Article from AOL Will Recruit Open European Floodgates? By Jim Halley, USA TODAY, USA Today Posted: 2008-06-24 18:21:51 Filed Under: College Basketball Arizona signee Brandon Jennings might skip college to become the first top-level U.S. player to jump from high school to play professional basketball in Europe. Jennings, an All-USA Today point guard last season at Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), has signed a letter-of-intent to play at Arizona. He might look to play professionally in Europe because of issues about his academic eligibility as well as his disagreement with the NBA rule that makes a high school player wait at least a year after graduation before turning pro. "He's looking at all his options," Jeffrey Valle, Jennings' attorney, said Monday. "One of the options he's considering is to play internationally. Obviously, if he has an eligibility issue, the options are narrower." Brandon Jennings could be the first major recruit to opt for Europe over the NCAA. Jennings had a B average as a senior at Oak Hill and has taken the SAT three times. He told ESPN his scores the first time were too low for him to be eligible to play at Arizona. The second time his scores were high enough to qualify to play but he told ESPN he was red-flagged because of the jump in the scores, forcing him to take the test again. He is expected to find out Thursday the results of his third try. When Jennings played in the Jordan Brand Classic in New York City, he was one of several top recruits who disagreed with the NBA's draft policy, adopted before the 2006 draft, that has become known as "one and done." Jennings also said at that time that athletes should be paid to play in college. "He just wants to play basketball and he wants the right place to do it," Valle said. "He would like to be compensated." Jonathan Givony of the website Draft Express told the Tucson Citizen that the European market would be limited for a point guard such as Jennings, probably netting Jennings less than $100,000 in salary. The website also projects Jennings as the No. 5 pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Arizona's Lute Olson told the Citizen he wouldn't appeal Jennings' eligibility to the NCAA if the recruit can't raise his test scores. "It's not a matter of fighting for him (to get in), it's a matter of him qualifying or not," Olson said. "It's the same for everybody in terms of qualifying. We don't worry about things we can't control." One question about Jennings is whether he's physically ready for the pounding of pro basketball. The 6-foot-2 guard is quick but, at only 170 pounds, could get pushed around in pro leagues by more experienced players. "I think Brandon is talented enough to play in any professional level," said recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com. "Saying that, he's still going to come with deficiencies and being strong enough is probably the biggest of those. "If Brandon went to Europe, he would almost be a novelty act. He would be far superior In quickness. His deficiencies as a player would be much more exposed in the NBA because the NBA has the top players and the defense is so much more physical." Jennings, 19, set season (1,312 points) and single-game (63) records leading Oak Hill to a 34-4 record. He averaged 35.4 points, 10 steals and 8.2 assists last season. http://sports.aol.com/ncaabb/story/_a/will-recruit-open-european-floodgates/20080624140509990002 and so it begins...
About time it finally happened. Hopefully it happens more often. Guys like Beasley have no business man handling students.
This is going to be a MAJOR problem. Take Scola for instance, when he finishes his 3 years, if the Rockets offer him say $7 million a year......some Euro club could offer him $10 million a year and he would probably take it. There is nothing stopping a Euro club from stealing a Restricted Free Agent or one with Bird rights..... They do not adhere to the NBA collective bargaining agreement and with the Euro so strong against the dollar many players will take it. Especially foreign players.....it is just a matter of time before someone like Azubuike for instance gets a better offer overseas and bails.... DD
Well, isn't that their right for them to choose who they want to play for? It's all going to come down to what they want more, to play with the best or more money. I always thought these international players weren't about the money and more about playing with the best in the world. I guess us filthy Americans aren't the only ones who are all about the money.
it's not like this is new for god sake the freaking human highlight machine went to Greece and then came back to the NBA to play again and fringe players have been in the NBA then gone over to Europe and then back. The Euro will recalculate itself before this thing gets legs and folks still want to play in the top league
Consider the game today and U.S.A.'s track record in international competitio..... who say if they're really playing the best basketball players in a couple of years. Maybe the best athletes.
Jennings could play a role in redirecting the pipeline that carries NBA-ready talent from high school to college, where the best players are forced to do penance and mark time for a season. There are not many options. A player could go to the NBA Development League. He would be eligible to play in the league because he is a high school graduate, but he wouldn't be able to get called up to an NBA roster. He would become eligible for the NBA draft the following season. Jennings will receive his test scores on Thursday. He'll huddle with his mother, Alice, to determine whether to go to Arizona for the obligatory year or go to Europe to begin his pro career. What'll it be: Spain or Paris, or Tucson? Being compensated half a million to a million euros? Or getting room, board, tuition and a telephone book of NCAA regulations that govern what you can do? http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/23/business/vantage.php It's a long article so I only took a small excerpt from it.
I was going to bookmark this thread to laugh at you, but you've already brought out the red clown nose and the giant floppy shoes!
Not even close to being the truth. Have you ever watched a European game? Do you noticed where they're playing? Not a lot of luxury boxes. How are they going to support these salaries? The strength of the Euro? LOL - DaDakota I will gladly sell you several 2011 Euro futures contracts at 5$ euro because that's the rate you're going to need. I'm pretty sure the NBA can survive the loss of back-ups and deep rotation players back to Europe. Considering that this has happened for 30 years.
