Andre Drummond

And yet as of right now, he’s not even a scholarship player on his own team.

That’s because the 6-foot-10 Drummond generously agreed to become a walk-on so that teammate Michael Bradley could go on scholarship.

Bradley, as you may recall, gave up his scholarship and went on financial aid this past August so Drummond could join the team. UConn only has 10 scholarships to give because of NCAA penalites.

“I’m thankful for what Mike was trying to do for me,” Drummond told Gavin Keefe of The Day.

“I told Mike, `Don’t do that, man. I’ll pay my way and take a scholarship next year. You don’t have to give up a scholarship for me.’ ”

Bradley spent part of his childhood in the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, so for him to give up his scholarship was not exactly easy.

“I don’t want anybody to pity me,” Bradley told the Associated Press during the Husky Run on Oct. 12. “But, I’ll say I made a lot of sacrifices growing up that were kind of forced on me. It was hard, but it wasn’t too bad.”

Bradley recently began practicing with the team after having to sit out with a broken ankle.

Drummond, the reigning Big East Rookie of the Week after putting up 24 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in Sunday’s win over Holy Cross, said he gave up his scholarship sometime this fall so that Bradley could go back on ship.

“It was my decision,” Drummond told The Day. “That’s not fair to him. He worked hard to get that scholarship. I’m not going to take something from somebody that’s not mine. It was my decision to come late.”

So remember when David Stern announces Drummond’s name in June, he will be calling the name of arguably the greatest walk-on in recent college basketball history.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Who’s Naofall Folahan, you may ask.

Good question.

He’s the cheerful, optimistic 6-foot-11 sophomore center at Wagner College originally from the African Republic of Benin.

You can check him and his teammates out Monday night when they face Drummond and defending national champion UConn on SNY (7:30).

Dan Hurley’s upstart Wagner club should enter the game with some momentum after winning at Princeton, 73-57, Saturday to end the Tigers’ 16-game home winning streak.

“I was telling [Drummond], ‘You better get ready because I’m not going to look [at them] as the No. 1 team,’” Folahan told SNY.tv last week at practice. “I was getting excited for that.

“We’re not going to be scared.”

Folahan and the 6-11 Drummond actually chatted about the game this summer during a chance meeting at Wilbraham & Monson, a  Massachusetts prep school where Folahan attended and Drummond was supposed to attend before opting to play at UConn this season.

They also played against one another on the AAU circuit a few years back.

“We’re pretty cool, but obviously when the game starts I’m not going to be his friend,” Folahan said. “It’s going to be a fight.”

Hurley set the game up during the early rounds of last year’s NCAA Tournament, before Kemba Walker and company completed their storybook run of going 11-0 in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.

“He told us in the summer, everyone on the team was excited,” said Wagner sophomore guard Latif Rivers, who had 12 points in the win at Jadwin Gym. Senior guard Tyler Murray led Wagner with 15 in that contest, and junior forward Josh Thompson had 14 points and 9 boards.

As Hurley tries to rebuild Wagner, located on Staten Island, into a Northeast Conference power, he has reconfigured the roster — and also set up some brutal games on the schedule. In addition to Princeton and UConn, the Seahawks will visit Pittsburgh Dec. 23 in an ESPNU game.

“I think it’s fun for us,” said Hurley, who turned St. Benedict’s Prep into a national power that produced NBA players Samardo Samuels and Tristan Thompson and Texas guard Myck Kabongo before leaving for Wagner before last season.

“I think it will expose for us the things that we need to get better at. We’re not delusional. We’re in Year 2 of rebuilding of what was when we took over one of the five to seven worst teams in the country out of the three hundred and fifty whatever.

“We’re where we’d like to be in Year 2. This game is part of our maturation process as a program and we gotta learn from it. And we gotta go there to compete.”

Drummond is projected as the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but he went scoreless in UConn’s 70-57 win over Columbia Friday night.

Still, Hurley knows Folahan (six points, five rebounds vs. Princeton) will have his hands full with Drummond and Wagner as a whole must defend guys like Jeremy Lamb (30 points against Columbia) and Shabazz Napier (21), too.

