Andrew Wiggins achieves dream of topping NBA draft class

YorkRegion.com
June 26, 2014
Adam Martin-Robbins

Andrew Wiggins proved all the doubters wrong tonight when the Cleveland Cavaliers picked him first overall in the NBA draft.

Just seconds after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement, the 6-foot, 8-inch Thornhill resident leapt from his seat, beaming, and hugged those around him, including his parents.

“It's crazy!"

That was the initial reaction from Wiggins, who was decked out in a black velvet tuxedo jacket with a white floral print, in speaking to the media.

Wiggins grew up in Thornhill and led the Vaughan Secondary School basketball team to a provincial championship in 2011 before heading to Huntington Prep School in the United States.

This past season, he starred as a freshman with the Kansas Jayhawks before declaring his intention to play in the big leagues.

Wiggins has a reported 44-inch vertical leap and can play at the small forward or shooting guard positions.

He is widely praised for his incredible athleticism and solid defensive skills, but several hoops watchers have criticized him for lacking intensity and questioned if he can live up to the hype that has surrounded him since his high school days.

Wiggins told a reporter he plans to prove those critics wrong by "just going in and creating an impact off the bat, just playing my game (and) have confidence in myself."

Wiggins is the middle child of Olympic track and field champion Marita Payne-Wiggins and former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins.

They were there at the draft to cheer him on.

"Andrew's very comfortable being who he is and what he's all about and we just try to support him," Mitchell told a reporter. "It's a strong draft class and he wanted to be top of the draft class, so we're very proud of him."

His mother echoed that sentiment.

"It's an awesome feeling to know that Andrew has achieved one of the goals that he has dreamt of all his life and now he has to go further than that," she said. "Now that he's in the NBA, it's going to be all new goals all over again... I'm excited for him. I'm just very proud of him."

Wiggins is the second Canadian ever to be the top NBA draft pick.

Last year, the Cavs selected Brampton native Anthony Bennett first overall.

If he's not traded, as some analysts have predicted, Wiggins will play alongside Bennett and another Brampton native, Tristan Thompson, who was selected fourth overall in the 2011 draft.

Gus Gymnopoulos, Wiggins' coach at Vaughan Secondary School and a close family friend, is in New York to cheer him on.

He said it was "very nerve wracking" when Silver stepped on to the stage to announce the No. 1 pick, but it seemed likely Wiggins would go first.

“I don't see how you could pass up on a kid like him," Gymnopoulos said in an interview with yorkregion.com. "It's a proud moment as a teacher and a coach, more than anything."

Gymnopoulos said given that Wiggins is "very coachable," unselfish, caring toward his teammates and "a pleasant young man", he would have been a perfect fit with virtually any NBA team.

"I think that's probably why he went number one," he said. "Outside of his God-given genetic talent, he understands the game so well as pure basketball players are able to do... He's not a positional player; he's a basketball player."

In anticipation of him going high up in the draft, the City of Vaughan officially declared today to be Andrew Wiggins Day.