DRUMMOND TO TRANSFER

Casiem Drummond, a junior and Villanova's only true center, has decided to pursue transfer opportunities, according to a press release from campus today.

Drummond had been suspended for at least one game this season for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Though Drummond had a history of injury, his development under the basket looked like it had been progressing nicely.

Drummond's departure leaves Villanova with an even thinner rotation, and may affect the planned redshirt of freshman forward Maurice Sutton.

Losing Drummond is a major blow to Villanova's frontcourt, which now consists solely of Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena. The Wildcats literally have no one off the bench to bring into the paint outside of Frank Tchuisi, who's been hopeless his entire career, and Shane Clark, who is more suited to wing play.

Villanova fans excited about the Wildcats' top-20 ranking may have to adjust expectations drastically for this season considering the complete and total lack of frontcourt depth a full month before Big East play.

"Casiem is interested in finding a place where he can earn significantly more playing time than he has received here," said Jay Wright. "Our staff is doing all it can to help him locate that opportunity. Cas' has made strides in his time with us and we appreciate all his efforts on behalf of our basketball family."

One has to take Wright's statement with a grain of salt, because it is unlikely that Drummond could not have earned significant playing time on the Main Line under ideal conditions. Indeed, Drummond started much of last season at center and the natural place for him this year would have been starting at the 5, moving Cunningham to his preferred spot at the 4.

Rumors have been swirling all over Villanova's campus that Drummond was asked to leave the team by Wright, and not the other way around, as claimed in the official story.

Casiem Drummond adds his name to a growing list of recent Villanova transfers, which includes guards Malcolm Grant and Bilal Benn, and forwards Andrew Ott and (pseudo-transfer) Kraidon Woods.

One has to wonder if something is wrong in the state of Villanova basketball, with four transfers and one broken committment in just over two years. Jay Wright likes to talk about how Villanova basketball is a family first and foremost, but it sure is a family that loses a lot of members.

It's possible that leaving was truly the best option for all five of these players, but losing nearly half of your scholarship players to transfer in a three-year period is not the sign of a stable program.

Villanova's recent success in the NCAA tournament and the top-25 rankings may obscure some of this ugliness, but it is there, under the surface, that Jay Wright loses a significant percentage of the student-athletes he pledged were to become lifelong members of his Villanova basketball family.

Drummond's transfer drops the current regular rotation for Villanova down to seven: Reynolds, Fisher, Pena, Cunningham, Stokes, Clark, and Redding. Dwayne Anderson will be eight when he returns from injury.

Villanova cannot afford to lose any more depth, especially with the brutal Big East schedule looming.