Decision Day
It was over two years ago when Andre Drummond first exploded onto the national scene with a commanding performance at AAU Nationals.
Since that time he’s drawn frequent comparisons to NBA stars like Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudamire, brought home a gold medal while representing his country, led his prep school team to a national championship, and earned the distinction of being the top ranked prospect in the country.
The one thing Drummond hasn’t done much of is speak with the media, especially in regards to his recruitment.
“I just wanted to focus on academics and basketball,” he said Tuesday.
Ultimately, his silence turned out to be a plan to secure just a little bit of privacy in a recruiting world that is saturated by the immediate satisfaction that the internet and social media creates.
Of course to some, Drummond’s silence created a gap, which allowed them to interject their own theories, often times with little factual basis.
“It’s been crazy, the amount of rumors that have been floating around lately,” he said, “but I just try to ignore it and stay focused on what’s important.”
The latest rumor began circulating the internet earlier this week, even as Drummond was in Los Angeles taking place in Adidas Nations, and claimed he would be announcing his college decision on Wednesday and potentially even enrolling next month.
The reality isn’t quite as dramatic. In fact, it’s exactly what he has said all along.
As I first reported last September (http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=finkelstein_adam&id=5549939) Drummond had always planned to graduate in June of 2011 but return for a post-graduate year.
In June, he did in fact graduate from the St.Thomas More School as planned. Now he will move on to his post-graduate year as planned, the only change being the location of the post-graduate year, as Drummond is now set to attend Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts in September.
The move allows him to play side by side with his Connecticut Basketball Club teammate and close friend Kris Dunn, arguable one of the country’s top rated point guards who will be transferring from New London High School for his senior season.
While some have theorized that by remaining in the class of 2012 Drummond is essentially stating his intention to go straight to next June’s NBA Draft (since he would be one year removed from his graduating class as required by the former collective bargaining agreement), the six-foot-eleven player “is saying not so fast” and has instead released a list of five schools he is still considering for the fall of 2012.
“I’m interested in Georgetown, Kentucky, Louisville, UConn and West Virginia” he said on Wednesday. “I have great respect for those coaching staffs, they all have a chance to compete for a national championship, and they are committed to preparing their players for the next level.”
As for a jump straight to the NBA, Drummond said, “it’s definitely an option but far from a done deal.”
“I’m open,” he said, “but I’m not going to be making any decisions before spring 2012 either way. I don’t think I’ll have too much to say about it until then. Most people have been really great about respecting my privacy throughout this process and I really appreciate that.”
And so there you have it. Drummond will remain in the class of 2012 and head to Wilbraham and Monson, but will wait until the spring to decide between Georgetown, Kentucky, Louisville, UConn and West Virginia or a jump straight to the NBA.
Until then, we’ll just have to wait to see which option he chooses.
Andre Drummond
Kris Dunn