
Mike Francesa, who clearly hasn’t watched a college basketball game yet this season, interviewed Kentucky coach John Calipari in advance of the Kentucky-Providence game Sunday at Barclays Center.
At one point, Francesa blurted out: “How did Wiggins get to Kansas?”
Calipari: “Well, I think again we had a whole group of guys and…”
Francesa interrupts: “Did you recruit? Were you close? You had to be close on Wiggins. You’re close on everybody…How good is Wiggins?”
Calipari: “He’s really talented.”
Francesa: “I mean, put him in perspective for me. How talented?”
Calipari: “Well, athletically he’s off the charts and basketball-wise Bill [Self] will do a great job.”
Francesa interrupts again: “Will he walk in and be an NBA star?”
Calipari: “In time he will but you can’t just be athletic, you gotta have skills. So his skills are good…”
Francesa: “Is he a serious player…I haven’t seen him play yet.”
Calipari: “If you had the cross between his athleticism and the kid at Duke [Jabari Parker’s] skillset you would have someone off the chain. Like, oh my gosh. So it’s a little different….And then you got my kid…”
Francesa interrupts: “Compare [Julius] Randle to somebody for me.”
Calipari: “A bigger Zach Randolph maybe.”
Francesa: “Oh, really. Is he that wide?”
Calipari: “Oh, yeah. He’s big and he can shoot. He’s more of a perimeter guy.”
Francesa: “I haven’t seen him yet. Is he lefty or righty?”
Calipari: “He’s lefty.”
Francesa: “Oh, man. He’s lefty, oh wow….Show him some Bob Lanier tape.”
Classic stuff. Thanks for an entertaining interview, Mike.
**For more stories on Andrew Wiggins, click here.