Andrew Wiggins decision is yet another winner for college hoops

When Andrew Wiggins quietly made the announcement in front of family, friends and teammates that he was headed to Kansas, there was an exhale that could be heard on Tuesday from Louisville, East Lansing and Ann Arbor out west to Tucson and down south to Durham. In fact, it was a rippling effect that resonated all throughout the country.  

Everyone has a chance. 

College basketball needed Wiggins to go anywhere except for Lexington, Ky. 

It has been a celebratory offseason for a sport that needed replenishment after the one-and-done process has continuously plucked talent to the NBA well before its time. It needed positive momentum after a season that saw embarrassingly low final tallies, a lack of superstars and not enough buzzer-beaters in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament. Marcus Smart returned despite being a lottery pick, and 10 more players who were likely first-rounders (i.e. Mitch McGary, Willie Cauley-Stein, Adreian Payne, Isaiah Austin) also declined paychecks for at least another year. 

Wiggins going to UK could have ruined it all. No, it would have ruined it all. 

John Calipari doesn't need the nation's top-ranked player. He already has arguably the most heralded recruiting class in the modern era. He'll bring in the top power forward (Julius Randle), point guard (Andrew Harrison), shooting guard (Aaron Harrison) and center (Dakari Johnson) -- according to most recruiting experts. He'll also welcome the second-ranked small forward, James Young, and No. 2 center in the nation, Marcus Lee, who might as well redshirt with all the talented big bodies on Kentucky's roster. 

Kentucky would have been one of the favorites to cut down the nets come April with or without the smooth, athletic and talented 6-foot-8 Canadian forward. The only drama that Wiggins would have added is whether the 'Cats would have been able to run the table in 2013-14. 

I know what you're saying. We built up last year's Kentucky group as a Final Four and national title contender, and look what happened. But this group is different. It has experience with key returnees in Cauley-Stein, Kyle Wiltjer and Alex Poythress to go along with this insanely talented freshman group. It also has a point guard in Andrew Harrison and quality depth. It has a warrior in Randle. There's also a toughness that will resonate throughout this group as opposed to last season, when Nerlens Noel was about the only one that Calipari could count on to bring it on each and every possession. 

Kentucky will be just fine without Wiggins and could well still cut down the nets in Cowboys Stadium. However, college hoops is better served that he wound up in Lawrence. 

Just look at the NBA playoffs. Sure, the Golden State-San Antonio series is incredibly entertaining, but since Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook went down, does anyone truly believe that anyone can knock off LeBron and the Miami Heat?  Of course not. Kentucky would have likely dominated college hoops with Wiggins -- who is the first unanimous No. 1 player in the land in seven years. 

Now this college hoops campaign will have it all. We'll have a star-studded freshman class, led by Wiggins, Calipari's Sensational Six and guys like Jabari Parker (Duke), Aaron Gordon (Arizona) and Florida's talented duo of Chris Walker and Kasey Hill. We'll have returning stars in Smart and Doug McDermott and those who could develop into stars, such as Glenn Robinson III, Kyle Anderson and Gary Harris. 

Most of all, though, we'll have intrigue and unpredictability. 

The 2013-14 college basketball slate can be special. For all those who moaned and complained throughout last season, this season is set up to have it all. 

Now there is a valid argument whether Kentucky or that other team down the road, the defending national champion Louisville Cardinals, are the preseason favorites to clip the nets come April. What about Michigan State, now that Tom Izzo has Payne and Harris back in the fold?  Duke replaces Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly with Parker, Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood and another big-time shooter in Matt Jones. Kansas now has the superstar that it was lacking to go along with Perry Ellis -- and could also add a veteran big man in Memphis transfer Tarik Black. The Jayhawks were a fringe Top 25 team before the addition of Wiggins; now they become legit Final Four contenders. 

Kentucky remains the most talented team in the land, but Wiggins would have put the Wildcats in a different stratosphere. 

That's not what college basketball needed.