Going Global

Going global

At what price do you give up your youth, or your child’s youth? Well, the answer is: millions . . . and counting

By Evin Demirel

Sunday, August 9, 2009

LITTLE ROCK — At first, it seems like every Arkansas sports fan’s dream of a basketball player: a homegrown 6-foot-9, 230-pound omnipositional juggernaut.

At only 16, Arkansas’ very own LeBron James is tearing up hardwood from Texarkana to Jonesboro, Pine Bluff to Bentonville, topping 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists a game. He owns the summer circuit.

College recruiters flock to the Natural State to glimpse this sophomore gem, who snares accolades as easily as rebounds. In chorus, coaches and talent scouts from ESPN to Rivals.com praise the kid as the best in state history, hailing him as a No. 1 NBA draft pick one day.

Hog fans hope that young Johnnie Baller, like state prep legends Sidney Moncrief,Corliss Williamson and Joe Johnson before him, will soon choose the state’s ne plus ultra Arkansas Razorbacks over the North Carolinas, Connecticuts and Kentuckys.

Then the others come, from across the oceans, and the zoom lens suddenly expands.

The bidding begins with the Greeks, who feature a Euroleague championship team owned by the cavernously pocketed Angelopolous brothers. They’re joined by the Italians, then the Spaniards, who claim the world’s second-best domestic league. The Chinese, whose estimated 300 million basketball fans nearly surpasses the U.S.’s population, make an offer, too.

The foreigners’ siren songs are sweet: a three-year contract for $5 million, a subsidized car and apartment, agent’s fees paid, accommodations for two relatives, and the cosmopolitan charms of Athens, Rome, Barcelona or Shanghai. Razorback Nation grits its teeth. Those high Hog hopes are beginning to dim.

This scenario isn’t so far-fetched.

A vanguard of talented players are leaving high school earlier and earlier to make their living, and sharpen their game, playing basketball overseas. How did this trend develop, and how could it affect secondary education inthis country as more prep players sign on?

Will parents of precocious ballplayers start grooming their children to begin their pro careers even before high school graduation?In late July, Latavious Williams, a Mississippi native who starred at a suburban high school in Houston, withdrew his commitment to the University of Memphis to play overseas, possibly in Italy or China.

In California, ever the trend-setter, two of that state’s finest prep players, Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler, decided to bypass college and play professional basketball abroad. Jennings, a quicksilver point guard, played off the bench last season for an Italian team in the top-notch Euroleague, against NBA veterans and Olympic champions.

The Milwaukee Bucks chose him with the 10th pick in the recent NBA draft. “I think more kids should do it, just to step out of their comfort zone,” the Los Angeles native told the New York Times.

“We didn’t have no driers, so we had to hang our clothes for about two days,” he said.

“The food was different.”

Tyler seeks a similar experience. At 6-foot-10, he exerted such dominance in high school in San Diego that he feared his game had stagnated.

In late April, Tyler and his family decided to pull him out of high school so that he can hone his game abroad in preparationfor the 2011 NBA Draft.

“If you’re really focused on getting better, you go play pro somewhere,” Tyler, then 17, told the Times. “Pro guys will get you way better than playing against college guys.” He will likely play in Israel, which has a Euroleague team.

Tyler made his decision before a planned trip to Little Rock to the play with his amateur youth team in the Real Deal in the Rock, one of the nation’s largest tournaments for high-school players. But Tyler, who soon started individual workouts after his decision, didn’t show up at the 400-team, 48-venue tournament.

European scouts did, however. According to the tournament’s founder, Bill Ingram, scouts arrived from Spain, Russia, Belgium and Italy. They watched seniors like Harrison Barnes, Joe Jackson, Jared Sullinger and Terrence Jones, and junior LaQuinton Ross. Jackson and Ross are Razorback recruits.

The likelihood of these players heading overseas will be determined by Tyler’s success. “Jeremy is really the measuring stick,” says Ingram.

Whereas Jennings was the Parade Player of the Year his senior season at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, Tyler likely isn’t prep basketball’s top talent, Ingram said.

