KEEP KICKIN' ME, 'CAUSE WHEN I GET UP......

[deusXango]

All I hear is how weak Drummond's offensive game is; how he's not ready because of the mental lapses on the floor. He's unmotivated. He's got potential, but.... On another site I read where some fool compared him to Darko! On and on the B.S. goes. Stop it!!! The kid should be beginning his college career now, not his NBA career. The fact that he was highly rated as a 16 year old, went to college and completed his freshman year (academically), played, when by all standards he should have been sitting out, should stand as a point of pride for Pistons fans. A juvenile competeing against older, stronger, and more basketball savvy colligiate players (coming out of high school), is somewhat astounding. Sure he's raw but, he has heart and a drive to get better. He didn't bend, break, or fold. We may not have to wait as long as we think for our "diamond in the rough" to shine. Andre Drummond is a beast (granted, he's more of a baby beast), and that's who the real future of this franchise is.

I've said it before, and I still believe that the best move Joe Dumars can make is to hire Hakeem Olajuwan as the exclusive big man coach for the Pistons. Huge feather in his cap. There is no one in the basketball world better equipted to bring out the below the rim finesse game of Greg Monroe, and the above the rim/in the paint defensive game of Andre Drummond than Olajuwan. There's no telling what he would turn J.J. and Slava into. Within 2 years the Pistons could have the most feared corp of bigs in the NBA under the tutelage of this HOFer. Look who's been lining up at his door for his counsel and training. Sure we've got Lil' Larry and Roy Rogers but, DAMN; who in their right mind is taking anyone on our coaching staff over Olajuwan? Some will argue that he's never been a Piston, to them I say, it's about damn time then. The man has always been a proud basketball player, and that's what we need; pride and highly skilled big man basketball play, taught by one of the games greats. I also believe that in the end, Andre Drummond would be his star pupil......our poster child of the future.

[WTF]

Olajuwan would do it he makes to much money on his on teaching his camp each summer. More obtainable would be the likes of C-Webb, D-Coleman and Bill who I would love to have teaching our bigs the why to play in the post. Can't undersatnd why at least one of them isn't an assistant coach on this team.

Yes Grizz ESPN seriously sucks, that top 500 list is a piece of bullshit that offers up no factual information whatsoever. It's just bullshit entertainment and not much of even bullshit entertainment as far as bullshit entertainment goes.

Damn was it pitiful watching Bama whip our ass last night, Robinson looks like crap passing the ball and converting our backup QB to a wideout is a joke. Not sure how we ended up being ranked 8th with no real wide-outs and an inexperience front defensive line.

Can't wait for NFL games next weekend, Stafford and Calvin hasn't lost a beat it seems. The only down-fall to this coming season will be watching those dumb scab officials calling bad games.

[deusXango]

Olajuwan would do it he makes to much money on his on teaching his camp each summer. More obtainable would be the likes of C-Webb, D-Coleman and Bill who I would love to have teaching our bigs the why to play in the post. Can't undersatnd why at least one of them isn't an assistant coach on this team.

Yes Grizz ESPN seriously sucks, that top 500 list is a piece of bullshit that offers up no factual information whatsoever. It's just bullshit entertainment and not much of even bullshit entertainment as far as bullshit entertainment goes.

Damn was it pitiful watching Bama whip our ass last night, Robinson looks like crap passing the ball and converting our backup QB to a wideout is a joke. Not sure how we ended up being ranked 8th with no real wide-outs and an inexperience front defensive line.

Can't wait for NFL games next weekend, Stafford and Calvin hasn't lost a beat it seems. The only down-fall to this coming season will be watching those dumb scab officials calling bad games.

Pay the man Wise, everybody loves money; it's not neccessary for Olajuwan to shut down his summer camp to mentor and teach our bigs (plus our bigs should be able to attend his camp free of charge). As much as I love my homies, Chris and Derrick, we'd be drawing water from a tainted well bringing in either of those two gentlemen, plus neither of them know what it's like to win it all (much less back-to-back championships like Hakeem and Bill). I'm still "fried" over the fact that Laimbeer ain't coaching the Pistons, and I'm sticking to my guns on this one!

ESPN is a film cutting factory whose eye is only tuned for finding highlights; beyond that the brain is dead. What's the phrase, "don't know sh!t from shineola?"

The Wolverines, sorry to say, is all fluff and no substance. Dennard Robinson is not a QB! He ain't even close to being Tim Tebow, and he ain't a QB either. What the hell is going on in AA?

The Lions offense is going to put on a show the likes of which hasn't been seen in Detroit (no offense to Billy Sims and Barry Sanders who were the most dynamic individual players I saw in a Lion uniform), in spite of the artificial zebras.

