Drummonds line tonight

[UCHuskies08]

While I am very happy for Drummond, how is he this much better than he was at UCONN? He is putting up big numbers against NBA competition. Now granted, it is the pre-season, but he looks like a complete beast, which certainly he did, at times, last year. Was he not coached well last year? Was the effort not there? Just looks like someone lit a fire under him and he's responding BIGTIME.

HE'S 19 FRIGGIN YEARS OLD. How many people can make this same statement in every single Drummond thread that gets made?

Think about you when you were 19. Some players can handle it, for some it takes time. Not to mention, right now, literally all he has to do is play basketball. He was obviously very raw in his skills. Now he has NBA coaching every single day and there are no NCAA limits. That he's showing a lot of progress should be no surprise to anyone - it's a logical progression.

 

[mets1090]

HE'S 19 FRIGGIN YEARS OLD. How many people can make this same statement in every single Drummond thread that gets made?

Think about you when you were 19. Some players can handle it, for some it takes time. Not to mention, right now, literally all he has to do is play basketball. He was obviously very raw in his skills. Now he has NBA coaching every single day and there are no NCAA limits. That he's showing a lot of progress should be no surprise to anyone - it's a logical progression.

This 1000 times. When someone is all about potential, having direct attention every day for hours a day will do wonders. Big difference between having an NBA head coach, NBA assistant coaches and position coaches around you for hours and hours a day as opposed to being coached maybe 2 hours a day? Can't recall what the limits are on daily and weekly practices in the NCAA but it definitely hinders the growth of a guy like AD whose physical gifts were miles ahead of his skills.

It's a safe bet that he has been putting in hours of work in 5 or 6 days a week all summer since being drafted.

 

[mauconnfan]

It's because Calhoun was almost never criticized for any problems related to the team. So the players were always at fault. Then look at the football board, it's always the coaches fault and never the players fault.

Obviously JC is 100x the coach that P is, but I agree with you in that I have a big problem with people making absolute statements about kids not playing with "heart" or effort when they're sitting on their couch and have never come close to playing in that environment.

yeah because you know it all right john? ........people like you make me laugh probably never having played in ANY environment.........not too many have questioned his heart but make sure you throw that inthewre for anyone to dare question your authority on Andre's freshman season! LOL

 

[johnhuskies95]

yeah because you know it all right john? ........people like you make me laugh probably never having played in ANY environment.........not too many have questioned his heart but make sure you throw that inthewre for anyone to dare question your authority on Andre's freshman season! LOL

I literally have no idea what that even means.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

It's just too bad he waited to put forth the effort he is showing now because he could have had a very special freshman year!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again...it was never about effort with Drummond. He played tentative. Tentative play is not necessarily about desire. In his case, tentative play had everything to do with the fact that he didn't know how to play the game, and nothing at all to do with his desire to win.

 

[Huskies4ever]

"Count.......that......aby...and a foul!"

 

[Huskies4ever]

Difference between someone questioning his effort and wanting to see more out of a kid who is now, 6 months later, somehow getting much better numbers vs guys who are getting paid millions. If you are a UConn fan, saw what you did last year in an inconsistent freshman, and aren't wondering what could have been then I wonder what the hell you say.

The thing that sickens me about the BY are people like you who question a simple observation by so many, all of whom seem to wish nothing but the best for the young man moving forward. It's a basketball forum, people like to observe and discuss. Get used to it!!! quote]

Totally, disagree, mau. His "improvement" has more to do with circumstance. Detroit is a better fit. The spacing is different, much less zone, and he is playing alongside a big who can command a double team and pass the ball. He has more players who can get him the ball. His numbers have been solid for minutes played, but not spectacular. His highlight reel plays have been spectacular.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Good call sparky........looked as though he wanted to be something other than an interior player last year and hey, he's a kid they all think they can do everything......not doubting his "effort" at all just his willingness to do the things which he is made for more consistently. And I lay some blame on JC was well for allowing him to drift from his strengths.......

I mean he looks like more of a man now against the real men than he did......tough to not notice and think back as to "what if" but the facts are he was 18 and now he knows what the road is ahead of him. He's growing up fast and I hope he shows everyone what a truly gifted athlete he is. How can you not root for the kid?

I think "what if" applies to the whole team and not Drummond. Drummond could have put up much better numbers, and it may not have made a difference in the outcome of the season. My only "what if" is: What if last year's team actually came together as a team?

 

[Husky68]

Kid was literally uncoached before he got to Uconn. Strange shot, no foul shot, did not know how to move without the ball on offense, not adept at defensive box out even though very wide body. Hard to get better during season when team training rather than individual skill training is key. He has now lived through 30+ CBB games where saw what did/didn't work. Has coaches that are not resticted in time they can spend with him.

Expect him to improve a lot. Should be Ben Wallace early in career and maybe Moses with hops later, outside chance of Bill Russell. Russell shot 44% from field and 56% from foul line; Andre is one of few big men who is a Russell type of athlete.

