The first big night in college basketball this season did not disappoint, as freshman phenoms Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker faced off in the Champions Classic in Chicago and while Kansas won over Duke, it's clear that these two players will be some of the top picks in the NBA draft come next year if they leave school.
Parker was back in his hometown with Duke and Wiggins, the presumptive number one pick, and his Jayhawks left with a 94-83 victory on the night and the scoring was led by Parker with 27 points. Parker showed off his versatility with nine rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist, while Perry Ellis led the way for Kansas with 24 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. Duke had a two point lead going into halftime, but Kansas was able to pull back and Wiggins had himself a nice game, scoring 16 points in the second half and 22 overall and he bested Parker in their first matchup.
The competition for both teams will die down after this game, but both coaches expressed happiness with the fact that their teams were able to get some experience in a big and anticipated game with plenty of media attention. That should continue for Parker and Wiggins all season, as each are considered to be possible number one picks, especially Wiggins and many have speculated that teams will start to try and lose to win the number one overall pick next year for the 2014 draft. Wiggins and Ellis were the primary scorers for the Jayhawks and Kansas was able to outrebound Duke down the stretch to help put them over the top.
Parker was excellent with 27 points in the losing effort and Wiggins had some very athletic plays as well, including a nice dunk towards the end of the game. Mike Krzyzewski had nothing but praise for Kansas and his own team after the game and after coming in with three wins in the past four games and now they are 7-3 in the series with the Jayhawks. Rodney Hood was solid with 11 points, while Rasheed Sulaimon was good as well with 13 points and now Duke and Kansas will head out on easier schedules with some ranked games in there until conferenced play begins.
Top games for Duke coming up includes Michigan and UCLA before playing Notre Dame in January, while Kansas will play Florida, New Mexico and Oklahoma State on the schedule.