Stanford’s zone swallows up Andrew Wiggins
The freshman forward ends his college career by scoring four points in a loss in the round of 32.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Goodbye Kansas and goodbye Andrew Wiggins. The No. 2 Jayhawks were locked down by No. 10 Stanford on Sunday afternoon, falling 60-57 in the round of 32. Kansas couldn't figure out Stanford's 2-3 zone, shooting just 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field and hitting only five of their 16 attempts from three-point range.
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Wiggins, who entered the NCAA tournament scoring 93 points in his last three games, was essentially taken out of the game by the zone. The final line of the freshman star's college career: four points on 1-for-6 shooting with one assist and four turnovers.
Wiggins' struggles personified the Jayhawks' misery in the halfcourt throughout the game. With point guard Naadir Tharpe unable to find his way through the zone with dribble penetration, Kansas was left to swing the ball around the perimeter before either shooting a contested jumper and attempting a reckless drive late in the shot clock.
Wiggins didn’t attempt his first shot until nine minutes into the game and never found a rhythm. With the zone shifting his way whatever he caught the ball, Wiggins was unable to get anything going.
Wiggins failed twice with his signature spin move on drives. He missed shots at the rim. Any attempt to shoot over the zone wasn’t working, either. Wiggins finished 0-for-2 from three-point territory.
Wiggins couldn’t even find his way to foul line, shooting (and making) only two free throws the entire game. He averaged 6.6 free throw attempts this season.
Kansas fought its way back into the game late by going to a full court press, but the Jayhawks' halfcourt offense remained remarkably stagnant. Senior center Tarik Black finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but he was the only Kansas player making any noise. Bill Self could have moved Wiggins into the high post to get him more touches early in the shot clock, but instead left the him languishing on the perimeter. It's a disappointing end for Wiggins, and also for NBA fans who wanted to catch another glimpse of the freshman forward before the draft.
Losing early is nothing new for an elite pro prospect. Kevin Durant's Texas team was eliminated in the round of 32 by USC in 2007. Michael Beasley's Kansas State team also fell before the Sweet 16. Jabari Parker and Duke couldn't even get out of the first round.
Lucky for Wiggins, he won’t be seeing a true zone like this ever again. Still, critics of the highly-touted forward will have plenty of ammunition from this game when it comes to contemplating Wiggins’ long-term prospects. Everyone agrees Wiggins has a very high ceiling, but games like the one vs. Stanford shows he has barely scratched the surface of his potential.
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