Casiem Drummond announced his plans to transfer out of Villanova today. He wants to go to a school where he can receive "significantly more playing time". This comes as a total surprise to me. I know he hasn't played much at Villanova, but I thought that was mainly because of injury. He had a stress fracture in his foot most of last season. Perhaps he believes he is healthier than the coaching staff thinks he is, and he felt they were holding him back? Could this decision possibly be related to the one game suspension from the Monmouth game? This seems unlikely considering it was a "minor issue". Maybe he figures that he doesn't fit well into Jay Wright's system, which relies more on quick, athletic forwards.
Casiem could also be thinking about next season, when Nova has two highly rated forwards in Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood joining the team. There are a lot of questions surrounding this decision, but we'll have to wait and see if Casiem or the coaching staff provide any more information on the situation in the future. Drummond seemed to have loads of potential, but never fully realized it during his time at Villanova. Early last season he looked great with a few near double-doubles including a monster 9 point, 17 rebound game vs. NC State. However, after the injury last season and so far this season he's been nothing more than a big body down low to give up fouls. Drummond's transfer hurts Villanova's depth, but it shouldn't have a major impact on the team's success. Dante Cunningham has been a beast and Antonio Pena is developing nicely. Nova learned how to play and win without the big man last season, and they have been doing it so far this season as well.
Another thing to consider is the impact this will have on the coaching staff's plan to redshirt Maurice Sutton. With Cunningham, Pena, and little-used Frank Tchuisi the only true power forward/centers left on the team, they might be forced to play the 6'11 Sutton this year. If Drummond desires significantly more playing time, I don't see him joining an elite team. Most likely a mid-major or a major conference team with a depleted front line. It's disappointing to see him go because I really thought he could have developed into a rebound-machine and a force on the offensive and defensive post. Nevertheless, I wish him good luck wherever he winds up.
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