Andre Drummond changes his mind, commits to UConn, is our hero
by Kevin Meacham on Aug 26, 2011 8:22 PM EDT
in UConn Huskies Basketball
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A couple weeks ago, highly-touted All-Universe recruit Andre Drummond told us all what we all knew: that he would stay for another year of prep school, paving the way for him to jump to the NBA Draft without stepping foot on a college campus.
Then, after about two weeks of silence, Drummond dropped this bombshell via Twitter, shattering the status quo and instantly changing the landscape of UConn basketball:
It's official I'm heading to the university of connecticut to be a husky this year! Do I hear #repeat #huskyfam @aoriakhi34
This happened absurdly quickly; the Courant's Jeff Jacobs tweeted about 10 minutes earlier that Drummond changed his mind; Alex Oriakhi followed several minutes later with a coy tweet of his own, and then Drummond confirmed it.
So, uh.
Whoa.
Drummond instantly changes the dynamic of the 2011-12 Huskies, not in the least because he's rated among the top two or three players in the country in this recruiting class.
If he lives up to his scouting reports, Drummond could theoretically be a big man the likes of which comes along so rarely (though Jim Calhoun has had two in the last eight or nine years); it shakes up the starting lineup, sliding Alex Oriakhi down to the 4 and Roscoe Smith to the 3 (presumably); it's the cherry on top of two of the best recruiting classes in Jim Calhoun's career; and it legitimately raises the possibility of a repeat national title.
Logistically, Drummond would have to be enrolled in fall classes (which begin Monday) to be eligible to play before mid-December. And roster-wise, it sounds like someone is getting waived, as UConn is already at it's scholarship limit. However, a source has told CBS Sports that Drummond may consider walking on to the team, which would a) be an ingenious (if slightly devious) run-around of the NCAA and APR penalties and b) indicate that Drummond would be a one-and-done.
Either way, we've got ourselves a Friday night game-changer.
Welcome aboard, Andre Drummond. Woooooooooooo.
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Super shocked
"The worst thing you can do, at least this is what my friends tell me, is to come after me," Calhoun said. "I'm usually better at coming out of the corner than I am up on the pedestal. I haven't been on many pedestals, by the way. I'm a natural underdog, I guess -- sometimes for no apparent reason. And if I can't be the underdog, I'll make myself the underdog, somehow or other."
by uconncountry on Aug 26, 2011 8:29 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Phenomenal
Thoroughly enjoying life atop the Big East.
by Kevin Meacham on Aug 26, 2011 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Gotta wonder if NBA CBA talks scared him away from his prep plan
If they were to up the age limit, that one year out of college would’ve been pretty meaningless.
by UConnBlog Justin on Aug 26, 2011 8:31 PM EDT reply actions
I love everything about this Alex Oriakhi tweet
can i get a RT for being the 1st person to let mr.ollie know that his own recruit commited to UCONN lol
I like the idea of Drummond as a walk-on
Not only because it wouldn’t boot Michael Bradley for another year (though with the Pharmacy sched he has I’m sure he could use the library time) — but because of all the opportunities it would give the students for “He’s a walk-on” chants.
SPORTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSS
I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT HE IS A CONNECTICUT NATIVE AND THAT THIS
IS A POINT OF PRIDE BECAUSE HEY IT WOULD BE KIND OF COOL IF STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS TEAMS MORE WHOLLY REPRESENTED THE STATE THEY REPRESENT.
Many of them do
…the ones in the good states.
/ducks
/NEW JERSEYYYYY
Thoroughly enjoying life atop the Big East.
by Kevin Meacham on Aug 26, 2011 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions
I now present the UConn Connecticut Native Team of Century:
Craig Austrie
Doug Wiggins
Tyler Olander
Andre Drummond
John Lindner
Oh, I see, century
If we’re cutting it down to the past 11 years then sure
by Andrew Porter on Aug 26, 2011 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Ahhh, yes
I forgot Rutgers’ illustrious history of using New Jersey athletes to go…. somewhere I guess.
by Andrew Porter on Aug 26, 2011 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
This. Is.
AWESOME!!!!