“I saw a big person that does a lot of things really well,” Hurley said of Drummond. “I’ve seen a couple of future top lottery picks, just like a number of their other guys. You try to do the best that you can of keeping bodies between [Drummond] and the basket and just try to make them make shots as opposed to make layups and dunks.

“We’re going there to play.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Andre Drummond

But he is headed for a change of scenery and he has cut his college list.

The 6-foot-10 Drummond told ESPN.com that his top five college options include UConn, Kentucky, Louisville, Georgetown and West Virginia.

“I have great respect for those coaching staffs,” he said. “They all have a chance to compete for a national championship, and they are committed to preparing their players for the next level.”

UConn remains the perceived favorite for Drummond, the Middletown, Conn., native who could have elected to attend college in 2011 but instead will do a post-graduate year at Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts instead of St. Thomas More in Connecticut, where he has been the past two years.

There he will team with his good friend Kris Dunn, who will also transfer to the Massachusetts school from New London (Conn.) High.

“Andre certainly has a right to select any school that he wants to go to,” STM coach Jere Quinn told SNY.tv by phone. “It’s his right and his privilege. We think he grew tremendously here. He came with a stress fracture and now he’s healthy. He came and his academics were inconsistent and now he left as an honor student and he understands what it takes to be successful in school.

“In two years he’s academically solidified and physically stronger.

“As a basketball player he’s improved to the point where we won the national prep championship and he was the MVP of that team.”

On Friday, Drummond told SNY.tv by phone that, “As of right now…the plan” was to remain at St. Thomas More, but obviously this move has been in the works for some time.

As for his future plans, Drummond remains eligible for the 2012 NBA Draft and would likely be among the top few picks should he opt to skip college.

“It’s definitely an option but far from a done deal,” Drummond told ESPN.com. “I’m open, 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.”

As for Quinn, who is entering his 34th year at St. Thomas More, he must move forward without the No. 1 player in the nation.

“It doesn’t change our goals here,” he said, “which is it to take a bunch of kids who want to be here and make them better and get them into college. We’ve had some great players in the past, we’ll have some great players next year and we’ll have some great players in the future.

“With the all the experience I have I think I could’ve been a very positive influence and helped him with his decision-making but he’s choosing otherwise.

“I don’t want to sound bitter. We’re not. It’s his decision to go elsewhere and it was a pleasure to have him here.”

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

Andre Drummond

“As of right now, that’s the plan,” he told SNY.tv by phone from the adidas Nations event in Los Angeles.

Asked to confirm that he would be in high school this season instead of somewhere else, he reiterated, “The’s the plan.”

The 6-foot-9 Drummond is the No. 1 center in the Class of 2012 per Rivals, and a likely future NBA lottery pick.

St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn recently told SNY.tv he’s “really not sure” where Drummond will be next season, indicating that the big man could elect to switch to another prep school, go to college or chose another option.

UConn has long been considered the favorite for Drummond, a Middletown, Conn., native, but he has also mentioned Duke, Georgetown, Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.

Still, Drummond said he likely won’t be in college this coming season.

“Most likely,” he said.

He did say he’s keeping his options open and hadn’t made any final decisions as of yet.

“I’m just trying to weigh my options out right now and I’m just trying to play basketball right now and finish up with AAU,” he said.

He said this will be his last summer event and then he’s done.

As first reported at ZAGSBLOG, because he turns 19 next year and will be a year removed from his graduating class, he will be eligible for the 2012 NBA and Drummond said that playing there is certainly his dream.

“Of course,” he said. “That’s every kid’s dream to play in the NBA.”

RELATED CONTENT

**Andre Drummond to the NBA Draft?

**Andre Drummond won’t be in college this fall

**Drummond may not return to St. Thomas More

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

“We’ll sit down with some people in the spring,” Quinn said Sunday at the PrimeTime Shootout at Kean University before Drummond scored 17 points in a 73-61 loss to St. Patrick. “We’ve told everybody we’ll talk to people in the spring.”

Quinn previously said the 6-foot-10 Middletown, Conn., native was being most heavily courted by Louisville, Kentucky, West Virginia, UConn, Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Georgetown.

“Those are the ones who have spoken to him most aggressively,” Quinn said Sunday. “He’s been very close to the chest and he hasn’t really discussed what he wants.”

