Can we all agree that Drummond was overhyped?

[UCONNFAN179]

Take off your blue and white glasses and you can't be impressed given the hype... He's the highest ranked recruit ever at UConn, people here were saying that he'd be better than Sullinger from OSU or Zeller at UNC this year, how he'd dominate the kid from KY, he's on the player of the year list, etc. That's all a joke. He's got some nice physical tools, but that's it. He has no clue how to play.

I'm glad we have him for depth but he's certainly not as advertised I know it's only been 4 games and he'll get better but he may have cost himself some serious cash being exposed at this level. I'm much more impressed with DD.

 

[tzznandrew]

No.

How about we all agree we judge this kid later in the year after he's no longer wearing a mask?

 

[OneManWolfpack]

I believe this is the same thing we were saying when Calhoun hyped up JL... I know Lamb wasn't a top 3 recruit but it did take sometime for him to finally arrive on the scene, same goes for Harrison Barnes last yr

 

[superjohn]

Oh man here we go again, he's a bigman who is playing with a mask 4 games into his career. Obviously he's far from a finished product, it takes time with big men. If you can't recognize that he has a boatload of talent and will be a much different player later in the season than you don't have a clue about basketball. Oriakhi has struggled mightily so far, does he suck too? Lamb basically did nothing for close to the whole first half of last year, he obviously sucks.

 

[TheRogers]

Take off your blue and white glasses and you can't be impressed given the hype... He's the highest ranked recruit ever at UConn, people here were saying that he'd be better than Sullinger from OSU or Zeller at UNC this year, how he'd dominate the kid from KY, he's on the player of the year list, etc. That's all a joke. He's got some nice physical tools, but that's it. He has no clue how to play.

I'm glad we have him for depth but he's certainly not as advertised I know it's only been 4 games and he'll get better but he may have cost himself some serious cash being exposed at this level. I'm much more impressed with DD.

Why are you in such a rush to do that?

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

there has not yet been the need for us to use a gameplan that required getting that ball down low more than just a few times. when the need arises, AD will be better than we expect.

JC uses the early season to break kids down, and build them back up while integrating them into his system. This is happening right now with AD, and DD too for that matter.

He'll be great.

 

[EricLA]

if the expectation was that he was going to enter UCONN and average 18 and 10 every game, then yes woefully over hyped. if the expectation was that he is a highly gifted 6'10" player with tons of potential, but very raw, then no he was not.

i for one did not expect him to average a double double, not even double digit scoring early on. having said that, i've been disappointed in his actual numbers, but not having access to the games on TV i can't tell you how i think of what he's actually doing on the court.

Last year, UCONN was a far different team by the tourney than it was in going 9-9 in the big east. this year's team is struggling in areas, and doing very well in others. i don't know what to make of Drummond yet. and i think there is a difference between saying the kid was over hyped vs. a bust. perhaps our expectations were too high? as the #1/2 kid coming out of HS, tho, i don't think high expectations were unfair.

in looking at the box scores, i'm seeing tons of scoring from guards and wings. Even Olander is scoring off offensive boards, or mid range jumpers. is the team making a concerted effort to go inside? if not you can't really blame Drummond (or Oriakhi) for the low numbers.

 

[rbny1]

No, we can't all agree. I certainly don't agree.

 

[EastCoast2]

Little early to judge, IMO. Big men take longer to adjust to the speed of the college game. He'll be dominant if he sticks around for his sophomore season... What do you guys think the chances are he stays?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

What a joke. You clearly know nothing about Calhoun or UConn Basketball if you're ready to dismiss a kid after a few games into a season.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm not sure the problem is with AD but any fan who expected AD to do things based on hype. After enough experience either you learn to play or don't. Same goes for fan. There is no excuse for any fan who isn't young to get caught up in hype. There are too many examples where hype has been wrong.

AD is young. The two fouls were just poor officiating. That threw AD off his game. It happens to most young players. He should be just fine as the season progresses.

So AD had a lousy game and the OP gets a technical foul.

 

[DMW88]

Lets all agree that you are being a bit premature...4 games ? Over hyped ? He'll be fine

 

[RS9999X]

All I expect is a credible presence in the 4/5 rotation over the course of the season. So far Olander is the bright spot.