Anyone know who gets screwed out of a scholarship? It would really suck for one of the guys who worked so hard. Still, awesome!!
Who Doesn't Like Icecreamcake?
If someone does it'd be Bradley or Wolf
and Bradley’s academics might be a good excuse to give him another year of pure book learnin’ CBS had a source saying he’ll pay his own way though (1st overall pick salary makes in-state tuition look kinda small).
by Andrew Porter on Aug 26, 2011 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Hurricane Irene?
More like Hurricane Drummond making waves this weekend… stealing Irene’s thunder! SICK.
So as a walk-on,
will Andre Drummond have to sit near the end of the bench?
The best thing is that he won’t be sitting behind the bench anymore.
"The worst thing you can do, at least this is what my friends tell me, is to come after me," Calhoun said. "I'm usually better at coming out of the corner than I am up on the pedestal. I haven't been on many pedestals, by the way. I'm a natural underdog, I guess -- sometimes for no apparent reason. And if I can't be the underdog, I'll make myself the underdog, somehow or other."
I think its time to introduce big font
CAUSE WE GOT DRUMMOND!!1
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
18-1
1967: Embrace it
I'm intrested in how this all relates to Dunn
He’s Drummond’s best friend and they were supposed to play at W/M prep together next year, but when he announced his commitment to PC (over UConn) this week he also said he was bailing on W/M to play in New London again. Two possible scenarios jump out right away:
1) Drummond told Dunn he was thinking of leaving, not being able to play with his best friend pushed him to go to New London, and the unlikely hood of Drummond staying at UConn more than one year made him opt for his real favorite school Providence.
2) Dunn decided to head back to New London. Without his best friend around, W/M became much less attractive to Drummond, and UConn became a much nicer option.
Makes a lot of sense.
I, like everyone else, stopped getting my hopes up for Drummond and just hoped for us to get Kris Dunn to come with Omar Calhoun next year.
Theo-trade John Lackey for a used condom and a punch in the nose. Remember, it's all about value.
So imagine this lineup:
PG: Shabazz Napier
SG: Jeremy Lamb
SF: Roscoe Smith
PF: Alex Oriakhi
C: Andre Drummond
Bench:
Ryan Boatright
DeAndre Daniels
Niels Giffey
Tyler Olander
Plus the possibility of scarce minutes for Michael Bradley and Enosch Wolfe.
That is just nuts.
Hypothetically, imagine if Kemba had stayed
Theo-trade John Lackey for a used condom and a punch in the nose. Remember, it's all about value.
Sick nasty.
Although keep in mind had Kemba stayed, one of those guys would have had to go.
Thoroughly enjoying life atop the Big East.
by Kevin Meacham on Aug 26, 2011 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions
I would trade the entire nation of Germany
for another year of Kemba. Losing two germans would mean nothing to me.
by Andrew Porter on Aug 26, 2011 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Also, how much better does this make Oriakhi?
As the main big man he might have been in a lot of trouble — this much support, especially from a bigger, taller player is going to be amazing.
Well, somewhat.
It probably makes him a liability against smaller, more athletic lineups, because Oriakhi is more center than forward (but UConn can just slide ‘Scoe down in those situations). Also, in a perfect world, it’s best that Oriakhi doesn’t have anyone else to clog the paint even more. But Drummond’s not a true center, either, so he can stretch the floor a little bit.
I think Oriakhi will be relatively the same player next year, +/- 1 or 2 on his scoring average. The real benefit will be on Bazz/Drummond pick-and-rolls. Last year, Oriakhi was the roll man by default. Drummond could be the best roll man in the country with the way he explodes to the rim.
by UConnBlog Justin on Aug 26, 2011 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I want
Midnight Madness. Right now.
"The worst thing you can do, at least this is what my friends tell me, is to come after me," Calhoun said. "I'm usually better at coming out of the corner than I am up on the pedestal. I haven't been on many pedestals, by the way. I'm a natural underdog, I guess -- sometimes for no apparent reason. And if I can't be the underdog, I'll make myself the underdog, somehow or other."
My God.
Congrats UConn, getting two late catches. How epic is the Big East gonna be next year?
"Morgan Newton sucks!"
- Victor Anderson
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