I'm going to make this short and sweet, and then let the arguments begin: I think Kyle O'Quinn would be a better center for the Portland Trail Blazers than Andre Drummond.
Andre Drummond:
18 yrs, 6'10", 270 lbs - 28.4 min, 10 pts, 7.6 reb, 2.7 blk, 0.8 stl, 0.4 ast
Gold Metal, 2010 FIBA under-17 World Championship
Kyle O'Quinn:
22 yrs, 6'10", 240 lbs - 31.3 min, 15.9 pts, 10.3 reb, 2.6 blk, 0.7 stl, 1.4 ast
Player of the Year, MEAC (2012)
Defensive Player of the Year, MEAC (2012)
MVP, Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (2012)
While O'Quinn seems superior here, we must account for the competition. Drummond was consistently playing against better teams than O'Quinn this season, and as such, we cannot take the stats alone. Thankfully, we have a very small sample size of a team both played against this season. Both teams played, and lost against, Marquette. Norfolk played them twice - once in their opener - and the Huskies once. Here are the numbers:
Drummond:
(2/18) - 24 min, 7 pts, 4 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 0 ast
O'Quinn:
(11/14) - 20 min, 4pts, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 ast
(11/21) - 29 min, 10 pts, 13 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 ast
Both played a pretty terrible game, but O'Quinn was able to come back and put up some significant numbers a week later.
O'Quinn continued the season as the clear leader of the Norfolk State Spartans. He led Norfolk to its first Tournament in history this year, then won against #2-seeded Missouri. He put up 26 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and 2 assists in that game. While he put up some dour numbers in the season-ending loss to #7 Florida, Drummond's in the Huskies' final loss to #8 Iowa State were worse.
Again, the sample is small. But i think it is convincing.
Argue!
Poll
Who would you draft?
Andre Drummond (136 votes)
Kyle O'Quinn (22 votes)
Neither (24 votes)
182 total votes


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