Brandon Jennings, anyone?
- Thread starter KingsCitizen
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He's nearly a complete unknown -- running off to Europe has not helped. We know what he was coming out of high school. He looked impressive then, but also incredibly unudisciplined. Have things changed after the season overseas? If not I think he would be like's Geoff's nightmare pick -- a playground player not capable of running an offense. I think where he goes is probably going to largely depend on the private workouts.
Yeah, I was just curious because so few have, and I'm pretty hungry for info. I have no idea whether he can play or not, but it sure seems like a poor decision in retrospect for a raw, developing PG to head to Europe where he would get spotty playing time and incur the wrath of his coaches every time he made a mistake.
I'm always wary about the playground type players, and Jennings seems like a poster child for that. I'm all for uberathletic point guards, but not ones who are undisciplined a la JWill, Telfair, early Alston, etc. But I don't have a strong opinion without having seen him play in a game.
I'm always wary about the playground type players, and Jennings seems like a poster child for that. I'm all for uberathletic point guards, but not ones who are undisciplined a la JWill, Telfair, early Alston, etc. But I don't have a strong opinion without having seen him play in a game.
All reports from overseas say similar things (reading off of a serbian web page... I don't see a reason for posting article since i have no translation for it, but will if mods need me to). great skills, but going overseas has regressed him. he was not given the reins to the team, and every mistake has been magnified due to the limited amount of opportunities he has had. because of that, he has tried to push the envelope and do more than he really should, making him look selfish and concerned only about stats. has obvious talent, but coming to Europe was a mistake.
at the time though, wasn't this his only option due to his grades? Could have probably gone to a lower divion school or something, but he wanted to prove to everyone he could take on the challenge and keep his skill level. i don't really blame him for trying, but he just was not educated properly on the kind of basketball played overseas.
at the time though, wasn't this his only option due to his grades? Could have probably gone to a lower divion school or something, but he wanted to prove to everyone he could take on the challenge and keep his skill level. i don't really blame him for trying, but he just was not educated properly on the kind of basketball played overseas.
Well, the team he went to was a poor decision. However, if he went to a team that played more of his style and a little less to lose with giving a raw youngster a shot at getting starters' minutes then it may have looked like a better idea. It may have not been much of a choice considering we don't know what happened with his SAT scores.
I think I've already made my opinion on the matter known, but just to reiterate since you made a topic --
I think Jennings is the best PG in the draft and has the potential to be the best NBA player in the draft. His jumpshot is still inconsistent, but it's better at this point than Rubio's and he has more range. Teague is a better shooter by far, but Jennings has got him beat on PG skills hands down. He's got the best handle of anyone in this draft. It's unreal. It's Allen Iverson good. That's arguably the most important skill for a PG. Add to that his athleticism (he dunks with ease at 6' maybe 6' 1" height and he's almost always the fastest player on the court) and it's easy to see him becoming one of the best PGs in the league.
The risk with Jennings is whether he'll ever learn to run an offense properly or whether he'll continue to be a hot-shot streetball style player. He's a little like Jason Williams in that regard (although he prefers to take it all the way on the fast break instead of taking those pull up 3s that Jason loved to take). He plays out of control at times and forces passes he shouldn't be making which results in careless turnovers. He can also get selfish with his jumpshot and stop looking for his teammates for stretches. If he gets his head right and buys into some coaches offensive system, he could be tremendous. Clearly playing in Europe was not a good fit for him, but it's not the end of the world. He has been concentrating on his defense and building up his strength which are two of his big weaknesses anyway which he should be working on. Whether or not he learns how to play within an offense is going to be an open question until he gets drafted. That's the risk for whoever drafts him, but at the very least he'll be an elite athlete and ballhandler.
I say this every year (and the Petrie proceeds to go in the opposite direction again and again) but I really think we need to swing for the fences on this pick. If you're picking in the top 5 you need to draft a superstar. Maybe this is like the 2006 draft where there's only 1 superstar, but somebody is going to get a future All-Star out of this draft. Brandon Roy was picked sixth not first that year and he's far and away the best player from that draft. Conventional thinking (Blake Griffin) may not be the way to go here. Playing it safe and settling for a 'good' player is going to make your team a little better, but what do we really have to lose? The only way this season is worth it is if we take advantage of the draft to net an elite player and I think Jennings has a very good shot at being that player.
I think Jennings is the best PG in the draft and has the potential to be the best NBA player in the draft. His jumpshot is still inconsistent, but it's better at this point than Rubio's and he has more range. Teague is a better shooter by far, but Jennings has got him beat on PG skills hands down. He's got the best handle of anyone in this draft. It's unreal. It's Allen Iverson good. That's arguably the most important skill for a PG. Add to that his athleticism (he dunks with ease at 6' maybe 6' 1" height and he's almost always the fastest player on the court) and it's easy to see him becoming one of the best PGs in the league.
The risk with Jennings is whether he'll ever learn to run an offense properly or whether he'll continue to be a hot-shot streetball style player. He's a little like Jason Williams in that regard (although he prefers to take it all the way on the fast break instead of taking those pull up 3s that Jason loved to take). He plays out of control at times and forces passes he shouldn't be making which results in careless turnovers. He can also get selfish with his jumpshot and stop looking for his teammates for stretches. If he gets his head right and buys into some coaches offensive system, he could be tremendous. Clearly playing in Europe was not a good fit for him, but it's not the end of the world. He has been concentrating on his defense and building up his strength which are two of his big weaknesses anyway which he should be working on. Whether or not he learns how to play within an offense is going to be an open question until he gets drafted. That's the risk for whoever drafts him, but at the very least he'll be an elite athlete and ballhandler.
