Prospect Spotlight: Drue Drinnon (2018)
For a heady and facilitating guard of Drue Drinnon’s style, University School in Fort Lauderdale was a glove fit. A year after serving as the primary table setter for Collin Sexton at Pebblebrook (Ga.), Drinnon has monstrous 6-foot-10 forward Vernon Carey and an explosive, versatile forward in Scottie Barnes to work with.
Both are high-efficiency scorers and nationally ranked high-major targets.
Here’s the kicker. University School in Fort Lauderdale is actually a legit, academically enriched program. An authentic, physical school with a regular 9-3 schedule and not a “basketball factory” which was created at the 11th hour, like many of today’s prep and post-graduate basketball academies.
It’s a sad time for American prep school basketball as a number of these post graduate academies are marred by instability, online classes which are not NCAA approved, and a variety of other issues.
It’s a simple (and business-minded) concept that more and more owners of basketball-centric companies are buying into: Start a program, house the kids near the gym, feed them on a meager and shoestring budget, enroll them in online classes, charge post graduate players in the vicinity of 20-40K, and scholarship 10-12 high kids for a nationally elite team that plays in a number of high profile events.
More and more of these “schools” are being created without the student-athletes’ best interest at heart. More and more are doing a disservice to the kids. More and more are applying subversive, manipulative recruiting tactics.
Picture the complete opposite and you get a place like University School.
At University School, Drinnon has found a stable home with a star spangled lineup. As an advanced level passer who can hit scorers in stride, deliver deceptive dishes, and knock down shots with consistency, the New Mexico-signee is tailor cut for the system implemented at University School.
He’s a pure point guard and a traditional creator, who takes more pride in finding his teammates at the right spot. Knowing their timing and tendencies has helped Drinnon thrive.
Especially adept at lob passes and creating for guys who can really get up there, Drinnon is exemplary for a team that employs a break neck attack and can score 90+ points.