Asked which schools came the most to watch Drummond play, Quinn said “Connecticut, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pitt, a lot of the strong Big East programs.”

As for North Carolina, he said, “Yeah, we hear from them all the time.”

“But you know, I really respect all those guys because they respected our wishes,” Quinn added. ” They’ve left him alone. They haven’t bugged him on the phone conversations. They’re not emailing him and texting him. They’ve let him alone.”

Quinn said Drummond wouldn’t necessarily need to take unofficial visits, either.

“I don’t think he needs to do unofficials,” he said.  “It’s just like, ‘Andre, which are your top three choices?’ I don’t think he needs to pick five. I never have. It’s like life, you just need one good woman, you just need one good school.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari sat courtside for the St. Pat’s game, which also included Kentucky-bound McDonald’s All-American Michael Gilchrist and talented St. Patrick underclassmen Dakari Johnson and Austin Colbert.

Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, Rutgers coach Mike Rice, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard and TCU coach Jim Christian were also on hand.

Quinn said Drummond planned to remain at St. Thomas More over the summer to do individual drills and would go back and forth to his home.

“It’s a situation where his mom prefers that he stays up on campus,” Quinn said. “The school has just adopted him, and loves him. He’s part of the community, not just me, but about 10 different staff members. He’s just so comfortable in that community.”

As for talk that Drummond might reclassify, Quinn said no way.

“Oh, he’s definitely coming back next year,” he said. “My word is gospel. He will be returning next year.”

TOKOTO CUTS LIST

J.P. Tokoto, a 6-5 small forward from Wisconsin, confirmed a report by Scout.com that he has cut his list to Maryland, UConn, UNC, Kansas, Wisconsin, Marquette, Kentucky and UCLA.

He said he’s “going to UNC and Maryland within the next few weeks” and would visit UCLA “in March.”

Tokoto is the No. 10 small forward in the Class of 2012.

RELATED CONTENT

**St. Patrick downs St.  Thomas More

**Drummond headlines PrimeTime Shootout

**Seven schools in hunt for Andre Drummond

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook.

UNION, N.J. — Andre Drummond

The 6-foot-10 Drummond is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2012 and the Chancellors are battle-tested from playing a rigorous prep school schedule.

But Michael Gilchrist and his teammates rose to the challenge — once again.

With Kentucky coach John Calipari sitting courtside, the Kentucky-bound Gilchrist scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead St. Patrick, the No. 1 team in the nation, to 73-61 victory over St. Thomas More before a packed house in the PrimeTime Shootout at Kean’s Harwood Arena.

“I’m very excited,” said Gilchrist, one of four newly minted McDonald’s All-Americans headed to play for Calipari in the fall. “I’m very excited. There are just no words for this feeling.”

Western Kentucky commit Derrick Gordon added 19 points and freshman Dakari Johnson had 12 points and 9 rebounds for the Celtics, who improved to 21-0 on the season.

Drummond led St. Thomas More (21-6) with a team-best 17 points and 8 rebounds.

The Celtics appear to be on a collision course with arch-rival St. Anthony (20-0), which is ranked No. 2 nationally and will visit Linden (15-5) in a tough test Monday night. Linden is coming off a 57-53 victory over No. 4 Montrose Christian Friday night at Kean.

Kevin Boyle and Bob Hurley’s teams could square off in the unofficial national championship game March 10 in the New Jersey North Non-Public B title game.

“During the game, I’m not thinking about the national championship; I’m thinking about the game,” said Boyle, whose teams have won five New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles.

“But obviously, it’s something you want to achieve. We’ve won a number of Tournament of Champions, finished No. 1 in New Jersey six times, most of them within the last eight, nine years. So obviously that’s the next level we could reach, is being a national champion. So without question that’s a goal, that’s a big goal.”

St. Thomas More cut a 10-point third-quarter deficit to 53-49 on a basket by Damion Lee (14 points), but St. Pat’s outscored the Connecticut school 20-12 down the stretch.

“We all came and showed up a little too late today,” said Drummond, who is being courted most heavily by Louisville, Kentucky, West Virginia, Connecticut, Pitt, North Carolina and Georgetown. “We had a great team effort that we came out to play against a great team like this.

