Harsh Yahoo stuff on Andre

[John]

wow, not pretty - hope this kid makes a lot of people eat thier words

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab-...y-pick.html;_ylt=At1kcnLA1yCDdFgbuues25jevbYF

 

[Huskies4ever]

wow, not pretty - hope this kid makes a lot of people eat thier words

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab-...y-pick.html;_ylt=At1kcnLA1yCDdFgbuues25jevbYF

It's Yahoo. Did Dan Wetzel write the article? Wouldn't be surprised.

 

[huskyharry]

Another example of how yahoo sports is in cahoots with world wide Wes and will push stories when thy will help "la familia"

 

[uconnbill]

I think Andre is a project in the sense he needs to improve his offense but athletic beyond belief. I believe he will work hard and prove those two idiots wrong along with some others.

 

[mauconnfan]

Honestly what did either say that was inaccurate? He disappeared a lot as stated and his back to the basket game needs dramatic improvement. Hey he's a CT guy and I wish him the best but Kwame is not a stretch from what we saw in his 1 year in Storrs.....

 

[CL82]

Honestly what did either say that was inaccurate? He disappeared a lot as stated and his back to the basket game needs dramatic improvement. Hey he's a CT guy and I wish him the best but Kwame is not a stretch from what we saw in his 1 year in Storrs.....

agree

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Honestly what did either say that was inaccurate? He disappeared a lot as stated and his back to the basket game needs dramatic improvement. Hey he's a CT guy and I wish him the best but Kwame is not a stretch from what we saw in his 1 year in Storrs.....

Yeah, I have to agree. What exactly was inaccurate or unfair? Andre Drummond has a long, long way to go before he's a legitimate offensive threat in the NBA. He may get there and I hope he does. But he's got some work to do.

 

[johnhuskies95]

The problem with the Kwame comparisons is that Andre is so much better than him at this same point defensively.

Kwame couldn't make an impact on either end of the floor. Andre has proven that he can limit the production of other big guys effectively, and that will earn him minutes in the NBA.

 

[mauconnfan]

I know we're Husky fans but he was a good shotblocker at times but lets be honest again, he along with alex were the reason our defense was so suspect. Way too many times in the wrong place on the floor and a bit lost.

Having said that he has god potential on defense because hes so athletic.

 

[RayRay19]

He needs to go to the celts so KG can kick him in the ass

 

[upstater]

He's young. 18 years old. Comparing him to a guy like Brown is questionable. Brown has been in the league for many years.

 

[aceboon]

The problem with the Kwame comparisons is that Andre is so much better than him at this same point defensively.

Kwame couldn't make an impact on either end of the floor. Andre has proven that he can limit the production of other big guys effectively, and that will earn him minutes in the NBA.

How did you come to this conclusion? We never got to see Kwame Brown defend college bigmen, while the only guys Andre went up against with any size were Fab Melo and who else? Andre did a great job against Melo and outplayed him head to head in all 3 games imo but I don't think Melo will be anything of note in the NBA. As for Kwame, he is a bust but during his Laker years he was one of the better post defenders in the league, that's the only reason why he was still getting contracts(and for a pretty good rate at that).

 

[johnhuskies95]

I know we're Husky fans but he was a good shotblocker at times but lets be honest again, he along with alex were the reason our defense was so suspect. Way too many times in the wrong place on the floor and a bit lost.

Having said that he has god potential on defense because hes so athletic.

But the point is that he's not going to have to do that in the NBA, especially early on. He's just going to have to defend his guy and block shots.

He was tremendous at both of those things last year.

 

[aceboon]

But the point is that he's not going to have to do that in the NBA, especially early on. He's just going to have to defend his guy and block shots.

He was tremendous at both of those things last year.

In the NBA he's going to have to do more than just defend his guy, he's going to have to learn team D and play the pick and roll, 2 areas where he often out position and lacking in understanding on how to defend him. Also there's a big difference in the NBA when you just can't park yourself in the lane and defend the rim. One of the big reasons why Hasheem can't stay on the floor even for D is because he doesn't know where he's supposed to be and can't defend the pick and roll. I'm not saying just because Hasheem struggled Andre will but there's a much bigger adjustment to playing D in the NBA then in college when you have more responsibility for the overall team D.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Honestly what did either say that was inaccurate? He disappeared a lot as stated and his back to the basket game needs dramatic improvement. Hey he's a CT guy and I wish him the best but Kwame is not a stretch from what we saw in his 1 year in Storrs.....

