clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Sekou Wiggs Seized Opportunity With Westchester Knicks

Sekou Wiggs had something to prove when he returned to Westchester.

MSG Photos

On April 2nd, 2018, Sekou Wiggs walked off the court at the Westchester County Center for the final time of the season. With the Knicks home jersey on and No. 11 across his uniform, his rookie season came to an end. But the work wasn’t going to stop.

Wiggs put spent tireless hours in the summer to improve his game. After going through his rookie season, his shot and physical strength were on his check list during the offseason.

“I started with my physical strength and my size,” Wiggs told Ridiculous Upside. “I got a little bigger. I put on some weight and got a lot stronger in my core area to be able to just take hits and be able to give them as well. Then also just my shot. I took a lot of shots. I worked on my shot, my mechanics, and fundamentals to be able to be a knock down shooter.”

As the summer season winded down, the second-year guard was ready to continue his journey in Westchester. After playing less than half of his rookie season with the Knicks, his main option heading into the 2018-19 season was returning to White Plains.

“At the end of the season last year, I wanted to return to Westchester and to be able to prove that I can actually do better and be better,” Wiggs said. “When they called my phone and told me they wanted me to return, I was excited. I was really excited and I’m able to do that.”

The second-year guard continued by stating he returned to the team due to the comfortability and confidence in knowing he can hang with the best in the league.

“The game of basketball, you have to feel comfortable and just be comfortable around the people around you and the coaches around you and the organization,” Wiggs continued. “They reached out and they said they really wanted to bring me back and they loved having me here last year. For the comfortability aspect, that’s the reason I returned and I’ve loved it so far. The confidence of training in the summer time and working out and working on things to perform them during the season and just having that confidence to go out there to perform every night and just know what you worked on and the crafts you worked in the summer time is going to show in the season.”

After closing out his rookie season on a high note, the Alaska Anchorage product felt he had unfinished business in the G League. Not only did he want to show his intensity on the court, but he has a chip on his shoulder to where he wanted to prove every one wrong.

“Every year, just my mindset is I want to be a killer,” Wiggs said. “Before every season, I just want to go into the next season just to prove everybody wrong that doubted me and prove that I am that killer that everyone wants me to be.”

Wiggs saw limited action early in his second season. As the season progressed, his production elevated. He became the leader in the second unit. He showed he could finish at the rim, was a high energy player, and became more efficient with his shot when his minutes increased.

When the ball was in his court with an opportunity, he ran with it and took full advantage of it.

“You definitely got to seize the opportunity,” Wiggs said. “Opportunities don’t come too often. When they come you got to be ready for them, so you just got to keep your head down, grind through the season and just know that when they call on your name and call on your number, you got to be ready. That’s what I’ve been able to do for this past season.”

Wiggs was able to produce at a high level due to the confidence Rusty Osborne, his coach at Alaska Anchorage, inserted in him.

“He instilled confidence in me for a player that was starting to really lack the confidence coming from a D-I,” Wiggs continued. “He put that confidence in me. From that point on, I knew that at any level I play at after this, I can go out and perform at a very high level. I thought going to D-II was one of the best moves I ever made.”

All Wiggs needed was an opportunity to showcase his skills and talent. He took advantage of his increased opportunity in his second season and put up many high quality performances in Westchester.