Sullinger, Ross and Jones are among those who eclipse him, he said, adding that if such superior players see Tyler hone his game abroad, making hundreds of thousands of dollars while elevating his NBA draft status even higher, high school players will start flocking to Europe.

Jarrett Hart, who teamed with Joe Johnson to lead the Little Rock Central Tigers to a state championship a decade ago, also believes more players will choose that route.

“Now that it’s been publicized, and talked about more, people know that they can do it,” says Hart, who plays in Cyprus. Latavious Williams, not even considered to be a Top 10 talent in his class, has said that Jennings’ high draft selection influenced him to make the jump.

To quote Ingram, “I can see the trend continuing.”

So then, how did it begin?

PREPS TO PROS

The foundation for the emergent preps-to-overseas movement was laid in 1995, when the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Kevin Garnett, the first high school player drafted into the NBA since 1975. Twenty-seven players followed Garnett, according to ESPN. Among them were future stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. Others, like Jonathan Bender, Ndudi Ebi, and Korleone Young, flamed out.

Three years ago, the NBA mandated its draftees be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school. The rule was to give scouts “another year to watch a kid so that you’re not drafting high school kids who turn out to be busts and cost their owners millions and millions of bucks,” said Joe Kleine, a 15-year NBA veteran who attended the University of Arkansas and now works as an assistant basketball coach at UALR.

The result is that, since 2006, a cache of players, including headliners Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley, who might never have stepped foot on campus, have dominated college ball for one season before turning pro.

Many college coaches have come to lament the carousel-style stays of these “one-and-done” players.

“The kid coming in for one year thing is a farce,” says Kleine, pointing out that freshmen talented enough to pull it off need only pass six first semester hours to play a second semester. Then, those not intending to play sophomore year don’t have to worry about passing the 24 credit hours requiredof a first-year student. Such a player, notes Kleine, “doesn’t even have to go to class second semester, if he’s going pro.”

Players like Jennings, Tyler and Williams are questioning the merit of even one year in college. Besides lucre, the promise of extra practice time entices them abroad.

Steve Shields, the head basketball coach at UALR, explains why.

In September and October, he notes, Division I college coaches in the United States are allowed two hours per week of individual instruction.

Kleine added: During the season, coaches must cap their time with athletes at 20 hours per week, including watching film and training with weights, while in summers they can only supervise conditioning programs. Professional leagues impose no such limits.

It’s the difference between a paid pro and a supposed student-athlete, an amateur. Those lines are blurring at younger ages, as amateur youth sports culture becomes increasingly commercialized.

Take thirteen-year-old basketball phenom Allonzo Trier, a Seattlite ranked as the nation’s best sixth-grader by some scouts, who has his own line of clothing emblazoned with his signature and personal motto. He makes 450 shots every day in preparation for college and beyond. Or 16-year-old baseball prodigy Bryce Harper, who in June announced his intention to skip his final two years of high school, earn a GED and enroll in a Nevada community college as a fast track to 2010 MLB Draft eligibility. These students’ parents-like others who raise elite athletes-help push their sons toward their professional sports dreams. It’s a focus that too often depreciates the child’s academic achievement, said Scotty Thurman, a former Razorback star who now coaches his son’s 14-U Little Rock-based amateur youth team.

Today’s summer league scene “is all about who’s got the best uniforms, who’s got the best shoes, who’s sending kids to the pros out of the program,” he said. Thurman, 34, recalled coaches used to emphasizegaining college scholarships-whether through basketball or academics-when he played summer basketball. “It needs to get back to that.”

Still, what about students who don’t gain eligibility into the Division I school of their choice? Neither Williams, Tyler nor Jennings had qualified to take college classes when they made their decisions to play abroad.

China and Europe provide an alternate route for players who don’t reach the minimum academic standards required by the NCAA for a scholarship. For example, Jennings struggled to pass the tests required to enter the University of Arizona.

