UNC Basketball Recruiting: Only Time Will Tell

For quite some time, I have been very optimistic about the best high school player since LeBron taking his talents to Chapel Hill and wearing the baby blue. For months, speculation has swirled about the future college destination of the nation’s number one. Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State, and North Carolina alike, all have fan bases that are hopeful Andrew Wiggins will join their family. As rumors cultivate the majority of recruiting “knowledge” we have about Andrew Wiggins, one thing is certain, we have no idea where he will land.

This aforementioned optimism however, is not something that comes without warrant. It is common knowledge that he wants three things in a school: a good skill development coach, a national championship, and chance at leaving a lasting legacy. Based on the amount of skill returning to Kentucky, coupled with eight current commits and six All-Americans, a lasting legacy is something that just doesn’t seem plausible. Should Wiggins go to Kentucky, he would be playing alongside nine other All-Americans and twelve other scholarship players. It would be impossible to stand out and dominate playing with that crowd of a team. This leaves only Kansas, Florida State, and North Carolina.

Kansas seems very unlikely to steal Wiggins. Not only were they the last school to begin heavily recruiting him, they were also they least present. Bill Self didn’t invest the time in recruiting like the other competing coaches. On January 9, 2013, an article was written in the West Virginia based Herald-Dispatch and most people, mainly Kansas fans, were unaware of this stance. The paper had a conversation with Andrew Wiggins and there was a long dialogue about all the possible future schools, except Kansas. Kansas got one line and it read as follows: “Wiggins said he is still visiting Kansas, but the odds of him going there are slim to none.” Jayhawk fans can’t feel too optimistic about Wiggins anymore. This leaves only Florida State and North Carolina.

As I said, I have felt very optimistic about Andrew Wiggins coming to UNC. I have also felt that it would come down to either Florida State or North Carolina. Last Saturday, April 13th, my heart sank as I read a tweet sent out by Keith Jenkins, an ESPN reporter. “Source tells me Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 recruit in the 2013 ESPN 100, will commit to Florida State. Nothing official as of yet.” For about 45 minutes I was destitute, just trying to understand why Florida State would have been more enticing. Then the rebuttal from Wiggins came, “Lol if you ain’t in my family you know nothing about my recruitment, lol stop with the rumors.” I began wondering, if FSU is leading over UNC, would he tweet this? A guy that has been so closed about his recruitment sure spoke up quickly to deny FSU. After Wiggins’ response, Jenkins changed his Twitter handle and ultimately deleted his tweet.

One thing Andrew wants for sure is a national championship. Between Florida State and North Carolina, who has the better chance to give him that? A UNC team that will return two of the “big three” along with a Hall of Fame coach? Or a FSU team that finished 18-16 and lost its best player. I think it’s clear that UNC is his best option, but like he said, “if you ain’t in my family you know nothing about my recruitment.” I guess we will just have to wait and see.