Andre Drummond may not return to St. Thomas More next season and his plans are up in the air, according to STM head coach Jere Quinn.
“I’m really not sure [what he will do],” Quinn told SNY.tv by phone Friday, echoing comments he made to the Norwich Bulletin. “We had a meeting with the family and his mom and his AAU guy in June and they said were considering keeping his options open.
“I asked them to get a little more specific by what they meant about that. By the end it was not clear what they wanted and what direction they were thinking of going.”
The No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2012 and a likely future NBA player, Drummond was the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year last season. The 6-foot-10 Drummond averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds a game while leading St. Thomas More to a 30-7 record and a National Prep School Tournament championship.
He had initially planned to return to the Connecticut prep school for a postgraduate year in 2011-12. Now it appears his options include returning to STM, attending another prep school, going to college, working out on his own for a year or potentially going to Europe.
He would be eligible for the 2012 NBA Draft.
“I don’t think going to the military or going to Europe are wise options,” Quinn said. “He’s done so well academically [here] and he’s so entrenched in the school community, I don’t think it’s wise to leave another for prep school.”
Quinn said Drummond told him in March and April that “he was coming back” to STM. Drummond was then supposed to work Quinn’s camp over the summer, but that never happened as Drummond played several AAU events this month.
“He was supposed to work camp and he didn’t work camp,” Quinn said. “We had a meeting that Tuesday of camp.”
Quinn said one option discussed was college for the 2011-12 season.
“College is an option that’s wonderful because I believe you’re eligible,” Quinn said he told Drummond.
UConn has long been considered the favorite for the Middletown, Conn., native, but he has also mentioned Duke, Georgetown, Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.
Quinn said he expected to hear from Christine Drummond, Andre’s mother, sometime next week.
“She said she’s going to get ahold of me sometime next week and let me know what she’s thinking,” Quinn said.
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