I say this every year (and the Petrie proceeds to go in the opposite direction again and again) but I really think we need to swing for the fences on this pick. If you're picking in the top 5 you need to draft a superstar. Maybe this is like the 2006 draft where there's only 1 superstar, but somebody is going to get a future All-Star out of this draft. Brandon Roy was picked sixth not first that year and he's far and away the best player from that draft. Conventional thinking (Blake Griffin) may not be the way to go here. Playing it safe and settling for a 'good' player is going to make your team a little better, but what do we really have to lose? The only way this season is worth it is if we take advantage of the draft to net an elite player and I think Jennings has a very good shot at being that player.
europe
Part of the problem he and his "people" didn't realize was that the vets play and start in europe over the younger oftentimes more talented players. It's a more traditional system in that way. He may have regressed, but no one really knows as his minutes have been really limited. Hopefully he's working with a strength trainer and practicing hard on his fundamentals and he should come out a better player. A lot of the top euros who come over (esp the ones under 20) have limited minutes and stats. He also went to europe to thumb his nose at the NCAA. He passed the min SAT score on his 2/3rd attempt but the NCAA questioned it (maybe too big an improvement?) and wanted him to take again and he balked and went to europe for 500k.
Part of the problem he and his "people" didn't realize was that the vets play and start in europe over the younger oftentimes more talented players. It's a more traditional system in that way. He may have regressed, but no one really knows as his minutes have been really limited. Hopefully he's working with a strength trainer and practicing hard on his fundamentals and he should come out a better player. A lot of the top euros who come over (esp the ones under 20) have limited minutes and stats. He also went to europe to thumb his nose at the NCAA. He passed the min SAT score on his 2/3rd attempt but the NCAA questioned it (maybe too big an improvement?) and wanted him to take again and he balked and went to europe for 500k.
So, you're saying he needs a lot of time to develop. Why, then, are people so high on him being able to enter the NBA and have instant success--especially on a team like the Kings? If he can't hack it (physically and mentally) in Europe, how is he going to handle the NBA? I know Europe and the NBA are two different leagues in terms of style of play emphasis, but the top European leagues are still high-quality. Why is he going to be a "star" in the NBA if he isn't a "star" in Europe?
I think he made a big mistake by going over to Europe with the wrong mentality and expectations (should have gone to the NBDL, where he could've played "his game"), but he's probably young enough to be drafted in the Top 15 or so based on POTENTIAL. I have seen him play in HS and in Europe and I have to say that I don't see him becoming anything more than a change-of-pace PG in the NBA. He just can't run a team and I question his ability to guard bigger PGs on the ball. His shot is also too inconsistent for a little guard.
I think he made a big mistake by going over to Europe with the wrong mentality and expectations (should have gone to the NBDL, where he could've played "his game"), but he's probably young enough to be drafted in the Top 15 or so based on POTENTIAL. I have seen him play in HS and in Europe and I have to say that I don't see him becoming anything more than a change-of-pace PG in the NBA. He just can't run a team and I question his ability to guard bigger PGs on the ball. His shot is also too inconsistent for a little guard.
There are actually some REALLY good videos on Jennings on youtube.
I was surprised, they were better than the Rubio vids because it showed all of Jennings minutes .. good plays and bad plays.. there deffinetly worth a look, I'll put some links here in a minute.
EDIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twl2F5iB7sA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYrQG1w00ko&feature=related
I was surprised, they were better than the Rubio vids because it showed all of Jennings minutes .. good plays and bad plays.. there deffinetly worth a look, I'll put some links here in a minute.
EDIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twl2F5iB7sA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYrQG1w00ko&feature=related
Before going to Europe, Jennings was highly regarded as a stud PG.
He's too quick, jumps high enough, and had a better than average court vision with some creativity.
There was even a game where he played against O.J. Mayo where he still manage to get 24pts and 10 dimes while guarding Mayo most of the time. Mayo did get I think 28pts at that game but was on less than 30% FGs.
We'll Mayo is now in the NBA and we all know he is a stud.
Here's a good clip from this site: http://www.brandonjennings.net/
where I can say you will have a better preview of the potential of this kid. Tried to search this in youtube but mostly found crap footage of him most of the time.
He's too quick, jumps high enough, and had a better than average court vision with some creativity.
There was even a game where he played against O.J. Mayo where he still manage to get 24pts and 10 dimes while guarding Mayo most of the time. Mayo did get I think 28pts at that game but was on less than 30% FGs.
We'll Mayo is now in the NBA and we all know he is a stud.
Here's a good clip from this site: http://www.brandonjennings.net/
where I can say you will have a better preview of the potential of this kid. Tried to search this in youtube but mostly found crap footage of him most of the time.
What about those suggesting that we use a high lottery pick on a kid who can't run a pro offense? You don't propose drafting a kid in the top 5 unless you think he can be successful right away. Everyone who's jocking him now is doing so based on what he accomplished in high school. My response is, "who cares?"
He was a great high school player, but so was Sebastian Telfair. The pros are a different beast. Tiny guards not named Allen Iverson don't get by on athleticism alone.
He was a great high school player, but so was Sebastian Telfair. The pros are a different beast. Tiny guards not named Allen Iverson don't get by on athleticism alone.
I think what he's saying is that you don't waste such a high draft pick and forfeit a year of sucktitude to draft a player who AT BEST has questionable ability to run an offense, and has shown that his mentality is evern further behind his physical skills. We all saw what he did in high school. None of that matters. Athletic high school PG are a dime a dozen, and you can find many of them scattered in gyms across the country. If he had shown the same ability in college, it would have been different. All he showed in Europe is that he has trouble fitting in a place that is not his comfort level, and immaturity when he has given the opportunities. Way too big of a gamble for a team that has to draft a sure contributor in this draft if they plan in any way to stop the hemhorraging of money; they HAVE to become competitive in order to put some revenue back into the flow of things.