 

[James]

Agree with everything you said husky68 except the bill Russell stuff. Russell would get honeyroasted this day and age on the block

 

[nomar]

It's absolute bullsh1t that some people on the Boneyard will sit here and question Drummond's effort last year because he didn't put up the stats they wanted to see being the #1/#2 rated recruit.

Drummond was 18 years old, joined the team late in the summer, the team had chemistry issues all season, Calhoun missed time and playing aside Oriahki just wasn't a good fit.

All of that and he still damn near averaged a double double in Big East play.

All true, and don't forget, he had real trouble with the face mask. Really hurt his production and probably affected his development.

Also, there is something to be said for not being a student but instead concentrating full-time on your body and basketball skills.

 

[nomar]

Agree with everything you said husky68 except the bill Russell stuff. Russell would get honeyroasted this day and age on the block

I vehemently disagree with your opinion. First of all you assume that he wouldn't have used the same workout regiment used by today's players. Second, at the weight at which he played, he'd be an all-NBA defender. He was a natural born rebounder and shot-blocker.

 

[mauconnfan]

Agree with everything you said husky68 except the bill Russell stuff. Russell would get honeyroasted this day and age on the block

Guess again James.......you must be pretty young to believe that. The kids and players in this day and age could learn a lot from Mr Russell and he'd still easily be an impact defender and rebounder no doubt!

 

[mauconnfan]

I think "what if" applies to the whole team and not Drummond. Drummond could have put up much better numbers, and it may not have made a difference in the outcome of the season. My only "what if" is: What if last year's team actually came together as a team?

Here's my question about the "what if" and everything else. The mask, JC out, Boat out, AO & Roscoe being selfish.......I get it the team chemistry was awful for a young man like Andre and we all wished he had a year in which he came in and everything was in place for him. But it wasn't...........question I have and the only point I make is, if you watch the video's he is working to get position quite often against bigger players than he played against last year. This DOES NOT mean he wasn't putting for the "effort" last year it simply begs the question what if he did work for position rather than assuming his size, athleticism was good enough to take over games??? Because all of you who hammer on what I said earlier (ConnHuskBask) need to tell me what an impact he could've had under the basket, with his size, if he did these things in college? You guys seem to forget there are fundamentals which still need to be used despite chemistry, despite age and masks.....did he just learn them in the last 6 months? If you don't think with a little bit of boxing out and using his strength and size, he could've averaged 18/14 then you are all sadly mistaken. He's a monster, a beast and 10/7 wasn't what should have been, sorry if you disagree..........

 

[Huskies4ever]

Here's my question about the "what if" and everything else. The mask, JC out, Boat out, AO & Roscoe being selfish.......I get it the team chemistry was awful for a young man like Andre and we all wished he had a year in which he came in and everything was in place for him. But it wasn't...........question I have and the only point I make is, if you watch the video's he is working to get position quite often against bigger players than he played against last year. This DOES NOT mean he wasn't putting for the "effort" last year it simply begs the question what if he did work for position rather than assuming his size, athleticism was good enough to take over games??? Because all of you who hammer on what I said earlier (ConnHuskBask) need to tell me what an impact he could've had under the basket, with his size, if he did these things in college? You guys seem to forget there are fundamentals which still need to be used despite chemistry, despite age and masks.....did he just learn them in the last 6 months? If you don't think with a little bit of boxing out and using his strength and size, he could've averaged 18/14 then you are all sadly mistaken. He's a monster, a beast and 10/7 wasn't what should have been, sorry if you disagree..........

mau, I've always greatly valued your opinion. You may be right with the boxing out. Let's face it, he came to UConn raw, dominating much smaller players with his sheer size. He wasn't taught much in fundamentals in high school, and maybe not at UConn. He never would have averaged 18 and 14, though on last years team. The makeup wasn't there. First, it's hard to average 10 rebounds at the collegiate level. The offense was run through Lamb, and the guards and other bigs could not get him the ball. AD still looks very raw. I think we are seeing that he is in a better situation more than anything else. Sometimes you will see a player in the NBA and think, "Wow. I didn't know he could do that. Never saw it in college."

 

[Huskies4ever]

BTW, sorry if I make it sound like I'm hammering away at your point. I'm more disappointed with the outcome of last year and a couple of attitudes. Lots of wasted talent.

 

[mauconnfan]

BTW, sorry if I make it sound like I'm hammering away at your point. I'm more disappointed with the outcome of last year and a couple of attitudes. Lots of wasted talent.

No I value that opinion no issues here I agree with many of your points and get it.........but I do disagree with how hard it is to average 10 rebounds.........heck if AO worked hard to get any rebounds he could've at his size never mind AD........but in that case there was a dramatic difference in "effort" for sure.........and as far as getting him the ball he didn't make himself big enough and was weak on the blocks while reality is the only solid offensive skill he had was the alley oop......

