Sorry, but Brandon Jennings is no rookie, and he shouldn’t be eligible to win the NBA rookie of the year award.
We realize that the NBA isn’t listening, since Jennings will lead the Bucks into Verizon Center against the Wizards on Wednesday having just been named the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for November. He’s averaging 21.8 points and 5.7 assists, and his 55-point outburst against Golden State on Nov. 14 won’t soon be forgotten.
But it’s also becoming far too difficult to ignore that Jennings’ decision to forego college for a year with Lottomatica Roma in Italy didn’t just fatten his wallet. It prepared him for the NBA by forcing him to become a professional basketball player before he joined the world’s best professional basketball league.
“He’s had big games in the absolute highest level of competition that you can play in outside the NBA,” says Jonathan Givony, president of DraftExpress.com. “Even though he didn’t play 30 minutes a game, he still played 12, 15, 16 minutes in a lot of these Euroleague games. That experience is invaluable, in my opinion, and that’s playing a huge role in why he’s looked so much better than any of the other rookies so far.”
Givony watched Jennings play in Europe enough to see past his mere 5.5 points per game and still recognize the speed, court vision, scoring instincts and swagger that had made him a McDonald’s All-American.
“He was clearly the best guy on that team, and I really had a hard time understanding why he wasn’t playing,” said Givony.
Those attributes would’ve served him just fine in the NCAA, too, but there’s no way to duplicate the physicality or the detailed practice and preparation required for European basketball.
“The way they defend the pick and roll in Europe is better than the way they defend it in the NBA regular season, especially in the first month or two,” said Givony. “I think Jennings is going to slow down a little bit now that teams are scouting him a little bit. But I think it almost makes it easier for him, going into the NBA, than college would have.”
What it has done is put Jennings a step ahead of his first-year peers and make him overqualified for the award he could very well be running away with.