Nothing, except almost all of it also applies to Anthony Davis. Yet he's hailed as a can't miss stud. Drummond's ceiling is much higher than Davis' in my opinion. I saw nothing from Davis to suggest that he has any back to the basket or post game. All I saw was that his midrang jumper was better than Drummond's. So? I'd say they were similar in scoring on dunks, alley-oops etc. Davis was more consistent on defense, but played on a much better defensive team. Drummond was often pulled out of position to cover for poor team defense. I think Drummond can score 8 pts a game on garbage baskets and lobs alone, and pull down 8-10 boards. I think there is zero chance he'll be a complete bust. But his offense will only get better.

 

[johnhuskies95]

How did you come to this conclusion? We never got to see Kwame Brown defend college bigmen, while the only guys Andre went up against with any size were Fab Melo and who else? Andre did a great job against Melo and outplayed him head to head in all 3 games imo but I don't think Melo will be anything of note in the NBA. As for Kwame, he is a bust but during his Laker years he was one of the better post defenders in the league, that's the only reason why he was still getting contracts(and for a pretty good rate at that).

How did I reach that conclusion? Just look at what other guys did against him.

Bernard James- 4/11

Keith Wright- 3/10

Augustus Gilchrist- 5/14

God's Gift Achiuwa- 4/9

Herb Pope- 7/20

Gilvydas Biruta- 3/8

Kevin Jones- 9/18

Jack Cooley- 2/7

Yancy Gates- 5/10

Jarnell Stokes 6/10 (2/5 on non-jump shots)

Jack Cooley- 4/6

Henry Sims- 4/10

Gorgui Dieng- 7/12

Fab Melo- 4/7 (1/3 on non-jump shots)

Jamil Wilson- 4/10

Mouphtaou Yarou- 3/6

Jayvaughn Pinkston- 5/17

Maurice Sutton- 2/9 (I can't remember who he guarded in the 'Nova game)

Fab Melo- 5/6

Kadeem Batts- 3/9

Nasir Robinson 4/10 and Dante Taylor 0/2

Kevin Jones- 10/21

Fab Melo- 3/6


I didn't include a lot of the non-conerence cupcakes, and obviously he switched off on a lot of these guys with Tyler and Alex at times. Still, he did a pretty good job of defending his man one on one.

If you just throw out his stats against college big guys, then you'd essentially have to throw out every stat a college player had this year.

It's not like Anthony Davis was going against future NBA big men all that frequently this past year.

 

[johnhuskies95]

In the NBA he's going to have to do more than just defend his guy, he's going to have to learn team D and play the pick and roll, 2 areas where he often out position and lacking in understanding on how to defend him. Also there's a big difference in the NBA when you just can't park yourself in the lane and defend the rim. One of the big reasons why Hasheem can't stay on the floor even for D is because he doesn't know where he's supposed to be and can't defend the pick and roll. I'm not saying just because Hasheem struggled Andre will but there's a much bigger adjustment to playing D in the NBA then in college when you have more responsibility for the overall team D.

Really? I thought that he was pretty darn good on pick and roll D last year. Yes, he can improve in a team setting defensively, but he's going to be 19 years old next year. NBA teams aren't going to trot him out there next year expecting too much.

Look at what Draft Express said:


Not just a presence inside the paint, Drummond is also very much capable of stepping outside as well, being very effective on the perimeter for a player his size. He bends his knees and gets in a low stance exceptionally well, showing incredibly nimble feet sliding his feet and moving in all directions.

His mobility on defense should make him an extremely valuable asset to have in pick and roll situations, as he doesn't seem to have any problem hedging screens and recovering quickly or even switching out and staying in front of guards when the situation calls for it.

 

[Walker11]

Nothing, except almost all of it also applies to Anthony Davis. Yet he's hailed as a can't miss stud. Drummond's ceiling is much higher than Davis' in my opinion. I saw nothing from Davis to suggest that he has any back to the basket or post game. All I saw was that his midrang jumper was better than Drummond's. So? I'd say they were similar in scoring on dunks, alley-oops etc. Davis was more consistent on defense, but played on a much better defensive team. Drummond was often pulled out of position to cover for poor team defense. I think Drummond can score 8 pts a game on garbage baskets and lobs alone, and pull down 8-10 boards. I think there is zero chance he'll be a complete bust. But his offense will only get better.

