Like Father, Like Sons Mitchell Jr. and Nick hoping to follow in dad's b-ball footsteps By Carmine Bonanno Posted: 2008-01-07 TEAM WIGGINS: Former NBA star Mitchell Wiggins Sr., middle, is father to the star players of Vaughan Voyageurs, 18-year-old Mitchell Jr., left, and 16-year-old Nick. Photo by Carmine Bonanno/Vaughan Today There is one characteristic definitely abundant in the Wiggins family — athleticism. Mitchell Wiggins Sr. was in the NBA for eight years, playing with Chicago Bulls before they drafted some guy named Michael Jordan, Houston Rockets, which included an appearance in an NBA final, and with Charles Barkley and Philadelphia 76ers, After stints in Athens, Milan and Paris, Mitchell Sr. tried out for Toronto Raptors in 2001, only to be the final cut. Marita Payne-Wiggins was a two-time silver medalist at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, placing second in the 4x100- and 4x400-metre relay races; she also competed in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul. With mom and dad retired from their respective athletic careers, 18-year-old Mitchell Jr. and 16-year-old Nick are looking to continue the Wiggins family’s success while running the floor for Vaughan Voyageurs senior boys basketball team. “It’s part of our dream, so it feels nice,” Mitchell Sr. said about watching his two eldest sons play together during halftime of a recent Vaughan game. “I try not to show it too much, but it’s exciting — they are very athletic.” Mitch Jr., who is in grade 12, didn’t start playing basketball until he was in grade 8, while Nick, who is in grade 11, picked up a ball as soon as he could. Since then, the two have been running amok, especially in the YRAA loop. “They’re a big part of our team,” Vaughan head coach Constantine Gymnopoulos said. “In York Region, it’s really hard to match up with that sort of length and the athleticism — there isn’t too much of it to go around. So there’s the edge on that end. And they’ve been playing basketball for a long time so they’re pretty good.” Gymnopoulos added 6-foot-5 Mitch Jr. is an aggressive player, strong defender and “can jump through the roof”. As for 6-foot-5 Nick, the coach said the younger Wiggins is an overall talent who works hard at both ends of the court. Sharing the same court with a sibling might cause more harm than good, but the Wiggins boys make it work, pacing the Voyageurs to a 9-0 league record. The boys use each other’s presence as motivation. “There is hard love on the court,” Mitch Jr. said. “We’re brothers, so sometimes we got to be hard on each other and sometimes we need to be nice to each other.” “We both push each other to go harder,” Nick added. And if they ever need help improving their game, both boys have a wealth of knowledge in their father. “(I go to my dad) a lot for advice,” Mitch Jr., who will attend either Florida State or a division-two school in the U.S., said. “When I’m working on my jump shot, I asked him to train me.” Nick, who might finish high school south of the border, added he goes to his dad for advice “all the time. He just tells us different things to do to make us better. He trains with us a lot.” Mitch Sr. added he always stresses to his boys that while natural talent has something to do with making it to professional basketball, having the right attitude is the most important. “Train like you’re the worst player on the team, always try to be a playmaker and just be coachable,” the former NBA star said. “They have the size, they have the talent — much more talent than I had — but you need to be coachable and you really got to want it because if you don’t, it will show.” As much talent and success Mitch Jr. and Nick have had so far, Mitch Sr. added they aren’t the only ones to look out for. “Their 12-year-old brother Andrew is 5-foot-10,” he said, “and is probably better than them.”
“(I go to my dad) a lot for advice,” Mitch Jr., who will attend either Florida State or a division-two school in the U.S., said. “When I’m working on my jump shot, I asked him to train me.” You might want to get someone else to show you a jumper. Mitch's was so flat it looked like he trained shooting jumpers in a trailer. ...but the man would flat run you over.