"Giant Steps: How Pistons center Andre Drummond became the man" | The Boneyard

"Giant Steps: How Pistons center Andre Drummond became the man"

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He is going to be a stud for many years to come. I am excited.
 
Love Andre. He is going to be a phenomenal ambassador for the program for the next 10-15 years.
 
I love how he's become a NBA media darling, they all think he's gonna explode soon.

the best part of all this is the profiles on him always show him to be a humble, normal kid with freakish ability. We don't have to feel weird about rooting for the kid bc he's such a good kid.
And I also love anything with Calhoun quotes in it...they really show how much he cares about his kids. The CBB writers who know him acknowledge that, but many ppl see him as a crass old angry man, these always show how much he does for his players and how much they mutually love each other. Fantastic read.
Ray and Ben were always my favorites, and Kemba obviously worked his way there, but I never thought I'd take to Andre like I have. He's quickly making me a pistons fan and one of my favorite players in the league.
 
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
 
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Tenspro2002 said:
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
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That's not very nice.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
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That team was very disappointing, but in the end, AD was a Husky (unlike Bynum). If he becomes a star, that bodes well for UConn.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
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You probably are the only one.

The kid wanted to play for the program despite being NBA ready. Could have taken a scholarship away from Michael Bradley but chose to walk on because "he (Bradley) worked real hard for that scholarship."

It just so happened that his year here coincided with a "post championship" year in which they lost arguably their best player in a decade and were left with a few unhappy individuals and some young kids who weren't quite ready to take the lead.

He was nothing if not extremely likable during his short tenure here.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
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How was he disappointing individually? He basically averaged a double double in Big East games as a freshman.
 
I wish Drummond every success. He is a member of the UConn family.

Money talks and he would/might have been here longer only if the NCAA had not interfered. It is one thing to ask a star to pass up first round money to improve and to win a championship, but it is asking too much when a team is ineligible for any tournaments.

If he had done a post graduate year, do you think he would have come as a freshman last year? I think not.

So, we could not have gotten more time with him than we did, given the NCAA.

Would playing at UConn (without being paid #9 money) last season have improved him as much as his hard work and limited minutes at Detroit? People on the-boneyard would have ravaged him if he was not a savior and, if he was the savior, he would still be gone before this year and we would not have the chemistry was developed developed last year. I think being carefully and slowly developed has been the best for him because it developed his confidence.

While he is a great get for Dumars and Detroit, they have been great for him, too.
 
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Goat said:
If he had done a post graduate year, do you think he would have come last year? I think not.
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And he could have done just that. And while hindsight is 20/20, he probably would have been drafted higher if he did a post grad year and then went straight to the draft. His year at UConn probably hurt him slightly more than it helped him (perhaps not for his game but for his draft stock.)

Goat said:
While he is a great get for Dumars and Detroit, they have been great for him, too.
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Which is somewhat of a miracle thus far considering that Detroit has been a black hole in recent years (and particularly for UConn players.) Hopefully his skills continue to outweigh that trend.
 
so tired of Drummond getting hate by our fanbase.. Kid bleeds blue for Uconn. We didn't under perform that year because of Drummond. The team didn't gel. I enjoyed watching him play every game at XL that year. We should be proud to have had such a talent here.. yes for far too little time but get off your high horses.. This kid is a Uconn kid and our only one and done... We should all be proud.
 
I don't get UConn fans who blame Drummond for not meeting their expectations.
 
If you're disappointed in Drummond's production at Uconn, then you're somebody who put way more stock into youtube vidoes than the actual scouting report on Drummond - which was that he's a ridiculous physical specimen who's basically still learning how to play basketball.

There were four freshman centers last year ranked in the top 10 out of high school - Noel, Austin, Tarczewski, and Steven Adams. Drummond's freshman stats were roughly comparable (and in some cases much better) than all four of those guys.
 
Cheeks played with Barkley and Moses Malone. really eye opening statement when he says dre has the best hands on a big he's ever seen. Also reading that Sheed spends hours in the gym with him one on one is really great, this kids going to develop into something big .
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
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Honest question: have you ever watched a game of basketball?
 
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hooskies said:
Honest question: have you ever watched a game of basketball?
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Firstly, off. Secondly, what in my comment suggests an ignorance of basketball? It is my opinion about one player that we've had in the 20+ years I've watched UConn basketball. If you disagree, fine. The ad hominem attacks are uncalled for.
 