Davis actually does have some back to the basket moves. If you watched him in the tourney you would have seen a number of lefty and righty jump hooks and turn arounds. He also shoots about 50% points better from the line. And he has more of an excuse for his developing post game than Andre because he hasn't even been a big man for 3 years.

You may be right that Drummond has a higher ceiling but not much higher and Davis is much more likely to reach his ceiling.

 

[aceboon]

Again, how many of these guys are NBA players? You're comparing Andre defending college "bigs" vs. Kwame being 18-19 years old defending actual NBA big men, you really can't say he's a better post defender at the same stage because there's nothing to base it on, we never saw Kwame go head to head with 6'7"-6'8" college centers. As for the Nova game Roscoe defended Pinkston and Maurice Sutton sucks so it doesn't matter if dude shot for 2/9.

I think Andre is a better prospect than Kwame because athletically the league has seen guys you can probably count on one hand that can compare with him(Kwame isn't one of them), I'm just not understanding your rationale for calling him a better defender than Kwame at the same stage, especially since defense is the only thing Kwame actually became good at.

How did I reach that conclusion? Just look at what other guys did against him.

Bernard James- 4/11

Keith Wright- 3/10

Augustus Gilchrist- 5/14

God's Gift Achiuwa- 4/9

Herb Pope- 7/20

Gilvydas Biruta- 3/8

Kevin Jones- 9/18

Jack Cooley- 2/7

Yancy Gates- 5/10

Jarnell Stokes 6/10 (2/5 on non-jump shots)

Jack Cooley- 4/6

Henry Sims- 4/10

Gorgui Dieng- 7/12

Fab Melo- 4/7 (1/3 on non-jump shots)

Jamil Wilson- 4/10

Mouphtaou Yarou- 3/6

Jayvaughn Pinkston- 5/17

Maurice Sutton- 2/9 (I can't remember who he guarded in the 'Nova game)

Fab Melo- 5/6

Kadeem Batts- 3/9

Nasir Robinson 4/10 and Dante Taylor 0/2

Kevin Jones- 10/21

Fab Melo- 3/6


I didn't include a lot of the non-conerence cupcakes, and obviously he switched off on a lot of these guys with Tyler and Alex at times. Still, he did a pretty good job of defending his man one on one.

If you just throw out his stats against college big guys, then you'd essentially have to throw out every stat a college player had this year.

It's not like Anthony Davis was going against future NBA big men all that frequently this past year.

 

[aceboon]

I personally thought he was pretty bad at it, him and AO both. Remember the Melo put back dunk at Gampel that decided the game? That was because Andre bit too high on the hedge and ended up on CJ Fair when the team would've been better off with Roscoe on him, his original man. I thought Andre did a good job defending Kevin Jones on the perimeter but Jones mostly settles for jumpers and doesn't really drive from there. He also did a pretty good job on Cleveland Melvin, but let's not forget Andre not being able to keep up with Royce White at all, who abused him every which way before Roscoe got switched on him.

Really? I thought that he was pretty darn good on pick and roll D last year. Yes, he can improve in a team setting defensively, but he's going to be 19 years old next year. NBA teams aren't going to trot him out there next year expecting too much.

Look at what Draft Express said:


Not just a presence inside the paint, Drummond is also very much capable of stepping outside as well, being very effective on the perimeter for a player his size. He bends his knees and gets in a low stance exceptionally well, showing incredibly nimble feet sliding his feet and moving in all directions.

His mobility on defense should make him an extremely valuable asset to have in pick and roll situations, as he doesn't seem to have any problem hedging screens and recovering quickly or even switching out and staying in front of guards when the situation calls for it.

 

[aceboon]

Rumors are the Rockets are trying to trade up to draft AD, please let this happen. Kevin McHale coaching him, Hakeem still living in the Houston area and doing individual coaching, it would be pretty much guaranteed that the Rockets would seek him out to tutor AD as well. Being drafted by the Rockets would be the perfect situation for him.

 

[caw]

In the NBA he's going to have to do more than just defend his guy, he's going to have to learn team D and play the pick and roll, 2 areas where he often out position and lacking in understanding on how to defend him. Also there's a big difference in the NBA when you just can't park yourself in the lane and defend the rim. One of the big reasons why Hasheem can't stay on the floor even for D is because he doesn't know where he's supposed to be and can't defend the pick and roll. I'm not saying just because Hasheem struggled Andre will but there's a much bigger adjustment to playing D in the NBA then in college when you have more responsibility for the overall team D.

