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IN 5 YEARS, ANDRE DRUMMOND WILL BE…AN NBA STARTER Ignore the recruiting rankings. Ignore the flashy YouTube highlight reels. Ignore all of the Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett comparisons. Here's the truth: Andre Drummond received too much hype prior to his freshman year at the University of Connecticut and could not live up to it. WORDS. LUCAS SHAPIRO It is easy to fall in love with Drummond when first looking at him. He has a 6-10, 270-pound frame with the jumping ability of a kangaroo. But when you dig deeper, you begin to wonder just what else there is to like about Drummond as an NBA pros- pect. He has no post game or basketball I.Q, and worst of all, he plays with zero heart. There were times during his freshman year when Drummond looked like he didn't even want to be there. In eight different games, he failed to grab even five rebounds, including UConn's season-ending tourna- ment loss to Iowa State. In his defense, Drummond's situation at UConn was not ideal. Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier never saw a shot they did not like. He also joined the team late in August because he had previously planned to do a post-graduate year at Wilbraham & Monson Academy. Jim Calhoun's bad health also threw the team for a loop. Despite av- eraging decent numbers (10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks a game), Drum- mond was not exactly set up to succeed at UConn. PHOTO. STEVE SLADE/UCONN ATHLETICS The best thing for Drummond would be for his draft stock to plummet and to land with the right team. Sounds like a crazy idea, right? It isn't as crazy as you would think. DeAndre Jordan and JaVale McGee are two players who needed to have expec- tations lowered in order to succeed. Jordan fell to the Clippers at the No. 35 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. This took attention off of him and allowed him to grow under Chris Kaman. McGee's career looked like it was beginning to fall apart with Washington until he was dealt to Denver before this past year's trade deadline. Both of these guys were playing significant minutes in the NBA Playoffs this year, and both were guys with the upside label who did not pro- duce early in their careers. Similarly, where Drummond lands will determine what kind of career he has. Which team is the best fit? A team that will embrace that Drummond is a long way from being able to contribute at the profes- sional level. He needs to find a place where he can play but not be asked to become the savior. Dallas and Boston present good fits because they are both teams with stars that can help Drummond grow during his initiation into the NBA. A lot of Drummond's career success will depend on luck. He will never become a superstar but still has the potential to be a starter in the NBA given the lack of players with his combination of size and athleti- cism. However, if he does not learn to play the game with passion or land with the right team, he may never even get that far. 40