Palatine said:
I don't get UConn fans who blame Drummond for not meeting their expectations.
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That's the ultimate Boneyard crime. It's why there's resentment towards guys like Albie or Dyson (didn't succeed as Alpha Dogs) or Rudy and Drummond (didn't dominate like it seems they should have). But we're ok with Marcus Williams, even though he had a 33 percent success rate keeping himself eligible for entire seasons.
 
You're just an Ass if thats how you evaluate players and people.. Tell me what were Emeka's freshman year numbers. Or how about Tim Duncan. Do you know how they compare to Drummond? You have no idea.

"Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh."
 
Drame said:
You're just an Ass if thats how you evaluate players and people.. Tell me what were Emeka's freshman year numbers. Or how about Tim Duncan. Do you know how they compare to Drummond? You have no idea.
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All I'm saying is I don't get as excited about the NBA career of Andre Drummond -- who was a Husky for all of 9 months and didn't accomplish anything while he was here -- as I do about someone like Ray, Rip, Emeka, or Kemba, who were integral parts of our growth as a program and/or led us to titles.

Reacting to that statement as if I just insulted your mother is ridiculous.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Maybe I'm the only one, but I have a hard time getting excited about Drummond's NBA success. The season he was here was disappointing, both individually and for the team.

If he becomes a star and helps attracts kids to UConn by association, then that's great. But otherwise, meh.
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This guy . . . you are one debbie downer. Every post.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
All I'm saying is I don't get as excited about the NBA career of Andre Drummond -- who was a Husky for all of 9 months and didn't accomplish anything while he was here -- as I do about someone like Ray, Rip, Emeka, or Kemba, who were integral parts of our growth as a program and/or led us to titles.

Reacting to that statement as if I just insulted your mother is ridiculous.
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He was still a Husky, and the success of UConn pros is still a big recruiting tool. And like it or not, that might be the biggest draw we have considering our conference situation.

I'm not going to tell fans how they should feel about a player, but you're kind of an a** if you don't root for Drummond to succeed.
 
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who doesn't consider andre a husky? he did choose to play here without a scholarship correct? that deserves respect on its own.
 
I know Jacobs has written his fair share of di*kish columns over the years, but jeez, the one he wrote about Drummond after he declared for the draft has to rank right near the top. Read the thing. It's cringe-worthy and an embarrassment to journalism.
 
It's funny how many otherwise astute sports minds (not including Jacobs here, obviously) don't understand how much different the NBA game is than college. Many things are harder, of course, due to the obvious increase in talent level, but some things can be easier, due to the greater spacing created by a 3-point line out at 24 feet. For a guy like Drummond, he's facing bigger guys now, yes, so he has less of a physical advantage than he did here. But at the same time, when he got deep post position in college, a second defender was usually arriving right on the catch so he couldn't go to simple raw power moves around the hoop. And since he was raw, when he got the ball five feet and out where he was less effective, the double team didn't come - and he would start to press and force up lousy shots.

The greater spacing also leads to wider driving lanes for guards and more defenses getting out of formation and losing blockout assignments. I didn't see a lot of Pistons games last year, but I did see Drummond flying in for putbacks more in those couple games than he did in his UConn career, when someone always had a body on him.

For a guy like Kemba, it is much harder to finish among the trees, which was his toughest adjustment, but it is also easier for him to get into the lane. Defenses sagged as soon as he beat his man at UConn - now there's space to work with.

There's also probably some confidence and between the ears issues - it was different playing for StateU as the next big thing who is supposed to bring another title than it is after falling to No 9 in the draft and being brought along slowly without immediate expectations. Now he can have a chip on his shoulder - before he just had weight on his shoulders. That can make a difference when you are 18 or 19 and still figuring things out. Harrison Barnes struggled with some of those things as a frosh at UNC too.
 
Im one person who thought AD would come in and be similar to Greg Oden as a freshman. He didnt fulfill those expectations but they were mine and if he didnt live up to them than thats a reflection of my lack of really knowing what he was capable of. I was still a fan of his and was glad to have him and i firmly believe he has the talent to be the best big man in the nba and i wish him the best.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Firstly, off. Secondly, what in my comment suggests an ignorance of basketball? It is my opinion about one player that we've had in the 20+ years I've watched UConn basketball. If you disagree, fine. The ad hominem attacks are uncalled for.
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Your suggestion that Andre, who averaged 11, 10, 2.5 in big east play, was somehow dissapointing as an 18 year old freshman was what suggests an ignorance of basketball, to be clear.

Those numbers, when taken in proper context that UConn specifically has never highlighted our freshman, are really very impressive. To suggest that they are not is what belies what other posters have called "debbie downer" ness. I agree.
 
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