Despite being recently named to the Junior Men’s National Team, Canadian basketball prodigy Andrew Wiggins will not be suiting up for the Red and White this summer.
The six-foot-eight forward from Vaughan, Ont., will instead spend the next few months preparing for his upcoming freshman season with the Kansas Jayhawks.
Canada Basketball’s executive vice-president Rowan Barrett sees Wiggins’ decision as a good step in his development.
“At 18 years old, Andrew has a long basketball career ahead of him,” Barrett said. “Andrew’s decision to prepare himself this summer for the upcoming season is a decision we acknowledge. Our team will miss Andrew this summer, but we remain focused on Andrew’s long-term development and our organizational goals for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and beyond.”
The loss of Wiggins to the junior national team is significant but it will still feature a number of players that Canada Basketball is sure will fill the hole that Wiggins is leaving.
“Andrew’s presence with the junior team will be missed, but Canada Basketball is confident that with the depth of talent and the excellent staff leading the team, Canada will be prepared for the World Championship tournament,” a statement on the national organization’s website reads.
Canada’s Junior Men’s National Basketball Team will participate in the FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic at the end of the month. Canada qualified for the tournament after finishing third in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Because he won’t be playing for the junior team it’s unlikely Wiggins will be participating with the senior team this summer as well.
Wiggins made his commitment to Kansas known in May.
