Wiggins keeps growing as a player and leader

Toronto-born NBA star shows he’s developing

TORONTO • The biggest name in Canadian basketball outside of retired superstar Steve Nash made his lone trip home on Thursday.

Andrew Wiggins, who averages more points per game (22.2 before taking on the Raptors) than his age (21 for a couple more months), is always the centre of attention when he is in town, though he does not enjoy the spotlight. Scrums with Wiggins can be like pulling teeth — he just wants to get the obligation over with.

He knew on Thursday morning that questions would be coming about his decision to not play for Canada at a last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament in Manila last summer.

Raptors guard Cory Joseph, the Canadian captain, said he understood the choice.

“I didn’t really talk much about his decision this past summer and whatnot, but I know Andrew, I know what type of guy he is so I don’t have no doubts about (his commitment to Canada),” Joseph said.

“We would love to have everybody ... Of course, a lot of people could have made a difference. But we went with what we had, we were still right there, it was still a disappointment for us and we felt like we could have made it.”

But they didn’t and Wiggins, as the face of the program (whether he wants that mantle or not), will catch flak for skipping the qualifier no matter how valid his reasoning.

Why did he decline an invitation?

“Just working on myself. My own game. Expanding my game. So I could come in this season and do the things I’m doing now,” Wiggins reiterated.

That work has paid off. Wiggins has shown encouraging signs of development of Year 3 of his NBA career. The Toronto-born, Vaughan, Ont.-raised former rookie of the year is shooting 38 per cent on three-point attempts, nearly 10 per cent higher than his average his first two seasons. He was at an elite 41 per cent level before a recent 2-for-11 stretch from beyond the arc. He is also passing the ball better and rebounding at a slightly improved rate.

“It’s unbelievable to see the progress as he transitioned from college to the NBA,” Timberwolves big man Cole Aldrich, a fellow Kansas alum, told Postmedia before shootaround.

“I mean, he’s one of the best scorers out there. He finds multiple ways to score and he’s getting better every day ... He’s young. It’s crazy to think that he’s that young, but it’s fun to kind of see his progress.”

Still, Wiggins realizes there remains plenty of room for improvement.

“I’m still figuring it out. I’m only 21, I have a long way to go,” he said when asked to assess his game currently. “A long way to go and every day I’m still learning.”

Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns says he notices an improved jump shot, far better passing and more effective defence out of Wiggins so far this season.

Towns also mentioned leadership and Joseph echoed that.

“He’s come a long way from watching him when he was even younger and when he first got in the league, being more of a leader,” Joseph said.

“I think he’s establishing himself a lot more within the game being more aggressive, not the laid back Andrew that sometimes he was when he was younger.”

As for Canada? Wiggins said he intends to answer the call down the line as the country hopes to make its first Olympic appearance in men’s hoops since 2000.

“Yeah. Definitely,” Wiggins said of rejoining the red and white.

I’M STILL FIGURING IT OUT. I’M ONLY 21, I HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.

NELL REDMOND / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Andrew Wiggins says he passed on suiting up for Canada during a last-chance qualifier for the Rio Olympics to better his game for his third NBA season.