In the past, Jennings’ options would have been simple, and non-lucrative: prep school or junior college. “But then you have a team from London that comes in and says ‘Hey, we’ll pay you a million dollars a year and pay all of your expenses.’ I mean, duh, it’s not rocket science,” says Kleine. “A kid in a situation like that would be a fool to not strongly consider that.”

PROS AND CONS

Critics point out a spate of potential problems with the idea of a teenager cutting short his high school career to play abroad.

Consider this standard denunciation from a columnist at the Detroit Free Press: “No friends, culture shock, no teenagers to hang with; no command of a new language; plenty of free time, no high school diploma, no senior prom, no sensational senior season of basketball, no recruiting trips, no freshman year of college.”

Proponents, like Tyler himself, argue that education can be attained through online courses, and by simply living outside the United States. “I’m going to learn a new language,” he told USA Today. “It will be like international studies.” Thurman, who played professionally in the Middle East and Europe, proposed American teenagers playing abroad professionally could complete their high school educations at the international schools found in major cities.

Corruption of youth is another bugaboo. “Tyler is setting a dangerous precedent by making this move,” said ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb, a former college basketball player himself. “What about a sophomore or a freshman making a similar decision?”

“Why even have high school at all?”

Still others counter that exceptional athletes have played for money as teenagers before, and have thrived. Example: A Spanish wunderkind named Ricky Rubio, who began his professional career at 14 and completed courses online while on the road. The Minnesota Timberwolves chose Rubio, now 18, with the fifth pick in June’s NBA draft.

Many entertainers, too, have started earning paychecks early on. Like Arkansan Louis Jordan, a world-renowned bandleader and jazz musician who, at 15, made his professional debut at Hot Springs’ Green Gables Club. Or Art Porter Jr., a jazz saxophonist who played in bars and clubs in Arkansas during his teen years. By the time Little Rock’s Lil’ JJ was 15, he was performing at comedy clubs around the country, acting on cable shows, and had moved to Hollywood.

But none plied a trade abroad. “I do think we need to make sure these young men are educated and well-advised and have money-managers who they can trust,” says Shields, “[which are] the most obvious concerns for anyone in this profession.”

Jennings brought his mother and little brother to live in his apartment in Rome; Tyler’s older brother will move with him, and a rotation of other relatives will visit.

OUTLOOK

Shields, Kleine and Thurman don’t expect a rush of high school players heading to Europe. Charles Ripley, a former coach and fixture in central Arkansas basketball circles, agrees: “It could build into something through the years, but right now I don’t see it happening, especially in the state of Arkansas.”

Still, interest persists, said Sonny Vaccaro, a former shoe marketing executive who arranged Jennings’ trip overseas and is advising Tyler. While asserting there’s “never going to be a migration,” Vacarro told the Times he was “in discussions with more than a dozen families of elite players about those players going overseas instead of to college.”

For now, NBA brass say they don’t mind that high school and college players yearning for their league are going abroad to sharpen skills and burnish resumes. “Whether it’s in high school, in the D-League, in college or in Europe, we’re neutral on how that gets done,” NBA Commissioner David Stern told the Times in April.

NCAA officials may come to feel differently. Successful early careers from Tyler, Williams and Jennings will likely influence more to follow in their footsteps, just as more followed Garnett, Bryant and Jermaine O’Neal in jumping from high school to the NBA. No more than eight ever made that jump into the NBA in one year, but many more could leave high school ranks to play abroad. More leagues mean more potential suitors. And all the suitors aren’t demanding the same level of play. A 17-year-old not quite ready for the best leagues-like in Spain and Greece-could still earn hundreds of thousands while cutting his teeth in lesser leagues-like in China. The pool of high schoolers able to make the jump abroad would be larger than it was for those able to jump directly to the NBA. Candidates would include not only the best of the best, or most freakishly athletic, from the high school ranks, but merely the best-those good enough to start at major Division 1 programs.

Why wouldn’t a single mother mired in poverty encourage her 15- or 16-year-old-a budding star already recruited by major colleges-to prepare for a career that could bring riches, not four years down the line, but as soon as next year? Especially if the foreign team offers to pay for the kid’s college if he ever wants to go?

