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Andrew Wiggins impresses, yet was too passive in win over Louisiana-Monroe

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Huntington Prep basketball player Andrew Wiggins smiles along side his mother Marita Payne-Wiggins, right, as he announces his commitment to the University of Kansas during a ceremony, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at St. Joseph High School in Huntington W.Va. The Canadian star, a top prospect, averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season for West Virginia’s Huntington Prep. (AP Photo/The Herald-Dispatch, Sholten Singer)

AP

If we are paying attention to individual play in the opening night of the college basketball season, the nation’s eyes were in three different gyms to watch the top three freshman perform: Kentucky’s Julius Randle, Duke’s Jabari Parker, and Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins.

Randle and Parker both impressed in their college debuts, and Wiggins did just the same in Kansas’ 80-63 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

Wiggins dropped in 16 points, while taking just nine shots from the field. He has an understanding of the game that not many college freshmen have, which makes his superior talent that much more potent -- he’s as smooth of an operator as they come.

However, he wasn’t overly aggressive and didn’t look to dominate the game tonight against the Warhawks, even though he certainly could have if he elected to. While the nine shots attempted were a team-high for Kansas, Wiggins may have actually been too passive.

Chalk it up as his first collegiate game and not looking to do too much, but Wiggins has to understand he is the best player on Kansas and in the country. He should be looking for his shot and to score every time Kansas has the ball. Perhaps things will change when Kansas’ starting point guard Naadir Tharpe returns following his one game suspension for playing in a summer league game during the offseason.

Comparatively, Randle and Parker both took command in their respective games. Randle dropped in 23 points and attempted 13 free throws against UNC-Asheville, and Parker had 22 points against Davidson.

The notion of being a “ball hog” is a label no athlete wants to be tabbed, but there is such a thing as being too unselfish. In Kansas’ game against Jabari Parker and Duke on November 12th, don’t be surprised if Wiggins takes on much more of a scorer’s mentality.

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