Well put. It's good to see people not dismissing a kid we know nothing about because he chose to go a different route then the traditional one. I'd be interested to see the decsion of all these naysayers were in his postion when they were 19 years old.
Maybe this is a stupid question, but what makes him sure he's going to be able to sign with a team in Europe. James Davis signed with Minnesota out of high school, and was at times predicted to be a 1st round worthy pick. Minnesota withdrew their offer after he was arrested for illegal firearm possession. He played at two different junior colleges, and then 1 year at Lamar. He wasn't great, but as a 7'1" 300-pound center with a nice shooting touch, he was still rated highly for the draft. He backed out of his senior year at the last moment, hired an agent and tried to sign onto a European team. There was no interest, and he ended up playing in Japan last year. Japan isn't exactly a basketball hotbed, and I think his paychecks reflect that. I know Brandon Jennings is a better prospect than James Davis, but by how much? And short point guards are even more out of place in Europe that huge centers.
Yah DD I like this idyllic dream you have of Brandon Jennings backpacking around the Alps and staying in youth hostels .... but it is laughably dumb - like 530 SAT dumb. More likely his little free time will be shut up in his room playing playstation and eating mcdonalds. It will be just like college - but with no friends. I don't know why we're talking about this anyway - who gives a sh-t whether or not Brandon Jennings is lonely. I don't.
All the reports indicate that a number of teams are interested in his and his handlers are looking for the right fit.
LOL seriously? The LOWEST score you can get is a 400. My sister is in 7th grade and could get way higher than a 530. Hell, I was I got a 1200 when I was in 7th grade and a 1490 when I was in 8th. Obviously we wouldnt have gone to UofA for the academics, but at least admit he's probably not the sharpest crayon in the box.
I guess I look at it different. I'm not bragging on myself either. Went to SWT on hoop scholarship and finished with a degree in bio and chemistry. Had offers to play overseas, but wasn't ready to leave my 3yr old. Started teaching because I enjoyed coaching. Started working for Halliburton. Great money, didn't realy like it that much. Made a leap of faith and started driving rigs. Really enjoyed the freedom and the income. Saved up, bought a 18 wheeler a yr for 4 yrs. At the age of 33, I'm basically retired and make great money. Now 37, I can do other things I love to do like scouting hoops, traveling with the family, and talking to suckers on bbs . What am I'm trying to say? College didn't help me to get to where I am now. If these guys want to become professional basketball players, stop lyiing by calling them student-atheletes. Just let them train in their profession by going to the D-league or some other option like overseas and let the true student atheletes get those scholarships. Those 1yr guys don't even go to class. I bet the professors can't even tell u how many times those guys have been to class.
Yeah I knew a guy who played 4 years at UK. He was 7'1" and he said that the school treated him like royalty. He had a car, an apt. He was set up so he never had to pay for food at any restaurant in the city. He even got a little bogus job where he sat in an office to answer the phones..only the phones never rang and he got paid for that. Supposedly the NCAA is supposed to crack down on stuff like this but I think it still goes on to this day.
Can I ask how old you are? (Just humor me) Edit: no a better question is how old he is (I am asking because I knew someone who did that same phone thing - he played football)
Here's another good article from ESPN on this whole debacle: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080710
I think it depends on which club he ends up on. Brandon Jennings isn't some second or third rounder waiting to play for a scrub team. He and his agent will try to get him the Max on a major team. If they manage to do that then great but if not, then he gets shipped to a second or third tier team. It would be in the best interests of FIBA to make sure this kid is taken care of for future considerations. If they just throw him to the wolves and he falls on his face it won't do much good for them.
Big European clubs are extremely thorough in player scouting and evaluation. They don't give contracts to American players unless they believe they at least have a chance to help them. That's because their is a limit in domestic leagues on how many Americans and how many foreigners you can have on your team. Imagine if the NBA set limits where the Rockets could not get Scola because they already had Yao, etc. They have to be a lot more precise in their scouting of players outside their own countries in Europe than NBA clubs do.
Again we are talking different issues here though. You can't compare really small clubs from really crappy leagues like this. An Italy A team that gives an 18 year old from America that kind of contract won't be anything as crappy as the guy describes. If you are not good enough to get a contract in a decent club that's what happens to you. Chris Owens is just a nobody in European basketball. Barely even a blip at all. I don't think Jennings is in the same boat. However the heated gyms thing is an issue for sure. I remember this past year in the Euroleague Panathinaikos which is the biggest sporting club in the world was really struggling and home games and the players were all getting the flu. It's because Panathinaikos has no heat in their arena. Even though it's in Athens they are still playing in very cold weather and shorts and sweating. That arena they play in so huge, I mean dwarfs an NBA arena and absolutely no heat. Now imagine playing in somewhere in eastern Europe. It could be bad. But Jennings would be in Italy where it is warm like Greece and playing in much smaller arenas than the one Panathinaikos plays in. Those small arenas in Italy stay warm when you get 6,000-7,000 people packed them which is pretty typical for that league.
He wis 45 now I think. He barely made it off the bench and played only in scrub time. He was too slow but he was big.
Nine Gates, here is an article on getting paid in Europe, by former Villanova/LA Laker JOhn Celestand in 2005: Does anybody here think from Jennings' apparent attitude and conduct thus far that he's going to react well in this environment? I sure don't.
Okay so he was pre-me. I hung out with a several football players when I was at UK (the Tim Couch era) They weren't treated as much of royalty as the basketball team but they were still set up pretty nicely. They have their rules but they are cushy rules. At least they were when I was around them. Thanks for sharing.
Do you really think that most Europeans out there even know who an 18 year old kid named Brandon Jennings who happens to be the best recruit in the US is? Its not like he's royalty or a once in a generation phenom or something. Even if he is, I bet that no one over there including the coaches really give a donkeys rear end who he is.
