Sept. 28, 2007
The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears weekly beginning in September through February with monthly updates in the off-season. This week we spend time with sophomore center Casiem Drummond.
It was a warm fall afternoon in 2006 when Villanova's incoming crop of five freshmen gathered near the Oreo in the center of campus for a photograph. Through a series of poses the group, which included Casiem Drummond, Antonio Pena, Andrew Ott, Reggie Redding and Scottie Reynolds, traded wisecracks with one another over the course of the 30 minutes it took a photographer to snap his images.
Once it came time to snap the actual photos, though, one of the five became resolute in his gaze. Despite prodding from school officials, the photographer and his friends, Drummond held his gaze each time the camera clicked.
Finally, Drummond flashed a nice smile near the end of the session. Only later did Reynolds, posed on the edge of the Oreo behind Drummond during the shoot, reveal that he had assisted the effort by poking his 6-10 pal just before the photographer snapped an image.
It is now almost one year to the day as some of the same Wildcats gather for a tour of the new Intercollegiate Athletic Recreation Facility. A collection of five Villanova players, including Pena, Redding, Drummond, Ott and junior Dwayne Anderson are walking through the new building with two camera operators, compiling footage for the upcoming season of "Inside Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright." The group spends most of its time exchanging banter with one another.
Drummond is front and center, laughing and joking with his friends all while the cameras are rolling. It's a side his classmates saw often but wasn't always visible to those outside the inner circle.
"We are all different people and everyone adapts at their own pace," notes Reynolds. "Tone (Pena) and Reg are really outgoing guys so they settled in pretty quickly. Cas' was a little quieter in the beginning out in public. But I think he learned a lot from last year's seniors about what a Villanova basketball player is. "Now people are seeing what we saw as soon as we got here: he's a great guy to be around."
With such visible physical gifts, it is often easy to overlook that there are two critical transitions made each fall by incoming freshmen athletes. The most obvious of those takes place on the court or playing field where the world at large can assess the individual's progress. Yet the newcomers entering the college environment face the same challenges every new arrival does in daily campus life: a hectic schedule with a new level of academic realities, a fresh measure of self-reliance, and distance from family and hometown.
For Drummond, one of the appeals of Villanova was its atmosphere. It reminded him of what he knew playing for coach Nick Marinello at Bloomfield Tech in New Jersey and was one reason he was attracted to the basketball program and the university.
"It was even a little more than I thought it would be," states Drummond. "It's really like a family. Anything that happens here goes the same way as it would in your family. People are there for you. It's great - I love it here."
Unlike many of his classmates - and even some teammates - Drummond was not afforded the luxury of quietly easing into his new life. At 6-9, he is a physical presence and his quest to re-shape his frame after his arrival was a clear part of his development as a Wildcat player.
From the day he first stepped foot on the campus in the summer of 2006, Drummond has toiled to add muscle and reconfigure his 280 pounds. He made strides in that area as a rookie and then took it to another level once the 2006-07 campaign ended. With the help of former strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson and new strength coach Lon Record, as well as a dietician, Drummond now has a much different look than he did when he was in high school.
"I kind of noticed what I had to do to get in better shape, so I got in better shape," he says. "I started lifting more and running. I tried to eat the right foods - more salads, grilled chicken and stopped eating fried foods. No more soda either."
When Drummond took the floor in August to practice with his teammates prior to the journey to Ottawa, the effect was dramatic. His movements were more fluid and his impact on the squad more noticeable. During the four games against Canadian colleges, Drummond averaged 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 17.3 minutes per outing.
"It was good for us to get to play with each other before the season so we could really see our flaws and see what we need to work on," he says of the benefits of that experience.
There were several moments in those four games when Drummond's skills were apparent. He has soft hands for an interior player and his court vision is excellent. On a number of occasions he executed a pass out from the post that set up one of the `Cats perimeter shooters for an open look at a 3-pointer.
"We have nobody else like him," notes Reynolds. "He sees the floor really well and that really helps our guards. It's great when you have a big guy like that who can make great passes. Cas' can make a great impact on our team."
With the departure of Will Sheridan from the interior rotation and a wealth of perimeter performers, there is opportunity for Drummond to take a step forward in 2007-08. Yet he prefers not to make this about himself.
"I'm just here to play with my team, really," he states. "Whatever they need me to do, I am going to do. Rebound, run the floor, defend. I just want to be there for my teammates."
While there has been clear progress in the maturation of Drummond the basketball player, it is, he acknowledges, about the broader picture.
"Everything comes down to being a man, on and off the court," he says. "Coach (Jay) Wright is not trying to argue with you if you did something wrong. He's trying to help you so that you know what you did wrong.
"Last year, I was a little nervous out there. Being a freshman, everyone is older than you and you aren't always sure what you need to do to stay out on the court. Now that I'm a sophomore, I know the things to do and the things not to do."
