Some athletes realize they’ve finally “made it” after getting their first pro jersey on draft day. As far as Canadian hip-hop artist Drake is concerned, Vaughn, Ontario native Andrew Wiggins has already made it big.
Drake gave Wiggins a big shoutout on his latest single called “Draft Day,” just days after Wiggins declared he was leaving the University of Kansas to enter the NBA Entry Draft following his freshman season. Drake also mentions former Heisman Trophy winner and projected NFL first-round pick Johnny Manziel in the same track. Check it out here.
See Sports Interaction’s NBA odds here and NCAA odds.
Wiggins’ decision to enter the draft was basically a foregone conclusion since Wiggins signed with the Jayhawks a year ago. By the time he set foot on campus, he was already the most talked about NBA prospect in the country and proved he fit the bill being named as a second team All-American. Wiggins averaged 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds last season and put the team on his back before struggling in a loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“He came in with so much hype, and whether he knew it or not, everybody was salivating for a chance to go against a guy with that much hype,” Kansas coach Bill Self said at Wiggins’ draft announcement. “He’s going to the next level with a lot of hype, but men are going to be saying, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, rook. I’ve been doing this a long time and you’re going to have to earn your way.’”
That’s a good point from Self. Wiggins’ raw talent, athleticism, basketball IQ and potential is what NBA teams are drooling over. At 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan, he’s going to have the size to be a force in the pros, but it might take some time. He weighs around 200 pounds right now and will need to bulk up to handle an 82-game schedule.
Still, he went into his freshman season as the consensus No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and not much has changed since then. Most projections have Wiggins going among the top three picks when the NBA teams make their picks on June 26.