Sunday, July 8, 2007

Player Spotlight: Doug Wiggins

Doug Wiggins had a rough transition from high school ball to the college ranks. The speed of the game and the physicality had him baffled at times. There is no denying his ability and gifts but at times he couldn’t find his game.

The Good: Doug shot it well, considering he was a third or fourth option, tallying a .388 shooting percentage and did well from the arc, hitting .329 from outside. He wasn’t three crazy only attempting 85 and draining 25. He also tried his hand at the point and dished out 50 assists. He never looked comfortable at that position though and had his best performances when getting the ball passed his way.

He has plenty of speed and showed it in transition. He used his speed to get into lanes and break down defenses. He isn’t the most talented of the guards on the team but did the most in the minutes handed him. He averaged 18 minutes a game and managed 7 points and 2 boards a game. He was one of the more consistent free throw shooters on the team at .737 a game.

Wiggins defense was stout, contributing with steals and closed well in help defense but his small frame made him susceptible to bigger guards.

The Bad: Wiggins stock rose at the tail end of his high school career and Calhoun snatched him up at the last second but his talent barely shined last season. At times Wiggins played out of control, leaving the air with no options and dribbling the ball to far ahead of himself. His floor general skills were lacking and helped cause the prolonged droughts.

Wiggins assists to turnovers are abysmal at 1 to 1.11 and his personal fouls had him on the bench without getting into the flow of the game. Most of the turnovers were unforced and had fans banging their heads against the television.

Overall: Wiggins is a great sixth option but to replace Dyson at shooting guard, not Price. Unless he gets comfortable and brings his assists to turnovers to a more point guard level then he should rely on his shooting ability which is stellar. He needs to bulk up without losing his speed and find shots while driving to the lane.

If he progresses then see his scoring numbers increase by four points and become a consistent 10 point scorer off the bench.

2 comments:

ABC said...

Wiggins will have a monster season this year. It was a tough transition going from midlevel high school competition to the Big East, but now that he's comfortable and knows what to expect, he'll have a breakout season. His pure scoring abilities will shine in 07-08.

Unknown said...

He'll get his opportunities. He doesn't have to do much just have a consistent shot. He lacked confidence but a year under his belt will help.