Oh Canada: Wiggins Could Become 3rd Straight North-of-Border All-American
Canada's recent basketball bounty has gone from Syracuse's Kris Joseph (Quebec) to Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk (British Columbia) to Kansas freshman phenom Andrew Wiggins (Ontario). It's not a cinch like so many so-called experts projected, but will Wiggins become the third straight Canadian to earn All-American status and show that the nation is more than a hockey hotbed? The presumptive #1 NBA draft pick according to oft-mistake recruiting analysts will need to elevate his performance after collecting 16 points, one assist, one steal and five turnovers in his last two games in a Thanksgiving holiday tournament in the Bahamas. Long-term, he might not even be the best frosh on his own team or the premier Canadian competing for a U.S. university this season.
Wiggins' brother, Nick, and a Wichita State teammate from Canada (Chadrack Lufile) are helping propel the Shockers to national acclaim. Additional impact Canadians this season include Manny Arop (Indiana State), Jordan Bachysnki (Arizona State), Sim Bhullar (New Mexico State), Khem Birch (UNLV), Kenny Chery (Baylor), Melvin Ejim (Iowa State), Dylan Ennis (Villanova), Tyler Ennis (Syracuse), Olivier Hanlon (Boston College), Brady Heslip (Baylor), Naz Long (Iowa State), Jahenns Manigat (Creighton), Daniel Mullings (New Mexico State), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), Dyshawn Pierre (Dayton), Chad Posthumus (Morehead State), Dwight Powell (Stanford), Laurent Rivard (Harvard), Nik Stauskas (Michigan) and Matthew Wright (St. Bonaventure). Team Canada, a make-believe roster comprised solely of the premier Canadians, likely would be the top-ranked squad in national polls this season.
Foreigners have been much more than bit players in a modern-day version of "Coming to America." By mid-season, Stauskas passed Wiggins as the most likely Canadian to become an All-American. Olynyk joined the following alphabetical list of hoop princes of sorts as the first 18 All-Americans, a third of them in the Big East Conference, who spent most or all of their formative years in a country outside mainland U.S.:
| Foreigner | Pos. | College | Native Country | Year(s) All-American | NBA Draft Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Bogut* | C | Utah | Australia | 2005 | 1st pick overall by Milwaukee |
| Kresimir Cosic | C | Brigham Young | Yugoslavia | 1972 and 1973 | 66th by L.A. Lakers |
| Tim Duncan* | C | Wake Forest | Virgin Islands | 1995 through 1997 | 1st by San Antonio |
| Patrick Ewing* | C | Georgetown | Jamaica | 1982 through 1985 | 1st by New York |
| Adonal Foyle | C | Colgate | West Indies | 1997 | 8th by Golden State |
| Al Horford | F-C | Florida | Dominican Republic | 2007 | 3rd by Atlanta |
| Kris Joseph | F | Syracuse | Quebec | 2012 | 51st by Boston |
| Dikembe Mutombo | C | Georgetown | Zaire | 1991 | 4th by Denver |
| Eduardo Najera | F | Oklahoma | Mexico | 2000 | 38th by Houston |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | C | Houston | Nigeria | 1983 and 1984 | 1st by Houston |
| Kelly Olynyk | C | Gonzaga | British Columbia | 2013 | 13th by Dallas |
| Juan "Pepe" Sanchez | G | Temple | Argentina | 2000 | undrafted |
| Detlef Schrempf | F | Washington | Germany | 1985 | 8th by Dallas |
| Rony Seikaly | C | Syracuse | Greece | 1988 | 9th by Miami |
| Doron Sheffer | G | Connecticut | Israel | 1996 | 36th by L.A. Clippers |
| Hasheem Thabeet | C | Connecticut | Tanzania | 2009 | 2nd by Memphis |
| Mychal Thompson | F-C | Minnesota | Bahamas | 1977 and 1978 | 1st by Portland |
| Greivis Vasquez | G | Maryland | Venezuela | 2010 | 28th by Memphis |
*Named National Player of the Year.