Drummond and Lamb enter NBA, the world of unknown

Andre Drummond said one of his favorite players is Dwight Howard. Their games are very similar, especially at this point of Drummond’s career.

The freshman declared for the NBA Draft last week. Some people think he has the potential to be a great big man in the NBA, some think he’ll be the next Hasheem Thabeet. One of the similarities I found all year was Drummond’s inability to score with his back to the basket. When Howard came out of high school into the NBA, he had trouble scoring off of post moves. If Drummond wants to be a threat on offense at the next level, he will need to score on hook shots or fadeaway jumpers a lot more than he did in college.

Drummond’s freshman season may have began with unfair expectations of a dominant repeat. For that reason it was a disappointment. Drummond disappeared at times in games, and when he reappeared, he would take ill-advised shots and not be able to dominate offensively. Besides defensive rebounding, which he needs to improve, he could change the game on defense. His blocks will translate and he will need to build a game around his athleticism.

Jeremy Lamb also went pro. Some people thought he could’ve used another year, but Lamb made the right choice. The type of player he is makes it easier for him to leave; he doesn’t need to develop any further in college.

Again, with the disappointment that was UConn’s 2012 season, some people may have thought that Jeremy Lamb would’ve been more of a leader, like Kemba Walker. But he isn’t that type of person, and that’s fine. You don’t need to be loud to be a good NBA player. Lamb didn’t become the man this year and lead the Huskies to a repeat, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be great in the NBA.

Lamb played second fiddle to Walker and it worked fine. Lamb didn’t need to be the only star for his team to be successful in 2011. He also didn’t need to show any emotion until the final seconds ticked away in the national championship.