Wise, what do you think about the "blade runner" suddenly waking up and performing like he just did? If he was an American the world would be screaming PED's!!!

[Oracle]

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

[merc]

Any1 that grew up watching Hakeem knows the talent... would Gores see this as money well spent (a steep price for sure)?... it seems like the better student would be Drummond who possesses similar reflexes... it might be a year too soon as he's got a full plate just learning the offense (and D)... let's see what Hakeem has done for Amare first.

[deusXango]

Hey Merc, don't you think that Amare and LeBron are somewhat set in their ways, basketball wise, and Drummond is more sponge like at this stage? My feeling is, the sooner Drummond can get under Olajuwan's wing the better. We've all witnessed the change in James game this past season but, I agree, the impact on Amare's game is yet to be determined.

Wilson Chandler, Wilson Chandler, Wilson Chandler!

[merc]

DX, right... Hakeem could only help DREs game... just thinking putting the kid on overload could be counter productive... it's better to get one thing at a time right instead of lots of things half ass.

[deusXango]

it's better to get one thing at a time right instead of lots of things half ass.

True 'dat.

[WTF]

Wise, what do you think about the "blade runner" suddenly waking up and performing like he just did? If he was an American the world would be screaming PED's!!!.
DX I didn't catch blade runner's performance.

Hey Patrick is currently un-employed....hmmmm. I don't think the buck stops with the Dream. Andre could benefit from a number of former NBA bigs, don't get me wrong I love the Dream but he would be title-less had MJ not taken a vacation. I won't make having won a title the deal breaker so I could easily select Patrick

[Oracle]

Wise, what do you think about the "blade runner" suddenly waking up and performing like he just did? If he was an American the world would be screaming PED's!!!.
DX I didn't catch blade runner's performance.

Hey Patrick is currently un-employed....hmmmm. I don't think the buck stops with the Dream. Andre could benefit from a number of former NBA bigs, don't get me wrong I love the Dream but he would be title-less had MJ not taken a vacation. I won't make having won a title the deal breaker so I could easily select Patrick

Wise, I agree we shouldn't get hung up on the Dream, who was truly one of the best low post players in memory.

Any great won't do, we need to get the right one!

Merc touched on it, when he said we need to let Drummond play a bit, but IMO, not as much for him to learn our system, but for us to learn about him!

We first have to determine the style of big man he's likely to become. Once we know that, then we'll know if we need a Kareem style bigman coach, a Ewing, Dream, or Chocolate Thunder dunking style coach(ok, that would be a bad outcome).

My point is that, while there are certain things common for bigmen, you aren't going to change their style, so it's best to get a coach that enforces and enhances the kids natural approach to the game.

[Oracle]

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Stay down low my friends!!!

[WTF]

Oracle the flip side to that is in getting someone here now gives them an advantage of having a first hand look at Andre oppose to looking at film as an afterthought. I'm not oppsoe to "crammin" as much knowledge as possible into the kid. The only place the team need to be patient with him is how much and when they play him.

I don't buy into this waiting shit, that's what college is suppose to be for, the Piston can blow this and we can be having conversation like we did back with Amir. Team needs to cram all the fundamentals they can into a kid who has had a single college season.

Also consider today and who's teaching him now, I don't Frank can show him to play in the post. He can teach him what suppose to happen in theory, but if he doesn't know the fundamentals then I can hear all the bullshit excuse for the next 4 season until we trade him and everyone screaming what a wasted pick he was. Asking him to learn at a high level is different from expecting him to perform at a high level.

[cool breeze]

At the NBA level the player has to want it bad. Drummond will be lost for awhile because of the speed of the game and no coach can get a players mind right regarding the speed of the game. The best thing Drummond has going for himself is his teammates. He has some great young teammates who will get him going in the right direction.

[deusXango]

Who was Patrick Ewing's last employer, and who was the last big man he mentored? How did that turn out? Does anyone remember what Olajuwan's game was like in college? If you do, can you honestly say that it was the same as his pro game? I remember him being almost exactly the same player as Drummond is now. He learned and changed. What I'm saying is, get the best big man teacher available today for our young bigs! Rebounds, blocks, steals, assists, and points scored; these are the catagories that Olajuwan was the consistant leading big man in. I'm for giving this franchise a shot at having that type big(s) for years to come. What do we really have to loose? Drummond, Monroe, Slava, and Jonas J. make up one helluva classroom for this HOFer.

If it doesn't matter what great big coaches our bigs today, why ain't Laimbeer and Mahorn in the mix? We've chased our tails for so long, and been fed BS about what this team can and can't do, our forward thinking and imaginations are dead. When we do think about this team, we tend to think in negative or restrictive terms. I think we stand at the threshold of something great, but we need some pro-active execution, and we need it in the next 45 days or so.

