Hey STOMP, here's further evidence that Brandon Jennings might be the 2nd best PG prospect in the draft. It's not much, but during Kevin Pelton's live chat he gave this tidbit: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=621
I still like Jonny Flynn more, but that's only because I've seen A LOT more of him than Jennings. I've been hard on Jennings for leaving the US to play in Europe. Maybe instead of knocking him for this, I should be praising him for how he handled it.
Personally I think it makes WAY more sense for a player to go to Europe and play then it does to go to college if they only intend to spend one year in school. That way they get paid to play legally instead of getting paid to play illegally. College for a kid like Jennings is a pointless joke. Why force him to go? Even in college he would have been a cocky dickhead after the first year. Instead he got a huge lesson in humility by getting manhandled by professionals in Europe. If he couldn't mentally take it there, he would be a total failure at the NBA level. I am rooting for the kid to make it so that other kids may do the same thing going forward.
This is one of those unresolvable philosophical questions. If you believe players learn by sitting and watching, you can argue that Jennings benefited from the experience. If you believe players learn by playing - then he might as well have spent the year at band camp. BTW, I have read articles saying Jennings is a better, more mature *person* then he was when he left for Europe.....but that is only a small part of the equation. Jennings may be a jolly good chap - but that doesn't prove he can play basketball at a high level!
Something perhaps relevant that I noticed while watching one of this years Finals games ... only 4 of the 10 combined starters played college ball. Clearly, playing in college is not the only path to NBA success.
Doug Thonus said that there isn't a thing on the basketball court that Johnny Flynn doesn't do better than Brandon Jennings.
I said it in another tread but I cant help but think that will all of the PG's in this draft (and none of them are really close to a complete PG) that at least one of them is going develop into a very good or even great PG. In a few years one team is really going to consider itself lucky to have plucked the "right" PG from this "weak" draft. There are just too many PG's in this draft with potential for none of them to turn out great. The question as always is, which one? They are all very even so it really just may end up being luck of the draw. Scouting can only do so much and sometimes it just takes time for things to "click".
I like Flynn too. He seems to really care about the game and care about improving. He is a student to the game.
At some point you pour over the stats and all the players tend to blend in together. Some are better at other aspects of the game than others, but they all have their positives and flaws. I think you then have to begin looking at demeanor, work ethic, drive, what others say about them (coaches, teachers, teammates, postman, etc.). The player I keep coming back to is Flynn. He just has that "it" factor. You could see it in Brandon and Lamarcus when they were in college (more Brandon for me on this one), in the workouts, in the interviews, and the high praise they received from others. Curry is a close second for me.
Golden State had them at the same workout the other day and word is Jennings "won" the workout. It was Jennings' first workout too. I like em both but I think Jennings is going to slowly rise again after his stock took a big hit in Europe.
Good to know. That's saying something a lot actually. These workouts seem like they would benefit a guy like Flynn more. With Jennings being an even more natural playmaker, it might be hard for to shine depending on the quality of guys he's playing with.
How do you figure? Jennings did both during his season there this year. It is not an This OR That situation. He sat some. He played some. You act like he could only do one. Secondly, it isn't all about basketball. Jennings got a free, long trip to Europe which would definitly be a cultural experience for him. He also got something else, he got paid. Unlike the NCAA which rips off thousands of student athletes each year by making billions of dollars off of them, he earned a pretty good paycheck. Players that go through the NCAA are nothing more than slave labor.
I would also guess that the practice time that Jennings got was way more valuable and in depth than the practice time that most college guys are going to get.
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/archives/2009/06/brandon-jenning.html Jennings is pretty confident dude. Call Rubio all hype and then some.
Speaking of Jennings, here's a video of he and Bayless playing pick up ball @ U of A prior to JB's freshman year. [video=youtube;UtUFVcKreZY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtUFVcKreZY[/video]
jenning is all cock but couldnt get of the bench? lol so funny. if he cant get off the bench in italia he will be going to the emergency room to get the splinters removed.
heh... how a thread with STOMP in it escaped my attention, it's been a very busy weekend. In my one watching of him he seemed to have superior physical gifts and a knack for setting guys up. Of course there is more to being successful in the league then that, but it sure doesn't hurt. I do find it curious how during the Blazer season and then the draft there always seems to be a whipping boy for posters who enjoy getting their hate on. Heck, I recall a few years back when prospects Chris Paul and BRoy were the targets of some of these same posters now focused on Jennings. We shall see about Brandon... STOMP
