Andrew Wiggins named Player of the Year, will visit UK Wednesday

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By Tom Hurley | @TomHurleyKernel

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Andrew Wiggins, who is being recruited by UK head coach John Calipari, has been awarded the Naismith Trophy, given to the top high school player in the U.S. each year.

The news comes just before the top recruit in the class of 2013 is set to make his official visit to Lexington.

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard are included among the names of previous winners of the Naismith Trophy.

Quincy Lewis, head coach of Lone Peak HS (Highland, Utah) has been named Coach of the Year.

Both Huntington Prep (W.Va) forward Wiggins and Lone Peak head coach Lewis will collect their trophies on March 19 at the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Naismith Awards Banquet.

“The strong performances of Andrew and Quincy this season stood out for our voters among the thousands of players and coaches throughout the country,” Eric Oberman of the Atlanta Tipoff Club said to NaismithAwards.com. “The two are very deserving of the Naismith Awards, demonstrating the talent and will to succeed that we’ve come to expect from past award winners.”

Wiggins beat out Aaron Gordon and Jabari Parker to claim the prize. Gordon is also being recruited by the Cats.

Wiggins will be at Rupp Arena on Wednesday night to take in the Cats contest with Mississippi State.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Toronto native will be on campus for his official visit, which comes ahead of one final game in Kentucky before the season finishes.

His Huntington Prep high school will take on Canadian side United Leadership Academy in Boyd County on Saturday.

UK, Kansas, North Carolina and Florida State are the final four teams being considered by Wiggins as he enters the final stage of the recruiting process.