“I feel like my team, we had a good shot at this.”

While Drummond went 7 of 15 from the field against Johnson and 6-9 sophomore Austin Colbert, he struggled at the line, going 2 of 7.

“Working on his free-throw shooting could be a euphemism for what he needs to do,” St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn said. “He needs to restructure his free-throw shooting.  But the problem he has is everybody grabs him and says, ‘Try this, try this, try this.’

“I told Andre, ‘You need to make a decision who your guru is going to be. I’d love it to be me. But if it’s not me, you’ve got to stop listening to nine, 10, 11 different people trying to correct your shot.”

Down the stretch, St. Pat’s just had more players making plays.

Gilchrist attacked the basket for a driving layup to push the lead to 60-50.

“I was just playing my game today,” Gilchrist said. “It was a big game and it was the effort. We had a lot of effort.”

After the Chancellors cut the deficit to 60-54, Johnson, who is being courted by Kentucky and other elite programs, threw down a rim-ratting dunk to push it to 62-54.

St. Pat’s closed the game on a 5-0 run, getting a free throw and a follow layup from Gilchrist and two foul shots from Johnson.

“They’re really talented,” Quinn said of St. Pat’s.

Asked where St. Pat’s ranks among the top teams he’s faced, Quinn said, “We’ve seen some great prep school teams. Some of the old MCI (Maine Central Institute) teams, some of the St. Thomas More teams. It’s just such a different beast. Kevin does a nice job.”

The Chancellors have a tough week ahead. They host Brewster (N.H.) Academy, the No. 1 prep team in the nation, on Tuesday. A day later, they visit Winchendon (Mass.), where Jere’s son, Matt Quinn, coaches.  Then they face Worcester (Mass.) on Thursday.

“It’s gonna be a bear,” Jere cracked. “We have to play people daily, so you can see some of the mental fatigue with some of our kids.”

While Quinn is concerned about fatigue, Boyle is impressed with how his team has fought off distractions to win its first-ever City of Palms Classic, down Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.) in their gym, beat back a tough Linden squad and now handle Drummond and St. Thomas More.

“I think our guys are good at not letting things interfere with them,” Boyle said. “We have a book being written. We have a [reality] show that possibly is going to air on HBO in August. It’s amazing that the kids don’t seem distracted by it.

“Up to this point they haven’t been. I think we have good kids.”

RELATED CONTENT

**St. Patrick, St. Anthony 1-2 in USA Today poll

**Young St. Patrick talent drawing coaches

**Gilchrist dominates as St. Pat’s downs St. Ben’s

**St. Pat’s gears up for huge stretch

**St. Pat’s wins City of Palms on broken play

**ESPN high school schedule

**Elite high school hoops schedule

(Photo courtesy MassLive.com)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook.

This year Andre Drummond will headline a parade of uncommitted and committed stars when the three-day event comes to Kean University Friday-Sunday.

As we reported here last month, seven schools are in the hunt for the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Drummond of St. Thomas More (Conn.).

“Louisville, Kentucky, West Virginia, Connecticut, Pitt, North Carolina and Georgetown,” head coach Jere Quinn said. “No one else is even talking to him.”

Drummond will go head-to-head with Kentucky signee Michael Gilchrist and St. Patrick, the No. 1 team in the country, on Sunday at 4:30.

Among the other uncommitted players expected are Kyle Anderson of St. Anthony; Austin Colbert and Dakari Johnson of St.  Patrick; Isaiah Whitehead of Lincoln; and Lekan Ajayi of Quality Education (N.C.).

Several future Big East players are expected, including St. John’s signees Amir Garrett (Findlay Prep), Sir’Dominic Pointer (Quality Education) and Dwight Meikle (Quality Education); Villanova commit Tyrone Johnson (Montrose Christian); and Rutgers-bound Myles Mack (St. Anthony).

Ohio State commit LaQuinton Ross of Life Center Academy and Texas-bound Myck Kabongo of Findlay are also on the docket.

Here’s the full schedule:

Friday, February 11, 2011 at Kean University

5:00 pm
Pennington Prep (NJ) vs. St. Joseph’s (Metuchen, N.J.)

