Is he going to be a DP?

So not going to college. I wonder how his schooling is?
Been a few lately that their schooling has let them down and then go the NBL path is best.

Or theyre figuring out College basketball fucking sucks?

"No guessing who is agent will be...."

Pardon my ignorance, but who?

Moldy van

How does it "fucking suck"? Don't get paid but a lot of other benefits.

Needs a season in nbl1 for cairns marlins next year.

122, seriously, WTAF is wrong with you?

Given the consistency of his production at junior level, I like the decision to go to the NBL, and I say that as a big fan of the college pathway. But Wigness is already on par with DI-bound kids 2 years older than him. What can the COE offer him for the next 2 years? He'd probably stagnate and then go to college, which means at least 3 more years of playing and training at a lower level than the NBL. The pro environment should give him a better opportunity to keep progressing his game, so even if he struggles early, he should be a better player by the end of those 3 years than if he went the college route.

I would be curious as to the terms of the contract, and whether any effort has been made to preserve his college eligibility, though. If he does spend a couple of years in the NBL while he finishes school, but isn't making headway with playing time and wants a change of scenery, college would be a valuable fallback.

Talk of it being a next Stars contract

His height isn't the issue. He’s very turnover prone and is heavily left handed currently. Doesn’t use his best asset (speed) as often as he should. He can get by people easy but is tentative most of the time. Opening up lanes and kicking it to the shooters is his go to.

He is a quality DP and Could be a starter in the nbl within 4 years with the right coaching. Don’t think brisbane is best right now. Think sem would be a nice fit for the moment behind Roberson and Adnam. Offers something different.

Qbl soon to be nbl1

if that's true about qbl changing to nbl1 what will actually change, if anything, other than the name of the league?

#139's knocks on his game seem like all the more reason to get into an NBL environment. He's going to have to play to his strengths to make any sort of contribution early on, and once he earns a bigger role, his weaknesses will be scouted and exploited unless he addresses them. COE, NBL1 level, he can get away with being one-handed and going 80% of his fastest pace because he's still good enough to go past people. In terms of Brisbane vs other teams, maybe Brisbane made the best offer? Maybe they made the only offer (other than, presumably, Cairns)?

If it is a Next Stars contract, that's great for the league. Outside of Mo King there aren't a lot of other NBA prospects in the junior ranks at the moment but if the NBA prospects we do have are prepared to play NBL instead of college, that has to be a good thing.

Is it actually feasible to be a DP and then go and play college basketball these days?

Is there a dodgy way of paying the DP guys to go to schools and do clinics that isn't a purely basketball payment?

Jordan ray possible a next star is on twitter talking about the cairns taipan

Who a better prospect, King or Witness?

Makur Maker and Jayden Stone.

Maker ahead of Wigness ahead of King ahead of Stone.

Long term King has the physical tools to move ahead of Wigness. Wigness reminds me so much of Patty: incredibly high volume guys with license to do anything and everything, with speed that is absolutely world class. Like Patty, his trajectory as an NBA prospect and player will depend on his ability to reduce turnovers and hit the 3-ball consistently. As Reality points out, Wigness is probably a year away from being a year away to being an NBL contributor, but he's 17 years old. We've seen NBA prospects struggle to contribute to the NBL as 19 year olds, so the fact that Wigness probably won't at 17 doesn't mean he's got no future.

Stone is not, at this point, an NBA prospect. He is ranked 74th in the ESPN 100, as a 6'3" SG. He might be a high level college player and future pro, but he is not performing at the level of the other 3.

As a Wigness homer, I'll be the first to say that King is ahead of him. Being touted as a top 2021 draft guy already. King already has prototypical wing size/length/athleticism and can shoot the 3. Love Wigness but far more question marks given his size. Obviously Wigness is a little older as well. Reality is you have to be a big time initiator to crack the NBA as a sub-6 foot guy as it brings inherent weakness to defensive impact, off-ball utility and positional versatility. I'm praying he has another growth spurt, if that happens I rate him as next best after Maker as well.

As for Stone, it's hard to know what to make of him... as has been mentioned, he seems a little like an undersized SG.. but he can really shoot and is a solid athlete. You would assume, given the archetype, he needs to focus on developing handle/playmaking and becoming a combo type. As far as I can see he's 61st nationally on 247 and a 4* though. Their evaluation on that site as of a couple of months ago says " Should develop into an NBA draft selection". So I wouldn't rule out his chances of being an NBA player just yet.

Should be stressed it's really early days for all these guys as prospects and the next few years will be really telling.

Giddey obviously another guy that needs to be in the conversation surrounding the guys of these classes.

Pretty exciting to think that all these guys could possibly be draft picks, in theory in the same draft.

Olgun Uluc seems to think that the NBL aren't letting teams take him as a next star, hence no announcement yet:

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/basketball/nbl/two-teams-eye-tamuri-wigness-as-a-next-star-but-the-nbl-doesnt-plan-on-including-the-aussie-as-part-of-the-program-sources/news-story/6440f9cdd001e7c0ac69b5fc8f11551a?__twitter_impression=true

I get the NBL's stance on this, it's a tough situation, but it would be a pity if this became the difference between him landing a spot in the NBL or not. Especially disappointing if it meant he decided to go overseas as a result.

Hopefully this can work out the best for all parties where he just ends up as a DP/regular spot on some team.

He was hanging out with Jawai at the Marlins game tonight in Cairns. I'd love to see him as a Taipans DP next season but can understand why he'd want to move away and test himself within a different team.. He's been on the fringes of the taipans program for a while and came up through Cairns Basketball under Fearney. I remember seeing him play with the taipans against a college team 2 years ago in a taipans preseason game when he was only 15..

Aren't Cairns struggling to fill their roster? If other teams only want him as a Next Star, Cairns should try sign him with a normal roster spot.

#232 that's probably a fair argument re: Wigness v King, though the age gap is only a couple of months. But I think the consistency of Wigness' production both within Australia and internationally, since he was 14, means it doesn't register as much when he's sensational. King has emerged more recently, so his strong performances are more noteworthy.

An example of Wigness' sustained excellence working against him when it comes to evals: he's basically the same age as King, but in 2018 put up the following line at u20 Nationals:
20.2 pts / 45%FG / 41%3PFG / 6.5 reb / 4.5 ass / 2.3 stl / 3.3 to
Whereas King a year later went:
15.1 pts / 36%FG / 31%3PFG / 1.6 reb / 2.3 ass / 0.9 stl / 2.7 to

In fairness to King, his u18 campaign this year was a lot more efficient than his u20 campaign. But given he was 10 months older when posting those u20 numbers than Wigness was for his, it's an interesting reminder of exactly how good Wigness has been. King also played with 2 other COE/GA boys on his Qld Sth team at u18s this year and they were still unable to crack the top 4. Wigness' top age u16 performance in lugging Qld North to the title is one of the more absurd individual junior championships campaigns of recent memory.