Hey, look, November is more than half over and Brandon Jennings - if numbers are to be trusted - is a legitimate force in the NBA. Other words: It's ten games into the 2009-10 campgain and the Milwaukee Bucks are third in the Eastern Conference at 8-3. Does this not strike anybody else as odd?
Kid spends one year playing basketball in Rome, insulting just about anybody he's ever been or will be associated with, and suddenly he's included in talks of the best guards in the league. Creeped out yet?
I want to like Brandon Jennings. I've literally tried, but there's just something scary about the entire idea. This is not to say that I have anything against him as a player, just as a concept in general. There's something that screams "Wait, not yet, this isn't right". No matter the fact that his debut was for the ages, or that he'd scored 55 points before Blake Griffin even dressed for his first regular season game, I still, for some unexplainable reason view this as a precautionary tale that will end with heartbrake and a box of Kleenex.
Just when you thought the cocky kid with the wacky hair was sentenced to life in drama queen purgatory (really, is there anything to Milwaukee? Go Brewers), he turns everything on its head. Meanwhile, he's outperforming many of last year's All-Stars and turning Ersan Ilyasova into a household name (okay, maybe not quite).
I'm sure there are some religious passages that refer to the dangers of temptation, and Brandon Jennings could just as easily play the part. If too many people jump on the bandwagon, he might just reveal himself to be a snake-headed woman with a penchant for carnage. Trust me. The bandwagon's not safe.
Recall Jamaal Tinsley and his impressive debut. Or the fact that Gordon Giricek at one time in the not-so-distant past broke Allen Iverson's record for points in a debut. Things happen in rookie seasons that never quite work out. So cool your jets. I'm not saying Jennings is on that level, he's clearly in a world of his own - but that world is cold, twisted and bizarre.
Falling in love with Brandon Jennings is like trying to predict prom queen in freshman year - it's impossible to make a safe assessment. As much as I would love to get in on the whole "He's a rookie and he's outplaying Player X, wahoo, let's dance", you know that come 2011 or 2012 he may just as well be overweight and skin-damaged from too many cigarettes between home economics and gym.
If Jennings can prove me wrong for the remainder of the season I will happily tout him as one of the best young stars we've seen in ages (numbers, apparently, never lie), but if he doesn't then I don't want to be the one rubbing your back while you cry over your excessively-long commitment to the latest edition of Stephon Marbury.
Current Comments
7 comments so far (post your own)I have followed brandon jennings career from his senior year at Oak Hills. Now it maybe true that this mite not be what the bucks r gonna c every night but.. the kid is a formitable player in this league. Calling him a stephon marbury or gordon giricek is a little bit of a stretch if not a ridiculous statement. In only jennings &th nba game he scored 55 pnt now u may say that it was against the "warriors" but it wouldnt matter if there was no one on the floor guarding 55 pnts is impressive for any nba player especially a ROOKIE! And as for him talking about the great ricky rubio ricky is very overrated player at least in my opinion. All I can say is the kid has a good attitude and as hard as it is to believe he seems to be a team first guy.. and as for him being not like iverson in my opinion that is a very good if not great thing iverson was one of the biggest self promoting shoot first player ever so if he doesnt end up like that jerk i will be relieved!!!!
Posted by Alex on Sunday, November 22, 2009 @ 11:17pm
Alex, you make some very good points. I just want to clarify that I don't want to write this kid off. What he has done so far is outstanding, and he's clearly light years ahead of Giricek and Tinsley.
It's a very pessimistic article, but I don't think it's demeaning. I would love to see him keep this up and succeed, but this whole thing almost seems to good to be true in a sense, and that's what led to the article. I suppose I'm just proceeding with caution.
Posted by Austin Kent on Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 12:48am
I'm not so sure that Jennings could be another Marbury.
Consider this: wheeras Marbury spent a year in the NCAA being mollycoddled, Jennings went overseas where he had to fight for time and respect - they didn't take him in Italy to develop him, they took him because it might help them win (and stir up some international PR in the process).
I think that year was a reality check for Jennings - from what I've seen of him, he doesn't seem to have that same attitude he had in the McDonalds game a while back. He's not going to get minutes because of his name.
Granted there are warning signs. Remember his little episode over Twitter and Ustream back in the summer? I'm not sure he's become a Bodhisattva quite yet - and if the team goes sour, there's no telling how it could effect the young guard.
Still though, I don't see the same kind of brashness in him I see in AI or Marbury. Not yet.
Posted by Mark Milner on Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 1:32am
You're right, we can't be 100% sure about anything involving Jennings yet. But... so what? Why not get excited? Why not tune into the games, why not root for him? I understand the hype. It's more FUN to go buy a Brandon Jennings jersey right now rather than buy a LeBron James one precisely because we don't know quite how good he is yet. Let's just enjoy watching the kid play.
Posted by Vic De Zen on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 @ 4:22pm
Whateva, boy's runnin' wild on my fantasy team!
No, Austin, your point is well taken. His ego isn't getting any smaller right now, either.
And Alex, are you not familiar with Marbury's past? Did you watch him at Georgia Tech? He was killer. His skills were and haven't been matched by very many point guards. Austin's right on, I think. All's well right now for Brandon and the Bucks, but this is the first page of a long novel.
Posted by Travis13 on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 @ 4:47pm
My concern is not so much with Jennings' attitude but with just how good his shooting has been so far this season. A major criticism leveled at him before the draft was how low his shooting percentages are in general and, particularly, his 3-point shooting. I expect Jennings to be a good player, perhaps even a great player, but I think his super-hot shooting is going to fall back to earth at some point this season.
Posted by Sam on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 @ 6:10pm
My concern is not so much with Jennings\' attitude but with just how good his shooting has been so far this season. A major criticism leveled at him before the draft was how low his shooting percentages are in general and, particularly, his 3-point shooting. I expect Jennings to be a good player, perhaps even a great player, but I think his super-hot shooting is going to fall back to earth at some point this season.
Posted by Sam on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 @ 6:11pm