Drummond has to work on his footwork and getting position. Typical.

There's an issue of the PG making sure the big guys get enough touches when they do the right thing and are in position. The carrot and stick thing.

Some of those names mentioned up above--the coaches run play after play through them.

 

[EastCoast2]

Drummond is a freak athlete who could just out muscle and out jump EVERYONE he played in HS... Not the case in big time D1. When he learns the game, gets solid post moves, footwork etc, he'll be scary

 

[david]

He just came off a game with 11 pts and 14 rebounds (11 offensive). He is wearing a mask and is 4 games into his college career. Our guards, while so far have been outstanding, have not exactly been feeding them in the post.

He will get better. He will become more consistent. The sun will rise tomorrow. Someone on the board will flip out after a player has a bad game.

 

[hooskies]

I think we can all agree that OP doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

[DogMania]

Take off your blue and white glasses and you can't be impressed given the hype... He's the highest ranked recruit ever at UConn, people here were saying that he'd be better than Sullinger from OSU or Zeller at UNC this year, how he'd dominate the kid from KY, he's on the player of the year list, etc. That's all a joke. He's got some nice physical tools, but that's it. He has no clue how to play.

I'm glad we have him for depth but he's certainly not as advertised I know it's only been 4 games and he'll get better but he may have cost himself some serious cash being exposed at this level. I'm much more impressed with DD.

Huh?!?! I don't recall anyone saying that AD would be better than Sullinger or Zeller this year.

In fact the expectations have been low to moderate on him. None of us here voted him the #1 recruit. As for those who did, many of them voted on his potential not how good he'd look during the 4th game of the season.

I've said all along that I expect him to average around 8 to 12 points a game, starting out with moderate numbers but having some monster games down the road. He's a freshman. He's going to be wildly inconsistent. Most have pointed out he has little to no skilled post game, but has a world of athleticm and raw basketball skills.

Just because he's a work-in-progress doesn't mean that he's over-hyped. I remember similar posts about Caron Bulter as he struggled during the second half of his first season and first half of his second season. Well Caron put on one of the most dominating stretches the 2nd half of his sophomore season and played himself into the lottery.

We all just have to show some patience here and give Drummond some time to develop. I would expect him to be a dominating though probably still inconsistent presence by the end of the regular season and an absolute beast by the 2nd half of his sophomore season if he sticks around that long.

 

[UCHuskies08]

You'd think years like last year would lighten some posters up, or make them hesitant to proclaim such things so early.

But you'd be wrong.

 

[Leebo]

No one thought he would average a double double.

 

[tcf15]

No one thought he would average a double double.

Well, obviously, OP did.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

I don't see how you can classify a guy who is averaging 7 and 7 through the first 4 games of his freshman year, in a system he is not use to playing in, while wearing a mask as a bust. Don't be surprised to see him averaging nearly a double double by the end of the year.

 

[Scot-e]

Dude is a troll.

DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

 

[boog204]

No one thought he would average a double double.

actually many here did. last week I had to defend myself when I said I'd be happy w/ 8-5-2 from him. people responded that that would be a bust and that they expected a 15-10 guy. i'm not ready to call AD overhyped as obviously he is only 4 games into his career playing with that stupid mask. He is pretty raw not only in his skill set but moreso in just understanding the game. Obviously bigs do take much longer to "get" it, but based off of the "hype" I did expect a little more. In the end, I think he will be fine and will be very productive. But I in no way see a double-double guy.

 

[champs99and04]

OP's post is way too premature. It is clear that when Drummond gets into the flow of the game he makes a huge impact on both ends of the floor. The games in which he has struggled have been the games where he's battled foul trouble early. If there is one concern with Drummond, it is not being able to stay on the court due to foul trouble.

It is not suprising at all to see Drummond struggling a little bit as he adjusts to Division-1 ball. If you actually paid attention instead of buying into the hype, you would have known that Drummond was a man child but also somebody who lacked the polish of a kid like Sullinger or Zeller. If you listened to the people telling you Drummond would be first team AA, then I'm afraid you listened to the wrong people. He's a work in progress, but by the end of the year he is going to have made huge strides. There is not even any doubt.

 

[MarieM]

JL didn't show up until the big east tourney i guess he sucked too