Kevin Durant thinks Andrew Wiggins can be a 'Hall of Famer'
Thunder forward Kevin Durant said technology is helping the next generation of NBA stars. (Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
While discussing the newest generation of college basketball's "one-and-done" phenoms Thursday night, All-Star forward Kevin Durant said Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins could become a Hall of Famer, reports Yahoo! Sports.
Wiggins, a 6-8 wing from Canada, is considered a lock to declare himself eligible for the 2014 NBA draft. He recently said he wants to win a national championship at Kansas in his "last" year of school. Durant already sees the makings of an NBA All-Star or better.
"He's raw, but his ceiling is high. He can be like a Hall of Famer, All-Star, for sure. He's good," Durant said.
After watching Wiggins battle Duke freshman forward Jabari Parker on television Tuesday night, Durant said Wiggins should live up to his projected status as the first overall pick -- and that Parker isn't far behind him.
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"That [Parker] kid is amazing," Durant said. "I think he is the best player in the country. Him and Wiggins are like '1A' and '1B.' Those guys are going to do the one-and-done thing, do it early. They are going to do really well in college and lead their teams to, I think, the Final Four. That's kind of like, 'Close your eyes and pick one.' You're good with either one of those guys.
"I love Jabari's game. He's so skilled. He has it all right now. Wiggins is on another level with God-given ability. You look at him, you can tell he's going to be really big and fill out a lot. He's really athletic."
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Durant believes technology has helped the next generation of basketball players get ahead of the curve in becoming NBA ready.
"You can basically go to [search] your favorite player and watch film," Durant said. "You can go on YouTube and type in 'LeBron James' and watch every move he does, break it down and work on it. It's simple. When I was coming up you had to figure it out. I'm seeing [young] guys shooting fade-away and Euro-step floaters.
"Where are they getting this stuff? They're just watching these guys thoroughly [on video] and breaking it down. Some of these kids have access to going to my camp, or LeBron's camp or D-Wade's [Dwyane Wade's camp], getting 1-on-1 instruction. It's amazing. The game is growing."
