WIGGINS EYES PROS
On March 22, Bowling Green State University forward Demajeo Wiggins entered his name in the 2018 NBA Draft. Wiggins averaged 14 points and more than 10 rebounds a game in his junior season for the Falcons and landed a spot on the All-MAC second team.
Wiggins’s size and ability on the court have some speculating whether or not there could be a spot for him in the NBA which would no-doubt be a remarkable achievement in his basketball career. Since he was little, Wiggins has always been one of the tallest and most talented kids on the court; even if his skills and mentality did not always reflect that.
“It was tough,” he said. “I was always the tall kid, and everyone expects you to be good and to come into your body, but
that wasn’t necessarily the case.
I didn’t even really love playing basketball until my freshman year of high school.
I was playing it because my friends were doing it and I was tall.”
Eventually, Wiggins came into his own. His playing ability increased, and schools began to take notice. “From my sophomore to senior year, I grew 5 to 6 inches,” he said.
He started to attract interest from schools like Cleveland State and Western Kentucky. Demajeo Wiggins soon became a lanky, 6’8” headband-wearing high schooler playing for the Springfield Blue Devils.
It also helped that Wiggins was coached
by Stan Joplin. Joplin is the former head men’s basketball coach of the University of Toledo. Wiggins noted how demanding Joplin could be as a coach. “It was never easy,” Wiggins said. “But it was really beneficial to my development as a player. Just from the terminology he used to the way we did things in games. It was a really great benefit to have him.”
Following the firing of Falcon men’s head basketball coach Chris Jans in March 2015, the University hired former Falcon Michael Huger to be their next head coach. Wiggins committed to the University exactly one week after the hiring. Wiggins admits he did not know much about Huger, who played at the University from 1992-1996, before the hiring move, but that didn’t stop the two from connecting right away.
“When I found out Coach Huger became the head coach, I only knew he coached at Miami,” Wiggins said. “He actually watched me work out the day after my senior prom. After getting to talk to him,
I knew he knew what he was talking about.” Following his high school graduation, Wiggins spent the entire summer getting himself acclimated to his new school located only a half hour away from Springfield High School.
“With me being so close to home, I wanted to tell myself that I was in a new environment just like a lot of recruits are,” Wiggins said. “That first summer I never went home.”
At the end of last year, this realization came about fast that I could be playing professionally one day.
— Demajeo Wiggins —
BGSU Junior, Basketball Forward
Despite the devotion, Wiggins confesses it was an arduous process advancing to the collegiate level.
“For me, it was a hard transition,” Wiggins said. “Guys are bigger, stronger. The curriculum is new. Everything is new.” It didn’t take long though before Wiggins made his impact on the Falcons. twenty-five games into his freshman year, Huger made the decision to start Wiggins for the final seven games of the season.
Wiggins finished the season leading the team in field goal percentage, with 56.4 percent. His sophomore season, Wiggins played and started all 32 games for the Falcons. His scoring and rebound averages doubled from the previous season.
He even led the team in double-doubles. It was near the end of Wiggins’ sophomore year that the conversation arose over whether or not he had NBA potential.
“At the end of last year, this realization came about fast that I could be playing professionally one day,” Wiggins said. People thought that perhaps with another year under his belt, Wiggins
could be looking at a roster spot in the Association. In his third year, Wiggins’ numbers rose again, this time to the point where he averaged a double-double on the season. His minutes increased. He finished second in the conference in rebounds per game.
There was legitimate interest in Wiggins, not just for his playing ability but also for his leadership. Demajeo’s teammate and roommate Jeffrey Uju has said a lot of the team’s success occurs when Wiggins plays well. “Being one of the best players in the MAC, we’re gonna look up to him,” Uju said. “If he’s not at 100 percent, then we’re not at 100 percent.” Wiggins’ size and rebounding ability must certainly have some NBA scouts talking.
Even if he isn’t a professional basketball player yet, that does not stop people from looking at him and wondering if he is. “It’s fun,” Wiggins said, amused. “You get people staring at you. You hear people whisper things. I always get asked two questions: ‘how tall are you?’ and ‘do you play basketball?’” Soon, Wiggins will be able to add the word ‘professionally’ to answer the second question.
The draft is set to be held June 21, but because he did not sign with an agent, Wiggins can withdraw his name from the draft as late as June 11 and return to the University for his final year of eligibility. If Wiggins makes the decision to return, he’s made it clear he would like to build upon last year’s team that finished 16-16.
“If I could wrap it all up in one word, it’d be winning. That’s not a secret. It’d be about winning and building that brotherhood that we’ve worked to create,” he said. It’s been a long basketball journey for Wiggins. He was once playing because his friends did, and now he could soon be playing for a contract. Wiggins acknowledged how big of a night the draft could be. “Obviously it would be dream come true for me to be drafted,” he said.
“You’ll never know what emotions you’ll feel until you experience it. What happens is what God wants to happen, and if I heard my name on draft night, I’ll cherish that moment forever.”
