Brian Nash
Special to FOXSports.com

Player Breakdown: Andre Drummond

I had the opportunity to see the nation’s top-ranked junior Monday afternoon in a match-up of two very talented teams.  Drummond’s St. Thomas More (Conn.) squad defeated Quality Education (N.C.), 73-59, at The Big Apple Classic at Baruch College.  

Drummond was named the game’s MVP and finished with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting and also had 11 rebounds.

Strengths:  Drummond possesses a great body and can run and jump with the best of them.  He showed great ability to get out in transition and finish off fast breaks with powerful finishes.  Andre also does a solid job of establishing post position on the break.   In the half court, he did a great job of keeping the ball high on post entries thrown over the top and was able to finish at the rim.  When he caught the ball off the post, he showed the ability to face up and use his height to hit the short jumper.  From a rebounding standpoint he did a good job of getting the rebounds that were in his area.

Weaknesses: One of the biggest adjustments for Drummond at the next level will be learning to play hard each possession.  He tends to coast at times instead of imposing his size and skill on every play.  His inability to maintain that focus caused him to pick up two fouls early in the first half and sent him to the bench.  In terms of shooting the ball, he has decent form around the basket, but will definitely need to improve his free throw shooting (1-of-4).   I would really like to see Andre rebound the ball outside of his area.  He possesses the athleticism to track balls down on long rebounds, but struggles to make the effort to get them.   

In watching Andre play he reminded me a lot of Dan Gadzuric, who also played his prep ball in New England before attending UCLA and then becoming a first round draft pick.

In conclusion, the sky is the limit for this young man as he continues to grow as a player.  His offensive game will definitely improve when he gets on a college campus and has the opportunity to go through individual workouts and develop more strength.  The biggest question mark will be whether or not he can play hard all the time!

-In the losing effort, Quality Education was led by an outstanding performance by St. Johns signee Sir’Dominick Pointer.  Pointer finished the game with 35 points and 10 rebounds and gave the local crowd a glimpse of what they can look forward to see from him next season.