even leading by 25, but Wiggins brought it back to 10 points.

The loss takes Kansas out of the running for a no.1 seed, and the big test for Wiggins is whether he can carry his team to victory in tournament play where the stakes are higher and the talent is stronger. But in terms of skill sets, his spin move, high second jump and sustained energy throughout the game has NBA superstar written all over it.

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NBA Draft 2014: Andrew Wiggins
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