He didn't play much in Europe, though. The only thing he learned was how to sit on the bench and not get too frustrated. That is why he went where he did, why some thought the pick was a risk, why nobody talked about the Bucks getting a steal (most "experts" gave them around a B for their draft), etc..
Didn't Derrick Rose get into trouble for "allegedly" being so stupid he had to cheat his scores in memphis? Sats are all about memorization more than anything else. If you didn't spend all that time studying stuff like Algebra and history, you're gonna fail your sats but it doesn't mean you're stupid, you just didn't study. Considering Jennings looks like a vet handling the ball these days I highly doubt you can attribute it all to athleticism. IMHO Jennings would have gone higher had he spent time in college...assuming of course he could get in one. However would he be this good? Probably not. You'd probably be looking at the 2nd coming of AI: all flash and no substance, 20 pts on 21 jumpers, high turnovers and terrible defense. Jennings looks like he's already cocky, if he spent his freshy year in some college where everyone will be all over him and he could iso all he wanted, he'd probably end up thinking he doesn't have to work on his game anymore. Memphis or Sac would pick him 2nd or 4rth, and then most of the smart posters here would be laughing at how he won ROY despite bringing the team down. I can see it now: "Practice? We talkin' 'bout practice?!?! I'm the ROY beyatch!"
Agree with this - the skills he is flashing here are pretty raw-drive to the hoop type skills that seem to be a function of his athleticism. It's not "fundamental" white guys skills that europeans allegedly have a monopoly on. The ones who should be kicking themselves now should be Lottomatica Roma, seems like they wasted a year's worth of salary on a back-up defensive specialist, who could have instead been their leading scorer. Well, I watched last night and Iverson is exactly who I thought of. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Iverson is a Hall of Fame player and an MVP, and deservedly so. (Pretty hard to lead the NBA in scoring at 6 feet 160 lbs, drag a mediocre collection of talents to the NBA Finals and be "all flash and no substance") Jefferson relies on his athleticism and shoots a lot - which is not bad, because that's the role he is asked to play alongside Ridenour.
It's not all about PT on the court, that's what these AAU guys don't understand. 90% of the stuff you do in the game is based on what you during practice. The maturity is a part of it, but IMHO just as important were the practices and the exposure he had to euro systems. His coach was using him as a defensive specialist, he probably had tons of training on the defensive end. He was considered a risk because there was so little footage of him playing, and he didn't have a shot. The shot imho was the biggest factor in his improvement, nobody saw it coming and I doubt you can predict something like that.
The only reason why it's harder to be done with you is because you have so many posts on the same subjects to the point where it exceeds the 300 post limit on the search function. Trust me, this is true.
Part of my evil plan....... Either way, I know what you are saying, and how it is being twisted, happens to me all the time.... People read what you type, extrapolate their own interpetation of the meaning then come in attempting to hammer about it later. Comical. And, for the record, I think he would have been in the same place, I doubt he was hurt by going over there at all. DD
No one plays that many minutes in Europe, that's just how it is done. V-SPan was the Euroleague FInal Four MVP this past season and he only played 25 mpg. He learned from playing at a much higher level than he would have at college. And like others have said, he wasn't babied.
I disagree. One successful college season is all it took to turn Derrick Rose from top high school recruit to #1 overall pick, I don't see why it would have been much different for Jennings.
DRose might have been the top pick if he played overseas too.....you can't look at his career and say that Jennings would have done the same. Heck, Jennings had issues with the SAT, and IIRC, was not even eligible to play at the time he made his decision. Not an apples to apples comparison....and honestly, they are both what? 19? Plenty of time to make a name for themselves..... No harm done at all. DD
Maybe if Jennings were picked first - you'd have some precedent for that statement. But we don't. We do know that starring in college after a decorated high school career is a surefire way to the number 1 pick - it's happened many times over. Being a role player in europe? Doesn't appear to be the case so far.
So, you are saying Jennings would have been the number 1 pick if he played in college? Even though he was not eligible to play in college, how does that work exactly Sam? DD
I'm presuming he took the SAT again and got a 500 or whatever he needed, I thought that was a pretty apparent assumption for basis of the discussion, which is very obviously hypothetical in nature.
I see, too many variables to consider, which college team? Did they play a style that fits him? I think the discussion is difficult because there are just too many uknown factors, makes it nebulous at best. DD
The poll is conflating two ideas: (1) would Jennings be better or worse than he is now if he went to college, and (2) would Jennings be picked higher or lower than he was if he went to college. Whether he'd be better or worse, I have no idea. But, I have to think he would have been picked higher had he played in college. The idea for the league to increase the minimum age was to avoid the uncertainty around picking high schoolers. What does the Jennings experiment say about the rule? On the one hand, it seems like the scouting undervalued Jennings, possibly because being a rookie on a Euro team isn't transparent. On the other hand, he was still a lotto-pick, so I suppose they knew enough to get him in the right ballpark (of course, he'd probably have been a lotto pick straight out of high school too).
