WVU thoughts

[caw]

Alex deserves props for a good game. I don't know or care what his stat line was, he played much much better today than he has all season.

Napier didn't force much and ran the team fairly well at times, but still has a way to go.

Boatright was only OK, a few really good plays, some really bad ones.

Giffey did not play well. He has issues playing against a bunch of guards.

Drummond was amazing

Lamb was solid but needs to work on his pick and roll offense.

Olander was overpowered but he was good offensively from the high post.

 

[Huskybass]

I'll say it. Drummond is already better than Shaq was at LSU. Simply amazing. Boat has stones the size of Oranges. Lamb has some of the smoothest finishes I have ever seen. AO played really well. Congrats and thank you AO!

 

[jibsey]

I'll say it. Drummond is already better than Shaq was at LSU. Simply amazing. Boat has stones the size of Oranges. Lamb has some of the smoothest finishes I have ever seen. AL played really well. Congrats and thank you AO!

What if he develops a post move?

 

[Walker11]

Agree with everything, also props to the crowd.

 

[prankster]

What if he develops a post move?

Then....then he will be ready for the NBA

 

[aceboon]

given the circumstances and the opponent, that was Jeremy's best game of the season imo. that was the first time all season he seemed committed to playing D and he got in there and rebounded(he's been lacking in that area) and he worked much harder this game to actually get open.

 

[RuffRuff]

What I liked - the fact that this team could turn it up a notch when it was needed. At least we know it's in there. This wasn't a pretty win, but it's a building block and a teaching platform for Calhoun. It's the best game that AO and AD have played together as a unit down low.

What I didn't like - the continued sloppy play of Shabazz. That out of bounds pass? The risky pass to Lamb at the end. The kid just HAS to make better decisions or he will become a liability out there down the stretch. Right now I have more faith on ball security when Boatright is handling. I never thought I would have said that at season beginning. Shabazz is just too carefree out there - needs to tighten it up. His confidence looks lost offensively as well - kids game is up and down like the stock market.

 

[jibsey]

Then....then he will be ready for the NBA

He looked ready tonight I'm sorry to say.

 

[UCweCONN]

Drummond is a FORCE! Hopefully the team sees now what can happen when they involve him in the game. Lamb was huge but Drummond carried the team tonight. Oriakhi also played very well as well. If Drummond stays out of foul trouble and the team keeps feeding the beast no one will be able to stop him. Napier and Boatright should also see that the team plays better when they involve their teammates rather than trying to do it all themselves. Coach Calhoun needs to show the team the video of this game after they got down 10 in the second half. Bottle the last 10 minutes of this game!

 

[dsturdy5]

Just a thought about AO and AD playing well together...

Notice they played a team with two bigs who they could match. This wasn't a case of them playing a team with a 6-8 "center" and a 6-6-ish perimeter player at the 4. They had their assignments when out there together. AO took the muscle and AD took the more athletic big man. Matches made in heaven.

 

[uconNYC]

Great win. 5 days until the ND game. Gives JC time to develop this team further in practice.

 

[huskymagic]

Alex deserves props for a good game. I don't know or care what his stat line was, he played much much better today than he has all season.

Napier didn't force much and ran the team fairly well at times, but still has a way to go.

Boatright was only OK, a few really good plays, some really bad ones.

Giffey did not play well. He has issues playing against a bunch of guards.

Drummond was amazing

Lamb was solid but needs to work on his pick and roll offense.

Olander was overpowered but he was good offensively from the high post.

The key to this game was our front court. Oriakhi and especially Drummond were great today. They showed a lot of energy, tenacity, and scored in the post. Lamb was very good as well being more assertive in the second half finishing with 25 points. This is what I want to see from him every game. Our back court particularly Napier was not good. He had 0 points, 8 assists, 4 turnovers, played bad defense and didn't run our offense well. Boatright was ok made some mistakes but had 7 points and 4 assists. The team like I have been saying runs better with him running the point, and he brings energy,plays solid defensively, and penetrates well. Both napier and boatright need to play better though especially Napier who is the starter and captain on the team.

Shout out to Oriakhi who solidified his spot in the lineup for me and should be given the confidene to play more freely and not be given the hook to the bench for every little mistake.

 

[UChusky916]

Turning point of the season? I was at the game and I think everyone there sensed a different team late in the second half. The last 10 mins the team played like a top10 team.

Gotta work on being more consistant for a full 40 mins. We have yet to see a complete performance from this team.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

If Drummond keeps hitting that short jumper, he's going to make a lot of people look foolish on pump fakes the rest of the way.

 

[Chief00]

Drummond is ready to play ball.

 

[SJ]

I was very happy for AO tonight. A game like this is just what he needed. Obviously, AD was a beast! But because he needs a comeback, I was most happy for AO.

 

[Danzz]

Then....then he will be ready for the NBA

He really needs a post move or 2 for the NBA where he will play against athletic big men every game. Another year at Uconn and a good big man camp would really help his game.

 

[HeGotGame]

I have one thought about WVU. Kevin Jones can flat out ball.

 

[Kitaman]

I'll say it. Drummond is already better than Shaq was at LSU.

You must be a UConn fan.

 

[caw]

Also just to note, WVU 6-14 from 3 in the first half, 0 for 10 in the second.

 

[Waquoit]

Drummond is a bit like The Terminator on D. When you beat him on a given play, he assimilates it and it doesn't happen again.

