The Andre Drummond Thread

[Jon]

Problem is one of the reasons Andre went to school early was because he wanted more of a challenge b/c he floated thru HS. Then he gets to UCONN and he doesnt exactly buckle down and embrace the challenge that HE MADE FOR HIMSELF. If he doesnt have the DRIVE to be great then he likely never will. Thats not something that you just turn on and off.

That's really not a big deal, unless you're passing up Michael Jordan to take the guy. The big question is whether he'll give a shit to earn his contract or eat his way out of the league like some have - and I don't think that was a question with AD.

I thought it was in the bag that we'd take Drummond at 4 if MKG and Beal were gone. His downside (short of eating himself out of the league) is pretty damn good.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

Time will tell if he can add to his game. His defense is not as good as i expected it to be but luckily its only preseason and teams aren't exploiting those moments when he gets lost. I think the worry of team above the pistons was that he may never improve his weaknesses their is very little evidence to support the fact he will. I think grant rightly or wrongly will have factored in the opinion of scott and the fact we have one young post player without a perimeter game already into his decision, oh and the fact that drummond came over as a space cadet in interviews

Pfft.....Sounds like the same arguments pre-draft. I wanted this kid and felt that if he dropped, we were lucky and should have taken him....I like Dion but no one in the league has this kid's body outside of Dwight Howard.

 

[jay_em]

That's really not a big deal, unless you're passing up Michael Jordan to take the guy. The big question is whether he'll give a shit to earn his contract or eat his way out of the league like some have - and I don't think that was a question with AD.

I thought it was in the bag that we'd take Drummond at 4 if MKG and Beal were gone. His downside (short of eating himself out of the league) is pretty damn good.

im not sure if i read that right. Are you saying his only downside is eating himself out of the league? Not sure I agree with that. He's a physical specimen, but he didnt exactly stand out in the big east last year. I think its best to reserve judgement on him until he actually plays in some games that actually count. When teams actually care, scout and point out the opponents weaknesses.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

im not sure if i read that right. Are you saying his only downside is eating himself out of the league? Not sure I agree with that. He's a physical specimen, but he didnt exactly stand out in the big east last year. I think its best to reserve judgement on him until he actually plays in some games that actually count. When teams actually care, scout and point out the opponents weaknesses.

I know right now, after seeing him in pre-season, many GMs and fans are kicking themselves in the ass. Yes, time will tell, but his pre-season performances just increased his percentages by a whole lot. If the league did a redraft today, I'd bet everything I have that Drummond will go top 5.

 

[Jon]

im not sure if i read that right. Are you saying his only downside is eating himself out of the league? Not sure I agree with that. He's a physical specimen, but he didnt exactly stand out in the big east last year. I think its best to reserve judgement on him until he actually plays in some games that actually count.

No... I felt that AD's worst case downside (short of eating himself out of the league) was basically Tyson Chandler - a player who can block shots, defend the post, get out and cover the P&R, and throw down monster dunks in transition, on a P&R, or an alley oop. His upside is hard to guess at this point as he's so raw, but could be something close to Dwight or Amare.

From Dx:

With his size and bulk, he's extremely difficult to post up on the block, not allowing opposing big men to back him down too easily, using his terrific length extremely well to contest their shots with both hands, and often being able to send their shots back without even leaving his feet.

Drummond has excellent timing as a shot-blocker, both playing man to man defense on the ball, and rotating from the weak-side. He ranks as the 6th best shot-blocking prospect in college basketball, and is able to do so without fouling very often, committing just 3.2 fouls per-40 minutes.

Additionally, he does a very good job of keeping almost all of his blocks in-play and not just swatting them out of bounds, which gives his team a chance to take possession of the ball.

Not just a presence inside the paint, Drummond is also very much capable of stepping outside as well, being very effective on the perimeter for a player his size. He bends his knees and gets in a low stance exceptionally well, showing incredibly nimble feet sliding his feet and moving in all directions.

His mobility on defense should make him an extremely valuable asset to have in pick and roll situations, as he doesn't seem to have any problem hedging screens and recovering quickly or even switching out and staying in front of guards when the situation calls for it.

