Brandon Jennings Warns Against Playing Overseas

I'm a little late on this one, but you know I had to post something on my favorite young basketball player, Brandon Jennings, via the New York Times:

Perhaps white sails will one day appear on the horizon behind Brandon Jennings, a flotilla of high school basketball stars trailing him to Europe eager for a payday. But Jennings does not want anyone to get shipwrecked overseas just because he made the trip.Brandon Jennings was regarded as the nation’s best high school guard a year ago but decided to play in Italy. He issued that warning this week from Italy, where he is playing for Lottomatica Virtus Roma, a top professional team. He fears that top high school players may be seduced by visions of instant riches, fame and success in Spain, France, Italy, Greece or some other destination.

“I’ve gotten paid on time once this year,” Jennings said in an e-mail message. “They treat me like I’m a little kid. They don’t see me as a man. If you get on a good team, you might not play a lot. Some nights you’ll play a lot; some nights you won’t play at all. That’s just how it is.”

Jennings, a 6-foot-2 point guard who was regarded as the nation’s best high school player at his position a year ago, signed a $1.2 million deal in salary and endorsements to head to Europe in August instead of staying in the United States to play college basketball. Some analysts suggested that other elite players would follow the same path because of the rules requiring prospects to be a year removed from high school before becoming eligible for the N.B.A. draft.The deal for Jennings allowed his mother and his half brother to live with him in Italy, and he said it still made economic sense. Yet he said he wanted others to know about his experience.“I don’t see too many kids doing it,” his e-mail message said. “It’s tough man, I’ll tell you that. It can break you.”Lottomatica Virtus Roma officials did not respond to requests for comment submitted through Francesca Mei, the team’s media director.

Jennings does not resemble the pioneer some envisioned when he left for Europe as a dynamic player who could create his own shots and score 20 points or more a game. In Italy, he said, he has been stifled offensively. He is averaging 8 points a game.“My role is to play D and take open shots — that’s it,” he said. “And I’ve accepted that role.”He acknowledged that the journey had helped him mature, and he said the rigors of playing in Europe may benefit others.

An N.B.A. assistant coach who has been to Europe and has watched Jennings play said his potential draft standing had not been harmed. The coach requested anonymity because he was discussing a player currently ineligible for the draft.“I think it is good for him,” he said. “He was getting a defensive component that he needed. If I was a scout and I needed a point guard, I would be extremely impressed with what he has done over there.”

Sonny Vaccaro, the former sneaker company executive who brokered Jennings’s deals with Lottomatica and the sponsor Under Armour, said he had been in contact with high school players and their parents who were interested in Europe. But Vaccaro said there had been a change from last summer, when he worked on the deals for Jennings. Economic conditions in Europe are just as difficult as they are in the United States, and he said he underestimated the emotional strength a player needed to compete overseas. “A less-driven kid would have come home,” Vaccaro said. “They practice twice a day, and the Europeans play everybody. It is not like one of these silly college games where the same seven guys play every minute of every game. When it’s over, the fact he was able to handle it is going to be more landmark than him just going over there.”

From what I've hear abour Euro Basketball, 14-15 points a game is like scoring 20-25 a game in the NBA, so I would imagine Jennings' 8 points a game is kind of like him scoring 12-15 points a game in the NBA. Even so, 8 points a game for a kid who is 19 years old and playing in a different country is still pretty solid in my mind. People who don't understand basketball look at Jennings numbers and think he is doing poorly, but that is not the case at all. I'm glad Jennings is learning over in Europe, I think the experience is going to help him immensely next season in the NBA, because he is already going to know what it's like to not be the star on the team and accept his role. Plus, he should have no problem with the transition of playing in a professional league that many rookies struggle with. I can't wait to see how Jennings performs next season at the NBA level.

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