 

[Huskybass]

You must be a UConn fan.

Well he is certainly more athletic and far more versatile tahn Shaq was in college. I guess I am just amazed by the combination of Drummond's size and athleticism. Has someone that big ever run the floor so well?

 

[Kitaman]

Well he is certainly more athletic and far more versatile tahn Shaq was in college. I guess I am just amazed by the combination of Drummond's size and athleticism. Has someone that big ever run the floor so well?

Chris Webber comes to mind.

 

[caw]

Shaq was better than Drummond in college ATM
Oden was better than Drummond in college ATM
Dwight as a rookie was better than Drummond ATM


Athleticism is an interesting thing. Shaq could get up when he was young. Oden wasn't as athletic as either, but he had a great post game (shame what happened to him). Shaq was also fairly quick getting down the court when he was young, faster than Dwight IMO as well.

Keep in mind this is subjective and based on memories from 10+ years ago of Shaq.

Overall, Shaq was heads above both Howard and Drummond IMO when he was in college and Howard was probably more advanced defensively than Drummond at the same age. Drummond has three things over both of them. I think his handle is better (though for a center that's not a huge concern), his smoothness and he is a deer out there. The question is, can he get as strong as Shaq and Howard and maintain his speed? It also will be interesting to see how much he can learn defensively. He still has issues with backscreens and such. His positioning for rebounding isn't 100% either, though it was better for most of the WVU game.

His smoothness is the most amazing part of his game. He has all the physical ability to be one of the best centers ever. He also is missing a lot of the basketball IQ and fundamentals to actually become one of the best centers ever.

As amazing as Drummond is, he is so raw. I equate it to JPP on the NFL Giants, he can be physically dominant out of college without necessarily knowing a ton about the fundamentals of the game. Drummond can get better at almost all facets of the game:

• Positioning in general (he is improving on this)
• Boxing out (he is improving on this)
• FT shooting (he is improving on this, couldn't get worse)
• Back to the basket moves (dunking on someone really isn't a move)
• Face up game (hard to tell in college, this is really not part of the game in college)
• Defensive awareness (backscreened a few times last game by guards)

That short jumper of his is actually pretty consistent and fairly quick, he might have to adjust it for the NBA, but there are not a lot of people that will challenge it in college. His recovery on defense is really impressive as is his help defense. He has great hands both in snagging rebounds and getting passes as well as when reaching for steals (not something I like to see him do, but he is quite good at it). His passing (Rutgers being an exception) is quite good as well.

I can see how people would say Drummond coasts, he really makes it look easy, yet is down the court faster than most guards and doesn't seem to give up on plays.

In the end it's going to come down to how hard he works and how good of a coach he has in the NBA. If JC can turn Okafor into a double double NBA guy, I think Drummond is in good hands.

 

[Danzz]

Shaq was better than Drummond in college ATM
Oden was better than Drummond in college ATM
Dwight as a rookie was better than Drummond ATM


Athleticism is an interesting thing. Shaq could get up when he was young. Oden wasn't as athletic as either, but he had a great post game (shame what happened to him). Shaq was also fairly quick getting down the court when he was young, faster than Dwight IMO as well.

Keep in mind this is subjective and based on memories from 10+ years ago of Shaq.

Overall, Shaq was heads above both Howard and Drummond IMO when he was in college and Howard was probably more advanced defensively than Drummond at the same age. Drummond has three things over both of them. I think his handle is better (though for a center that's not a huge concern), his smoothness and he is a deer out there. The question is, can he get as strong as Shaq and Howard and maintain his speed? It also will be interesting to see how much he can learn defensively. He still has issues with backscreens and such. His positioning for rebounding isn't 100% either, though it was better for most of the WVU game.

His smoothness is the most amazing part of his game. He has all the physical ability to be one of the best centers ever. He also is missing a lot of the basketball IQ and fundamentals to actually become one of the best centers ever.

As amazing as Drummond is, he is so raw. I equate it to JPP on the NFL Giants, he can be physically dominant out of college without necessarily knowing a ton about the fundamentals of the game. Drummond can get better at almost all facets of the game:

• Positioning in general (he is improving on this)
• Boxing out (he is improving on this)
• FT shooting (he is improving on this, couldn't get worse)
• Back to the basket moves (dunking on someone really isn't a move)
• Face up game (hard to tell in college, this is really not part of the game in college)
• Defensive awareness (backscreened a few times last game by guards)

That short jumper of his is actually pretty consistent and fairly quick, he might have to adjust it for the NBA, but there are not a lot of people that will challenge it in college. His recovery on defense is really impressive as is his help defense. He has great hands both in snagging rebounds and getting passes as well as when reaching for steals (not something I like to see him do, but he is quite good at it). His passing (Rutgers being an exception) is quite good as well.


I can see how people would say Drummond coasts, he really makes it look easy, yet is down the court faster than most guards and doesn't seem to give up on plays.

In the end it's going to come down to how hard he works and how good of a coach he has in the NBA. If JC can turn Okafor into a double double NBA guy, I think Drummond is in good hands.

Drummond isn't better than any of the players you named in fact he isn't even close. He is only 18 and has the athleticism and size to get a lot better and maybe then he can be mentioned in the same sentence but not yet.One thing for sure, Drummond has a ton of potential.