6:30 pm
Thomas Jefferson (NY) vs. Plainfield (NJ)

8:00 pm
Montrose Christian (MD) vs. Linden (NJ)

9:30 pm
Middle Twp (NJ) vs. Middletown North (NJ)

Saturday, February 12, 2011 at Kean University

12:00 PM
Half Hollow Hills (NY) vs. Neptune (NJ)

1:30 PM
Lakewood (NJ) vs. Rancocas Valley (NJ)

3:00 PM
St. Andrews (RI) vs. Trenton Catholic Academy (NJ)

4:30 PM
Life Center Academy (NJ) vs. Quality Education Academy (NC)

6:00 PM
Hotchkiss School (CONN) vs. St. Anthony (NJ)

7:30 pm
Findlay Prep (NV) vs. Montrose Christian (MD)

9:00 pm
St. Thomas More (CONN) vs. Union (NJ)

Sunday, February 13, 2011 at Kean University

12:00 pm
Montgomery (NJ) vs. Point Pleasant Beach (NJ)

1:30 pm
St. Raymond’s (NY) vs. Lincoln (Brooklyn, NY)

3:00 pm
Findlay Prep (NV) vs. Newark Eastside (NJ)

4:30 pm
St. Patrick (NJ) vs. St. Thomas More (CONN)

6:00 pm
Our Savior New American (NY) vs. St. Peter’s (NJ)

7:30 pm
Roselle Catholic (NJ) vs. Shabazz (NJ)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook

NEW YORK – Andre Drummond is a professional disguised in a St. Thomas More jersey.

The 6-foot-10, 260-pound behemoth runs the floor like a long-legged gazelle and possesses awareness and scoring ability that seems unrivaled at this level.

The No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2012, Drummond dropped 17 points and tore down 11 rebounds en route to St. Thomas More’s 73-59 win over Quality Education (N.C.) Monday in the Big Apple Basketball Invitational at Baruch College.

St. Thomas more coach Jere Quinn said about half a dozen schools are legitimately in the hunt for Drummond.

“Louisville, Kentucky, West Virginia, Connecticut, Pitt, North Carolina and Georgetown,” Quinn said. “No one else is even talking to him.

“I don’t think anybody else is coming in.”

“Everybody is moving at the same pace right now,” added Drummond, who has added bulk to his once-spindly frame.

“I don’t have a list. Honestly, my Mom knows all that stuff. I’m not really focused on that. I’m staying focused on working hard and I’m just trying to enjoy being a kid.”

A native of Middletown, Conn., Drummond says he does not have any visits slated.

The 17-year-old has been working diligently on developing a dependable deep jumper that he can extend beyond the arc.

He’s added a 20-footer, a feathery hook, and various back-to-the-basket moves to his arsenal.

Quinn said he will sit down in the spring with Drummond and his mother and go from there.

“He’s not doing anything until the spring and we’re going to sit down and make  a decision,” Quinn said.

FREE THROWS

St. John’s signee Sir’Dominic Pointer put up 35 points on 13-for-23 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and 4 assists for Quality Education and DePaul commit Charles McKinney added 13 points and 4 steals. St. John’s-bound Dwight Meikle went scoreless for Quality Education. 6-11 Quality Education big man Lekan Ajayi had 5 points and 3 boards. St. Thomas More features a player named Indiana Faithfull…Lincoln routed Hills West of Long Island, 74-38, behind Shaquille Stokes’s 17 points and Isaiah Whitehead’s 12 points and 8 rebounds, including an electrifying first-half dunk. 7-footer Jordan Dickerson had 6 points and 4 rebounds. He is likely to prep next year…Iowa State-bound guard Tavon Sledge of LuHi had 13 points…Lincoln has three players named Shaquille…Long Island Lutheran downed Rice, 72-63, behind Villanova-bound Achraf Yacoubou’s 27 points and 14 boards. Cincy-bound Jermaine Sanders posted 20 and 6 for Rice….

RELATED CONTENT

**Uncommitted studs at Big Apple Invitational

**Tough day for Johnnies commits at Big Apple

**Future Big East stars invade Big Apple

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook.