Madness is not taking Spurs' path
Buck Harvey
The teenager's mistake wasn't that he bypassed college. Or that he won't know the thrill of today's selection show.
Brandon Jennings' mistake wasn't that he went to Europe to play basketball.
It was going there thinking he was better than Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Now, in the madness of America's March, Jennings is forgotten. Vitale and American TV will hype every young hoops star but him.
When Jennings does get mentioned anymore, it's with sarcasm. This month at Arizona, where he was supposed to play, a fan held up a sign.
“Thanks, Brandon Jennings, For a Great Season.”
Jennings opted to be closer to Tuscany than Tucson, and for a reason that is not uncommon in college athletics. He didn't like school. He didn't get the test scores to attend Arizona, and there were no signs he would change.
Even on his bad days in Italy, he saw the good. “I could be in class,” he reasoned.
Jennings just wanted to play the game. He was the top point-guard prospect in his high school class, but his true status is uncertain. Some in the media have said he would have been a lottery pick last summer if not for David Stern's age requirement, but some scouts don't think Jennings would have been even a first-round choice. Some wonder if he's that even now.
Still, that didn't stop his legend from growing last summer. Jennings would play for Lottomatica Virtus Roma, and he would change the way the sport operates. He would become a pioneer, the first teenager to jump to Europe, and he would overcome the collusion between the NBA and college basketball.
At least that's what Sonny Vaccaro, the longtime sneaker pitchman, said. Vaccaro sold Jennings and his story, and he brokered an endorsement deal. Including his salary, Jennings will get more than $1 million this season.
Others heard the news that a kid was earning college-coaching money, and there were reports of parents calling Vaccaro last summer to see what was possible for their sons. That's why some predicted a migration.
“In essence, the age limit has been broken,” Vaccaro said then. “If Brandon can come back in one piece, the others are going to go. For the right kids, we won't have to play ‘pretend' anymore with college basketball.”
Jennings has stayed in one piece, albeit often while on the bench. Even when he has gotten some playing time, such as in his last game against a Serbian team, his stats have been ordinary. With five points and six assists in 32 minutes last week, he wasn't exactly a lottery lock.
But maybe that should be expected. He's a 19-year-old playing among men. Furthermore, he landed in a high-pressure atmosphere, with an Italian team that competes across the continent in the Euroleague.
Coaches at that level are looking to survive, and Rome already has been through one coach this season. This isn't a setting that develops junior players.
But that's the way Jennings and his camp saw his move to Europe. He wasn't going there to learn. He was going there to avoid the NBA rule, to make some money, to live up to his endorsement image. He needed to be with the best, right?
Parker had no such vision of himself in Europe; he became a pro at 15. Ginobili learned the game similarly, also without a care about Selection Sunday. He took gradual steps in Italy, working up from level to level.
Parker and Ginobili never knew what it was like to be sent to Boise, Idaho, for an 11 a.m. tip. But they had a few things on their side that American college players don't have. For one, there were no NCAA rules to limit their practice time in Europe.
So they learned, and they got better. No one called them pioneers while they were in Europe; they would hear that when they came to San Antonio.
Jennings is the opposite, both in direction and in approach. He will treat this season as if it's one-and-done, and he will enter the NBA draft.
He also won't recommend Europe to other Americans. “I don't see too many kids doing it,” he wrote in an e-mail to the New York Times. “It's tough, man, I'll tell you that.”
It is tough. The way he did it.
Well, I certainly don't blame Jennings. These universities make massive amounts of money off of them, and alot of kids don't even graduate. If Jennings isn't competent enough to be successful at a higher learing ins ution, then why bother, and end up failing out. He may even get injured in the process.
Sure alot of schools have programs that make it ALOT easier on athletes, like Duke's Sociology department for MBB. But that isn't what school is about.
who is jennings?
He isn't the first guy to skip college because his scores were too low. What else was the guy supposed to do? Go to junior college maybe? Instead he played professionally, made some money, and got some experience. The article is not sincere because playing at Arizona was not an option.
Stupid article. Was this necessary?
I love hearing people talk up our Spurs whenever the opportunity arises, but this is a stretch, to say the least.
I want my two minutes back.
replace spurs with jennings. lame read.
WTF was that? that article was ass...
jenning's response to harvey:
Good article. Bad le.
Well, it doesn't seem to have hurt his chances. He's slated to go at #5 overall to OKC on NBAdraft.net. That being said, his game was ass in Euroleague.
OKC REALLY needs ANOTHER point guard?
They have a fantastic point guard in Westbrook, a good shooting and SF combo in Green and Durant. All they need IMO is another big man.
It's a pretty early mock, and at this point, I think they rank more by player than team need. OKC could always trade down to get whatever they want with a team that wants him. He doesn't really seem like their kind of guy, either.OKC REALLY needs ANOTHER point guard?
They have a fantastic point guard in Westbrook, a good shooting and SF combo in Green and Durant. All they need IMO is another big man.
Another solid article Buck. I especially loved this quote which I agree with completely
" He would become a pioneer, the first teenager to jump to Europe, and he would overcome the collusion between the NBA and college basketball." If you thought this article was mainly about the spurs and thought it was uninteresting you missed the point completely.
what ing dumb article. jennings is getting paid, living in europe, getting good experience, AND will still be a lottery pick come june.
basically, harvey is a dumb mother er.
I like Buck and i think he's a great writer...but this whole article was pointless.
What the is his agenda?
Harvey just wasted my time. Usually enjoy his articles-this one sucked.
Maybe he drank too much the night before and it was all he could come up with-pathetic.
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