As good a player as Brandon Jennings is, it is unlikely that he could get on the floor in a good European league for any meaningful minutes. Teams in the top Euro leagues don't typically play their young guys (which makes the Gallinari kid seem more enticing, since at 19 years old he was able to get big minutes and contribute in a big way). Plus, the European basketball system has young players start intense training at a very young age and work themselves up through lower leagues. Unless Jennings can find a middling Euro league team that will agree to prominently feature him in the offense, then I would venture a guess that playing in Europe might actually HURT Jennings's stock for next year's draft. If you were an NBA GM, would you be more impressed with a kid who played great in major minutes for a major college program (Arizona) or with a kid who only played spot minutes in the Italian or Spanish league?
Sam Sam Sam, I did bring the red clown nose just for you. I hope it makes you happy. Here's a rattle and a little shinny key for you to play with too. Although the big smiley clown face might give you a complex when you get older lol.
BEXCELANT suggestion. Could never figure out if was the same guy as Rockets Dynasty and his alter egos or just a fan of his.
Honestly? Good. This isn't competition with the NBA - this is competition with the NCAA. I've banged the drum that HSers should have the freedom and option to skip college if playing pro ball is their ultimate destination. That doesn't have to mean a direct jump to the pros - too many that weren't ready tried and screwed their future doing so. I think minor leagues (and Europe counts as one) should be that option to college. You're getting serious job training for the NBA, compensated (some), and don't have to deal with the ridiculous Stalinism and hypocrisy of the NCAA. This is a good thing. College should be for student-athletes, and student-athletes only. One-and-done guys are NOT students. Evan
Unfortunately for Brandon & BEXCELANT, reality intervenes: http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=428024 Shooting holes in this European vocation plan Posted: June 25, 2008 Erstwhile Arizona recruit Brandon Jennings is going to go make a million dollars playing hoops in Europe this winter. While he is there, he will star opposite The Rock -- sorry, Dwayne Johnson -- in a big-budget action picture slated for release next July. He'll also be helping Felipe Scolari to coach Chelsea in its quest to win a UEFA Champions League title. I mean, if we're all going to dream, why not dream really big? Jennings and his "people" are advancing the notion that instead of participating in NCAA basketball as a freshman -- which might not be possible pending the outcome Thursday of his latest attempt to obtain a qualifying test score -- he might prefer to spend his one year of waiting to enter the NBA draft as a professional basketball player in Europe. That seems pleasant. Europe can be a bit rainy during the winter, but there's still plenty to see and do, interesting cultural experiences to be had. European teams have been known to pay in Euros, which lately is not a bad thing. It's surprising, though, anyone would believe this would become a lucrative endeavor for Jennings. Or that anyone would believe it would be the correct way for him to pursue becoming a coveted selection in the 2009 NBA Draft. An agent who has done extensive business with European professional teams said was his first reaction upon reading about Jennings considering this avenue to the draft: "Who's been hitting the crack?" We could declare this grand plan to be full of more holes than Swiss cheese, but basketball's not so big in Switzerland. So let's say it stinks like a hunk of Camembert left in the sun for three days. It starts with the notion there would be a huge market for a player in Jennings' circumstance. His stated intention is to be a part of the 2009 draft. So why would a European team want to make any sort of investment in him? The agent wouldn't rule out the possibility that some rogue owner might take a flyer, but he considers it highly unlikely. He said it's not like it was when Danny Ferry was lured to Europe for a time after he went No. 2 overall in the 1989 draft. The money is not as loose for American players now. "The only guarantee with contracts in Europe," he said, "is that you're guaranteed not to get all the money you're expecting." There also is the fact we're talking about Jennings, not LeBron James or Greg Oden or even O.J. Mayo. Jennings is an appealing prospect for the Arizona Wildcats, but he is not nearly as well known or established as some of his predecessors. He is a score-first point guard, and European coaches, who tend to be "play the right way" types in the Larry Brown mold, are unlikely to be excited about his style. Many teams in Europe are loathe to play the young talents that are homegrown and under contract. French big man Alexis Ajinca should be one of the first international prospects taken in Thursday's draft; he averaged 11 minutes a game for Hyeres-Toulon last winter. Turkish center Omer Asik, another first-round prospect, got about 18 minutes a game for Fenerbache in Euroleague competition. In order to actually play, Jennings might have to go to a much lower level where the salaries are limited and collecting at payday can be an adventure. Indeed, if any of those teams will have him. This is not the revolutionary moment in basketball that opponents of the NBA's draft age limit dream it to be. Even if Jennings were find an interested team, sign a lucrative deal, navigate the likely cultural and linguistic barriers, crack his team's lineup and excel on the floor -- he's more likely to go 0-for-5 in those pursuits than 5-for-5 -- this still would not be the best avenue for elite prospects to follow because it removes players from the consciousness of the American sports fan. NCAA antagonists have convinced a generation of players their time in college basketball is uncompensated, but it's a lie. Beyond the education, living expenses and high-level training provided to all Division I basketball players, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony signed contracts with Nike worth a combined $81 million based on the reputations they gained in one college season each -- Durant as 2007 national player of the year, Anthony as 2003 NCAA Tournament most outstanding player. They became famous, and therefore their endorsements became valuable, because of college basketball. There would be precious little marketing appeal in a player who went from Oak Hill Academy to Europe. The agent speaking anonymously about Jennings' situation said that if college were not available to him, his best option would be to make a deal with an agent that would provide for him to spend the year working with an elite trainer such as Chicago's Tim Grover -- somebody NBA folks respect to properly prepare a player to compete in the league. If Jennings attempts to conquer Europe, chances are good he'll be home shortly after the first jump shot is fired in this imaginary insurrection
