What was Drummond's impact on recruiting?

[GemParty]

Does getting a local Top 3 recruit, who becomes a lottery pick have a future impact? If yes, what is it? Just another UConn NBA guy. Is that why front court player Facey committed? Will the impact be seen in 5 years? I read the top 5 JC recruits list and agree with many, yet rarely see Drummond's name. Why? I'm not even sure myself. Too early to tell, I suppose. Will we need to see what he does in the NBA first? Isn't he the Highest profile/ranked recruit in UConn's history. Wasn't he the ABSOLUTE, must get local kid over the last 20 yrs of recruiting. If he picked elsewhere, I believe we might have lost some Yarders to depression. What impact did getting him have on recruiting, if any? Thoughts-

 

[mauconnfan]

I think it was important to keep him in state for sure and not allow a Kentucky or UNC to come in and sweep him away......

Having said that he didn't stay long enough to impact us too much, nor did he lead us anywhere . I think his improvement this year had he stayed would have created more of a stir!!

 

[Palatine]

Just the fact he went to Conn was a big positive.

Having him at the Calhoun alumni game is a big positive.

 

[GemParty]

Just the fact he went to Conn was a big positive.

Having him at the Calhoun alumni game is a big positive.

Although, I hope not, there's a strong chance, the last Calhoun Alumni game was this past summer. Drummond did not attend.

 

[Palatine]

Although, I hope not, there's a strong chance, the last Calhoun Alumni game was this past summer. Drummond did not attend.

Isn't the Calhoun game a fund raiser for his charities? Won't he continue his charitable work? I would think that they would continue.

 

[GemParty]

Isn't the Calhoun game a fund raiser for his charities? Won't he continue his charitable work? I would think that they would continue.

Pretend for a moment, Shaka Smart is the head coach, this time next year. Does the Alumni game still continue? I'm not so sure. Although, I know JC will continue his philanthropy in other ways.

 

[dapriest]

If the guy is an NBA bust, his being at UConn becomes mostly irrelevant to recruiting, and 10 years in the league as an off-the bench player won't add much to UConn's recruiting efforts.
If, on the other hand, the guy blows up and becomes the next D Howard, then his impact will be felt for the next 15 years, as young fellas will note where he want, and, naturally, consider emulation. It's biology.

So toss up at this point is my opinion.

 

[johnhuskies95]

I'm just happy he came to UConn because he's a tremendous kid and now I look forward to being able to root him on in the NBA.

 

[Tenspro2002]

His going elsewhere would have been a bigger detriment than his coming here was a benefit.

If he picked a different school, that would have supported the perception that we are a program in decline and no longer a destination for top recruits.

His coming here gave us a brief bump in credibility, but that seems to have been washed out by the larger turmoil surrounding the program.

 

[Waquoit]

Not sure if his committment was a net positive. His play didn't sweep us off our feet. Not his fault, but his presence didn't help the "toxic" team chemistry. I don't see how it adds anything going forward, especially if he turns out to be a stiff in the pros.

 

[mauconnfan]

Not sure if his committment was a net positive. His play didn't sweep us off our feet. Not his fault, but his presence didn't help the "toxic" team chemistry. I don't see how it adds anything going forward, especially if he turns out to be a stiff in the pros.

The bad apples that caused the toxic atmosphere had nothing to do with him except for the fact he was taking some of their minutes........let's not put the kid in that realm as he is a good kid and loved the Huskies unlike the others........

 

[CTBasketball]

There is rumor that when Andre Drummond spoke to Rathan-Mayes a day or two ago, he steered him away from UConn. Heard this from somebody over at uconnball.

 

[mauconnfan]

Please do not start these types of rumors without substance........do you know what that could do to his reputation? Think about that............c'mon man!!

 

[aceboon]

There is rumor that when Andre Drummond spoke to Rathan-Mayes a day or two ago, he steered him away from UConn. Heard this from somebody over at uconnball.

The same guy who posted "mark it down, Demetrius Jackson to Ill"? That guy doesn't know and he was just speculating.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

There is rumor that when Andre Drummond spoke to Rathan-Mayes a day or two ago, he steered him away from UConn. Heard this from somebody over at uconnball.

Come on. You can't even call that a rumor. Somebody saw that XRM talks to Drummond on twitter and somehow came to the conclusion that Drummond must have told him not to go to Uconn. It might be the single dumbest thing I've seen written on a message board, and that's saying something.

 

[DogMania]

Somewhat of an interesting question. I think the immediate impact has been very little since he was here just one year and didn't really have a big impact on the court when he was here.

Now if he goes on to have a very good to big time NBA career, just the fact that he got their via UConn will cast a positive image on the program as being the place to go to prepare recruits for the NBA. Now I really don't know if recruits, parents, guardians and/or coaches of recruits pay close attention to what past-UConn players actually developed and contributed while in the Husky uni. My guess is some do take notice of the ones that made a name for themselves while playing here such as Kemba & Lamb. I seem to remember a recruit or two mentioned these players. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt many 2013 and 14 bigs, for instance, are thinking, "Yeah, I want to go to UConn to be the next Andre Drummond."

I wish I could say that he left a lasting memory, but frankly, I can barely remember his contribution on the court this past season. I mean no disrespect for AD. If he had stayed another season, I have little doubt that he would have developed into an impact college player. As good as he might be at the next level and how great an athlete he is, he simply was very raw and needs time to learn. Few bigs come into the college game and dominate. In fact, you see a lot of bigs who look like lost causes the first season or even two, before developing into impact players. Take Fab Melo for instance. He went from the butt end of a joke to a first round NBA pick this past season.

Like many of the ex-Huskies who return during the off-season from time to time to workout and play pickup games with the team, there's a good chance he'll have an impact on visiting recruits just by the fact he's one of a select few who are drawing a big NBA paycheck.