I guess I need to realize out how raw AD was and you would think somewhere along the line some coach would've hammered the fundamentals instead of relying souly on size and athleticism....guess they didn't.........still LOL

Good news is through all of these posts he seems to be moving in the right direction in order to make a good NBA career and that's all that counts now!!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Here's my question about the "what if" and everything else. The mask, JC out, Boat out, AO & Roscoe being selfish.......I get it the team chemistry was awful for a young man like Andre and we all wished he had a year in which he came in and everything was in place for him. But it wasn't...........question I have and the only point I make is, if you watch the video's he is working to get position quite often against bigger players than he played against last year. This DOES NOT mean he wasn't putting for the "effort" last year it simply begs the question what if he did work for position rather than assuming his size, athleticism was good enough to take over games??? Because all of you who hammer on what I said earlier (ConnHuskBask) need to tell me what an impact he could've had under the basket, with his size, if he did these things in college? You guys seem to forget there are fundamentals which still need to be used despite chemistry, despite age and masks.....did he just learn them in the last 6 months? If you don't think with a little bit of boxing out and using his strength and size, he could've averaged 18/14 then you are all sadly mistaken. He's a monster, a beast and 10/7 wasn't what should have been, sorry if you disagree..........

An 18 year old center doesn't put up 18/14 as a freshman because their fundamentals are shaky....shocking! If only he used his size and strength....how did he or Calhoun not think of that!

The point has been all along that his season was disappointing, but it was never due to a lack of effort. That was my original point and now we're having a different discussion.

 

[mauconnfan]

An 18 year old center doesn't put up 18/14 as a freshman because their fundamentals are shaky....shocking! If only he used his size and strength....how did he or Calhoun not think of that!

The point has been all along that his season was disappointing, but it was never due to a lack of effort. That was my original point and now we're having a different discussion.

Your sarcasm is duly noted but also pretty funny. Guess you never played the game huh?

These "18 yr old kids" play more basketball for more coaches by that age than you could ever imagine. Someone taught him something and he didn't use it, period. To ignore his disappointment completely and give him a pass as you so willingly do, is fine. To laugh and joke about his size and strength and not realize what could have been, well just look some 5-6 months later against MUCH better and bigger players as discussed. Call it effort, call it perception of how much bigger and better you are, but the facts I point out are valid. Yours may be too, but if you doubt for one minute someone between Capitol Prep and JC and his staff weren't teaching him to do what he is suddenly doing for money, then you are sadly mistaken!! Go ahead, more sarcasm.......best you can do I'm sure!

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Your sarcasm is duly noted but also pretty funny. Guess you never played the game huh?

These "18 yr old kids" play more basketball for more coaches by that age than you could ever imagine. Someone taught him something and he didn't use it, period. To ignore his disappointment completely and give him a pass as you so willingly do, is fine. To laugh and joke about his size and strength and not realize what could have been, well just look some 5-6 months later against MUCH better and bigger players as discussed. Call it effort, call it perception of how much bigger and better you are, but the facts I point out are valid. Yours may be too, but if you doubt for one minute someone between Capitol Prep and JC and his staff weren't teaching him to do what he is suddenly doing for money, then you are sadly mistaken!! Go ahead, more sarcasm.......best you can do I'm sure!

Look at it this way...

Lets say if you lost 50 lbs. off of your bloated corpus you'd get 1 million dollars.

You (meaning you personally, mau) could have a panel of weight loss experts at your disposal, but only give them two hours per day to work with your fat and they ain't gonna make any progress.

Give them all day, every day, and then maybe you'd have a shot.

Capice?

 

[mauconnfan]

Look at it this way...

Lets say if you lost 50 lbs. off of your bloated corpus you'd get 1 million dollars.

You (meaning you personally, mau) could have a panel of weight loss experts at your disposal, but only give them two hours per day to work with your fat and they ain't gonna make any progress.

Give them all day, every day, and then maybe you'd have a shot.

Capice?

Not hearing you Mr Wonderful? No capice ................is this nonsense because you know so little about basketball or your just totally screwed up?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Point being, learning the fundamentals takes reps, not just knowledge. Just like losing weight.

And my knowledge of basketball (or learning in general) should never be questioned.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

And you seriously overestimate the quality and quantity of coaching Drummond got pre-college.

 

[mauconnfan]

Have no clue as to what you know, if you played or anything. But if you seriously believe no one taught him how to box out or any other fundamentals you are mistaken. And being 18 yrs old is not like it was in years ago.....these kids play hundreds of game across the country against the highest quality of competition.

And much like losing weight, I elect not to listen to those who tell me how despite the fact I am taught how. Now we're getting somewhere .......now I see the resemblance. He was taught but elected to be happy playing the way he felt most comfortable with....see you do make sense!!

 

[mauconnfan]

Oh and i promise to never question your knowledge, Lord knows you are the real deal!!