Call it sour grapes, but this is why college basketball is regressing every year. I understand Drummond is a massive talent, and you'd have to be a fool not to take him in the top ten at the very least. But these are the kind of kids that really need college, and frankly, the fact that more and more of these players are leaving rather than sticking around to develop their game is what is damaging the sport.
By all acounts, Andre Drummond is a great kid, and i wish him luck. He didn't owe me, or anybody else, anything. But honestly, I'll probably have about as much affiliation with him going forward as I do with Ater Majok or Andrew Bynum, which isn't much. He made no impact on this program and the program didn't seem to make any impact on him. In short, he accomplished close to nothing during his time here, and in turn, the program also accomplished nothing.
The fact that this kid will be more appreciated on here than a kid like Dyson who put everything he had on the line for this program baffles me. Again, this isn't anything about Drummond personally, it's just what college basketball has become. I'm sure it will make some of us feel good 10 years down the line if he's an all-star, and I'm sure he'll represent the school well and thank UConn for everything. But from a far, UConn had very little impact on his life, at least as a basketball player. He'll leave here the same way he came in, incredibly talented with no skill to speak of and a questionable desire to play the game. Look at the transformation Drummond made while he was here and look at the transformation guys like Kemba, Rip, Ray, even Hilton, Boone, Armstrong made, and you'll understand why I likely won't make any sort of connection with the kid going forward.
That said, he had some fun moments here and I hope he has a great career. It's not him, it's the process. And it sucks as a UConn fan, and a college basketball fan.
