On Nov. 12, the United Center in Chicago played host to the Champions Classic and college basketball fans were treated to a spectacular night of college hoops. Four of the nation’s top 10 teams took to the court featuring the country’s top three freshmen including the number one recruit Andrew Wiggins and his Kansas Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks faced off against the number two recruit, Jabari Parker and the Duke Blue Devils in the night’s second matchup of the Championship Classic. With high expectations on the matchup between Wiggins and Parker, the United Center was full to capacity with spectators including NBA legend Magic Johnson, former Duke player’s Grant Hill and Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, and a host of NBA scouts.
Parker, a Chicago native looked comfortable early having played on the United Center court in last year’s McDonald’s All-American game a gave the home crowd some first half highlights as he scored 19 in the first period and finished the game with 27 points 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot. Wiggins started off a little slower than Parker in the first half only scoring 6 points in the period. However, he turned up the heat in the second half by scoring 16 of his 22 points including two big buckets with under two minutes left in the game. The baskets helped No. 5 Kansas knock off No. 4 Duke 94-83 in an exciting matchup.
With all the anticipation of the match up, most eyes, including those of NBA scouts, were on Wiggins and Parker as most predict that they both have the opportunity to be lottery picks in the 2014 NBA draft. Parker came out of the gate strong and showed why he could easily be considered the number one pick in the 2014 NBA Draft if he exits Duke early.
Wiggins’ second half performance also helped him state his case for the number one spot in the 2014 NBA Draft. If both were to declare for the NBA Draft in 2014, Parker has a physical advantage over Wiggins. Both players are listed at 6-8, but Parker has a 35lb weight advantage at 235 vs. Wiggins at 200lb. But it was Wiggins’ ability to takeover in the second half and lift Kansas to victory that was impressive to many in attendance at the United Center.
If the draft were tomorrow, Wiggins may have a slight advantage over Parker. But let’s be honest, you probably could not go wrong with either pick.
Although most eyes were on the matchup between Wiggins and Parker, another notable performance was in the first game of the night at the United Center as No. 1 Kentucky, featuring another one of the nation’s top freshmen, Julius Randle, took on No. 2 Michigan State. MSU got the victory, but Randle’s 27 points and 13 rebounds helped the Wildcats battle back in the second half. Randle hit two free throws to tie the game with less than five minutes left before State was able to regain the lead and the win.
-Daminon Lewis