[Oracle]

At the NBA level the player has to want it bad. Drummond will be lost for awhile because of the speed of the game and no coach can get a players mind right regarding the speed of the game. The best thing Drummond has going for himself is his teammates. He has some great young teammates who will get him going in the right direction.

Don, you nailed it!

There's no rush, and it truly does matter who the teacher is.

I don't fully know Drummonds game, but just a wild guess tells me that Kareem's game is a stark contrast! Outside of basic foot work, if you want REAL results, you need to match the student to the teacher.

[merc]

Sounds like they're tossing a lot his way already... [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[merc]

"Jerebko has promised the Pistons will make the playoffs this year... guaran-swede"

[Murph]

As much as I loved watching Hakeem The Deam play, I'm not sure he'd be the best person to coach Andre Drummond. IMO, Drummond will never be the offensive player that Olajuwon was; I can never in my wildest dreams picture Drummond doing "The Dream Shake"...ever.

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

IMO, Drummond should concentrate on his defense, rebounding and shot blocking...at least for his first few years in the League. For the next few years, I think the best we should hope for offensively from Drummond will be a few opportunistic baskets on offensive rebounds, open dunks, etc. I can envision him averaging about 8 to 10 ppg, mostly on put-backs and open dunks. Then maybe once he matures, he should add a few back to the basket moves to his offensive repertoire.

With that in mind, I think the best big man coach for Drummond at this stage of his career would be our own Ben Wallace. I have no doubt Big Ben could tutor Drummond on the fine art of shot blocking, rebounding and defending the pick-and-roll.

But for cryng out loud, the first order of business should be to get Drummond a free throw shooting coach. We certainly don't need him to shoot free throws like Big Ben.

[Murph]

Also, we as fans need to exercise a considerable amount of patience with Drummond. The kid is only 19 years old. He needs to play consistent minutes every game, but the fans need to keep their expectations to a reasonable level, and not get on him when he has a bad game.

To a large extent, I think the high expectations of the fans helped to damage Darko's career. We don't need that to happen to Drummond.

If he continues to work hard, everything will eventually fall into place for Andre.

[WTF]

DX the problem wasn't Ewing in Orlando, the problem was an over-hyped, self-proclaimed super-star that wore a freaking cape. Now lets look at that infamous #2 that we got no production out of before trading him to Orlando.

Yes that's right Mr. Darko had arguably his best seasons under the watchful eyes of Ewing, while Lamb could do nothing for Mr. Darko. I guess it is a matter of matching the teacher with the student in some cases, I can see patrick teaching him all the things he need to know about playing in the post (defensively and offensively)

[WTF]

Hey Murph, Drummond say's his mechanics are fine, he just needs to be more confident when shooting his FT's

[lemonpen]

I can be patient just as long as he isn't relegated to rot on the pine. Spoonfeed the PT. Allow AD to exercise the stuff he is learning. Then keep your eyes open for two things:
(1) He should produce higher personal bests in a variety of statistical catagories every so often.
(2) He should display a growing sense of awareness and anticipation over time.

[Sebastian]

I don't know about you guys, but to me Dre Drummond appears to be the second-coming of Darryl Dawkins.

If he can remain conditioned and build onto his game with minutes/games played and receive the support and encouragement that will be required from the organization, coaching staff, and teammates he may turn out to be, hopefully, better than "Chocolate Thunder".

[deusXango]

I can be patient just as long as he isn't relegated to rot on the pine. Spoonfeed the PT. Allow AD to exercise the stuff he is learning. Then keep your eyes open for two things:
(1) He should produce higher personal bests in a variety of statistical catagories every so often.
(2) He should display a growing sense of awareness and anticipation over time.

For all that want to compare Drummond to Darko, consider this, Drummond has a maturity that you can measure, and Darko didn't; Darko was given PT much like V. Macklin (joke time), and no development whatsoever. The difference is Darko was a #2 pick, and Macklin came at the end of the second round. That's the coaching bias that both those players came in the league under. They were never developed or given a chance. We must not make that mistake with Andre Drummond.

[Oracle]

While I agree Darko was not only NOT developed here, I believe what's worse is that we completely destroyed the kids future in the NBA!

Unfortunately, it was ALL Darko's fault, IMO.

First, he wasn't even close to a #2 pick, but he fully participated in the super hype, and I think that dufus actually believed it!

If he had ANY humility(or brains), I'd blame the Pistons, but they bought a #2 pick, and got a 2nd rounder project!

Joe was STUPID for falling for the hype, but just like with Rodney White, Joe believed the BS other GM's were feeding him.

BTW, Drummond is NOT another Darko, IMO!

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