Hasheem was/is not physically capable of defending the P&R. It wasn't just that he couldn't learn it. Hasheem is slow laterally. I dare you to describe Drummond as slow laterally. Drummond will have to learn how to play P&R defense, but he has the physical ability that Hasheem just doesn't have.

Drummond rarely (if ever) played a one man zone like Hasheem did (which was great for UConn but not good for the NBA). Drummond was usually defending 4's, because Alex was unable to defend outside the paint.

Davis actually does have some back to the basket moves. If you watched him in the tourney you would have seen a number of lefty and righty jump hooks and turn arounds. He also shoots about 50% points better from the line. And he has more of an excuse for his developing post game than Andre because he hasn't even been a big man for 3 years.

You may be right that Drummond has a higher ceiling but not much higher and Davis is much more likely to reach his ceiling.

Yes, Davis has some back to the basket moves. It's actually odd. Watching Davis, I would have never guessed he was once a guard. His jump shot is passable for a big man, but pretty horrid for a guard.

I'm not sold on Davis being a great superstar player, but I think he has multiple all-star appearance as his ceiling. Drummond's ceiling is probably similar. Both will have issues. Davis' thin frame will be OK at the 4, but will struggle at the 5. I do think Davis is more likely to succeed, but a lot will depend on where Drummond goes.

I think Drummond can excel at the P&R offense, with the right PG, right away. Drummond was better than Davis on the offensive boards, though Davis was much better on the defensive boards. I thought that was interesting.

 

[boog204]

I see nothing wrong w/ the article. It praises what he can do and notes what he has yet to show. He's a huge question mark for any team drafting him. Great athleticism can only take you so far. But a lack of skill (at the present time) combined with legit questions regarding work ethic and drive make him high bust potential.

As far as Davis, he is much, much more advanced than AD at this point. He does have post moves, has a better touch, slightly better handle, and defensively was absolutely dominant. While AD is more athletic, it is not that drastic. He still needs to add weight/muscle, but he is the surer bet to be the better NBA player.

 

[aceboon]

Marc Gasol was as slow if not slower than Hasheem and he was able to defend the pick and roll while on the same squad. Can athletic abilities come into play on D, yea, but you have to know what you're doing out there and also have a willingess to defend what's thrown your way. Hasheem's biggest problem is he had no clue and he also played lazy on D.

Hasheem was/is not physically capable of defending the P&R. It wasn't just that he couldn't learn it. Hasheem is slow laterally. I dare you to describe Drummond as slow laterally. Drummond will have to learn how to play P&R defense, but he has the physical ability that Hasheem just doesn't have.

Drummond rarely (if ever) played a one man zone like Hasheem did (which was great for UConn but not good for the NBA). Drummond was usually defending 4's, because Alex was unable to defend outside the paint.



Yes, Davis has some back to the basket moves. It's actually odd. Watching Davis, I would have never guessed he was once a guard. His jump shot is passable for a big man, but pretty horrid for a guard.

I'm not sold on Davis being a great superstar player, but I think he has multiple all-star appearance as his ceiling. Drummond's ceiling is probably similar. Both will have issues. Davis' thin frame will be OK at the 4, but will struggle at the 5. I do think Davis is more likely to succeed, but a lot will depend on where Drummond goes.

I think Drummond can excel at the P&R offense, with the right PG, right away. Drummond was better than Davis on the offensive boards, though Davis was much better on the defensive boards. I thought that was interesting.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Again, how many of these guys are NBA players? You're comparing Andre defending college "bigs" vs. Kwame being 18-19 years old defending actual NBA big men, you really can't say he's a better post defender at the same stage because there's nothing to base it on, we never saw Kwame go head to head with 6'7"-6'8" college centers. As for the Nova game Roscoe defended Pinkston and Maurice Sutton sucks so it doesn't matter if dude shot for 2/9.

I think Andre is a better prospect than Kwame because athletically the league has seen guys you can probably count on one hand that can compare with him(Kwame isn't one of them), I'm just not understanding your rationale for calling him a better defender than Kwame at the same stage, especially since defense is the only thing Kwame actually became good at.

But do you understand that that logic essentially defeats the whole point of any draft debate? Going by that logic, we shouldn't take any stock in what anybody did in college, because they weren't playing against "NBA players".

Again, how many NBA players did Anthony Davis go up against last year?

Do you just want to throw out everything these guys did because they weren't going up against "NBA players"?

The point is that Drummond was a very good post defender and a very good one on one defender. Statistics support that. You can try and discredit them all you want.