Where he will need to improve is on the defensive glass, though, as the 6.0 defensive rebounds he grabbed per-40 minutes ranked 32nd among the 50 centers in our NCAA prospects database. He does not do a great job of boxing out here and appears to show just average instincts pursuing loose balls off the glass, sometimes being completely out of position and/or going after rebounds with one hand.

The problem for the Cavs is we already had two guys who's best attribute are their defensive ability and mobility, and Tristan specifically shares some of Drummond's weaknesses on offense, defensive rebounding, and free throw shooting. But AD did show some ability at UCON inspite of the mess that team had become.

When teams actually care, scout and point out the opponents weaknesses.

Agreed.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Coach Frank keeps insisting that Drummond is the backup to Monroe, but at what point will he admit Jonas Jerebko, Jason Maxiell and Charlie Villanueva aren't impressing anybody as power forwards?

 

[Goldin Brown]

I think Drummond turned a lot of teams off with his pre-draft workouts and interviews. I think many teams weren't confident that the kid would work hard once he got to the league. Add the fact that he did not have a great freshman season at UCONN and you start to see why he fell in the draft. I think the Cavs really liked him, but he probably turned them off when he came to visit, the word was that Thomas Robinson dominated him in their workout. So they weren't in love with him and then they fell in love with Waiters, only time will tell if it was the right choice.

 

[Douglar]

the word was that Thomas Robinson dominated him in their workout. So they weren't in love with him and then they fell in love with Waiters, only time will tell if it was the right choice.

The Robinson comment might have been true, but the reason it was widely publicized was Grant's attempt to sell Robinson to the Bobcats.

Anyway, Drummond still looks like a freak of nature, but he doesn't look like a basketball player. He's still shooting way south of 30% on his free throws and he's averaged about a foul every 5 minutes. Those numbers are freaky, but not in a good way. Basketball players don't put up numbers like that, even rookies in preseason.

 

[The Process God]

Drummond just turned 19 in August.

I don't think people realized he was a year YOUNGER than the normal college freshman.

His age now is that of a normal college freshman, and he is just starting in the NBA.

People evaluating his one year in college like it was a bible were doing themselves a major diservice not taking his age into account, as usually it is kids like him who dominate being a year older than everyone else.

His game is just scratching the surface right now of what he is capable of, and with his size and athleticism it should be exciting to watch. His body will continue to mature and I expect in a few years he is going to looks like a carbon copy of Dwight Howard.

Really, the average freshman is probably 18 years, 6 months when they enter into college in August, not 19 years, giving them a birthday around February or so, not August of the year before. Drummond was really only 6 months younger than the average freshman, not an entire year. If he were to have stayed behind an extra year, he'd be one old-ass freshman, not an average-aged freshman at least if we're counting the months. I personally didn't turn 19 until my freshman year was over either. It's not that uncommon.

Anyhow, it's preseason. We'll see how well he does once the real competitiveness of the real season starts.

 

[NtG]

[video=youtube;Aosp0_j80gw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Aosp0_j80gw[/video]

 

[DrEnoch]

[video=youtube;Aosp0_j80gw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Aosp0_j80gw[/video]

Mother of God. So nasty. I wish I didn't wish he were a Cavalier.

 

[Derek]

Really, the average freshman is probably 18 years, 6 months when they enter into college in August, not 19 years, giving them a birthday around February or so, not August of the year before. Drummond was really only 6 months younger than the average freshman, not an entire year. If he were to have stayed behind an extra year, he'd be one old-ass freshman, not an average-aged freshman at least if we're counting the months. I personally didn't turn 19 until my freshman year was over either. It's not that uncommon.

Anyhow, it's preseason. We'll see how well he does once the real competitiveness of the real season starts.

Exactly, he has a late summer birthday. He didn't go to college early, he was in exact class he should've been in.

Oddly enough I share a birthday with Drummond, August 10th. Graduated HS before turning 18 and all that same stuff. It's nothing crazy, it's called having a summer birthday.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

He's having a solid game tonight against Atlanta and playing significant minutes. He's got a double double early in the 4th.

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

Meh... we've got Tristan Thompson, and he has a great motor and he answers questions very good.

 

[hud11]

all i know is that on draft day you told everyone that the cavs will either pick drummond or waiters, 90% of us would have preferred drummond. Grant and Scott have two years, i hope they were right, i'm just not very confident that they were.