Andrew Wiggins, 41 Point Breakdown

As mentioned yesterday, Wiggins finally had a breakout game.  He displayed his offensive talent and skill level, and there’s still so much room to improve.  This post will include a video breakdown of his moves and point out if they are NBA translatable skills.

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Andrew Wiggins; 41 Points, 8 Rebounds, 5 Steals, 4 Blocks

0:17 – Andrew Wiggins is matched up on a defender.  This is a rare occasion where he’s seen in an active isolation situation.  Wiggins assesses the situation, uses a basic crossover, meets three defenders at the hoop, and converts the lay up.

0:34 – Andrew Wiggins uses a pull-up jumpshot from 19′.

0:40 – Andrew Wiggins blocks a three-point attempt and gets out in transition.

0:45 – Andrew Wiggins shows his activity and explosiveness in the paint.  NCAA fans haven’t really seen his motor in the painted area, but here it’s in full display.

0:47 – The thing you can’t teach, the incredible vertical ability and speed of his second jump.  He’s the only one in the air.

0:49 – That’s the 7′ wingspan and huge hands on display to get a third tap on the offensive rebound opportunity.

0:55 – Resets, then back to the offensive boards.

0:59 – In case you didn’t notice, he jumped three times within four seconds; the first two-jumps, his hands were at rim level.

1:02 – Shimmy, left-hand dribble, pull-up jumpshot from 19′.  Soft touch on the rim.

1:08 – Perfect post entry feed to Perry in the paint.  Notice the spacing.  Wiggins passes to the open area, away from the fronting defender, and sets up the lay up.

1:21 – Wiggins starts attacking from 30′ away.  Solid first step.  The key here is, you see where his mother’s track and field genes kick into play.  Two strides from the free throw line, and he’s at the basket.  He got fouled at the cup.

1:32 – Wiggins defends in transition, ready for the shot block.

1:36 – Wiggins gets bumped on the screen as a defender.  He’s still able to block the midrange jumpshot.

1:40 – What Wiggins does best; fly out in transition.  He shows good speed, and once again, takes two strides from the free throw line for the dunk.  There aren’t that many NBA players who have that ability.  On the Laker team, only Wesley Johnson can do it.  How long are those strides?  He took two dribbles to cover over 50′ of NCAA floor space without a traveling call.

1:59 – Andrew Wiggins gets the ball in a familiar Kobe Bryant position off of a curl. Two power dribbles with a jump-stop going right.  He’s fouled at the cup.

2:07 – Andrew Wiggins is in a help-defense situation.  Rotates to block the shot of the post player.

2:13 – Ball-handling is in full display.  Wiggins uses a right-to-left crossover through the legs, then a left-to-right V-crossover before using a spin move at the 20′ mark. This is the first time all season I’ve seen any advanced dribble combination to shake a defender.  The dribble is high so the defense can react, but he’s fouled on the spin move.

2:25 – Wiggins once again gets the ball in a familiar Kobe Bryant position 19′ from the hoop.  Three power dribbles before a spin move going left gets him to the free throw line.  Here, Wiggins doesn’t utilize the triple threat position to open up more than one direction to drive.  He’s predetermined to go right with his body not square to the hoop.  Triple threat positioning and using jab steps is what makes Kobe Bryant so deadly from that range.

2:35 – Left-to-right crossover, using a screen, and two strides to the cup.  After seeing multiple crossovers throughout the game, it’s easy to see that the change direction isn’t as refined and doesn’t shake the defender.  It just gives Wiggins the ability to change his point of attack.

2:48 – Wiggins shows his signature move.  His primary isolation move is two power dribbles going right, with a spin pivot off the planted left foot, to set up a floater.  At the high school level, this was a common shot 5′ away.  At the NCAA level, he’s been pushed out a bit by quicker, more physical defenders.  The floater is made from 10′ away.

2:58 – Wiggins isn’t boxed out on the offensive rebound opportunity.  He simply gathers up for the put-back.

3:09 – Wiggins tries to save the bad pass, steals the passes, and goes 3/4 court, to get to the basket.  You can see him using a basic euro-step to change direction on the fly.  Here, he shows his speed and confidence in transition.  He breaks through two defenders past half-court, and gets fouled at the cup.

3:22 – Wiggins again, dribbles 3/4 court in transition, trying to use the euro-step and a floater from 5′.  Notice that it’s a 2-on-3 break, and his teammate stops at the free throw line.  Andrew meets two defenders, and avoids the charge with the floater attempt.

3:36 – Wiggins observes the court, and again throws a perfect post entry pass after recognizing the defensive spacing.

3:53 – Wiggins grabs the defensive rebound and pushes the ball up court.  When he recognizes there’s no easy opportunity, he slows down and spots up at the corner.  He nails the 3-pointer.

4:08 – Shimmy, screen left-side, pull-up jumpshot off-the-dribble.

4:19 – The man-amongst-boys play.  Few players can do this at the high school level, but it’s a display of motor, IQ, and physical tools.  Andrew uses quick hands to deflect the pass, then explodes right back up for the finish.

4:29 – One-dribble, step-back, pull up jumpshot.  This has been one of his other signature moves for Kansas.  Wiggins often finds himself operating in a limited space with Embiid in the paint.  This is an isolation jumpshot.