Young stars see the money others earn off their play-from advertising on recruiting web sites to sales generated by the logos they wear. Thurman said: “The kid begins to think ‘Why shouldn’t I tap into my talents and get compensated for it?’ ”

Would Ron Paul get along famously with Jeremy Tyler?

Probably - at least when it comes to selling one's basketball skills on the free market.
Basketball stud Tyler, after all, has decided to slap the Establishment across its face by jettisoning not only college to play in Europe, but also his senior year at dear ole' San Diego High.
If Texas congressman Ron Paul isn't twirling his libertarian noodles right about now, then that freshly-minted colloquilism hasn't the slightest meaning.

Jeremy Tyler is, after all, living a centuries-old American ideal - pursuing individual happiness by exercising liberty to go where you will, and do what you want, as long as you don't infringe on others' rights.
Except this young man isn't heading West - he's bolting east, back the Olde World, whisked away by the American dream of self-fulfillment.

With rapt attention, I'm following Tyler's story as he prepares to leave behind one world to embrace another. Hell, I'm creating a website devoted to following his progress (or lack thereof) and the media's commentary on it. In a following post, I'll examine how (and why) most media seem to support his decision.

But I'll postpone such meta-commentary for now to flesh out some of my own thoughts on the matter. I support what he's doing. I've lived in Europe, am half-Turkish and studied Greek and Roman culture in college. I'm a humanities junkie. How can I not like the idea of somebody shedding plastic, reheatable American monoculture for the clinking cafes, salads and wines of history-rich Spain or Italy?

It will be interesting, however, to see if Tyler will try to immerse himself in the culture around him. He and his family have said that he will try to learn a new language, come back with expanded perspective and work on his bachelor's degree abroad after securing his G.E.D.

If he does that, and avoids squirreling away with his laptop and family in an apartment after most practices (as Jennings seems to have), then all power to him. Hell, I wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate another culture at 17 and 18.

The hermetically-sealed apartment living lifestyle brings to mind another entertainer who took his talents overseas to maximize profits from them. I am referring, of course, to the aging movie star Bill Murray played in Lost in Translation who voyaged to Japan to film whiskey commercials. Entertainers in the eve of their careers often make such mercantile jaunts to film commercials or perform in Asian and European countries where they may still be considered cool (think of David Hasselhoff's chest expanding whenever he alights in Germany).

Tyler, like Brandon Jennings before him, are entertainers who have given such financially-motivated ventures a new twist. The youngsters aren't using foreign grounds to break their fall into obscurity but as an anvil to hammer out their game, which they hope translates to even greater monetary gains upon their American homecoming.

European Exodus Age Limit? What Age Limit?

The Atlantic ran a recent story highlighting a somewhat immature star high school senior considering dipping his toes in college waters for the requisite season or bounding off to Europe for higher pay and tougher comp.

Meet 6-5 Lance Stephenson, Brooklyn Finest's:

Lance Stephenson’s nickname is “Born Ready”—as in, ready for the NBA. But on a winter night in a tiny gym in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, the 6-foot-5 high-school senior mostly looked ready for a time-out—of the preschool variety. Stephenson slumped when teammates failed to pass him the ball, shook his head in disgust when they missed shots, jogged back lazily on defense, and whined about fouls. Stephenson’s other nickname is “Sir Lance-a-lot,” but he seldom looked heroic, and seemed to be doing little to lead his team...

For all his pouty shenanigans, though, "Born Ready" racked up 38 points and 14 rebounds to lead his three-time defending New York City public-school champion to another victory.

Uber-agent Sonny Vaccaro, who brokered the deal sending Brandon Jennings to Rome, sees Stephenson - like a handful of other high school players - as another possible Europlayer, if he can handle the adversity of juggling new culture, new playing style, tougher coaches and playing with grizzled-ass professional veterans on the court. All these factors, though, form a crucible that could make Stephenson all the more "Born Ready" come the 2010 NBA draft.

And if a 17-year-old high school senior can't skip college and go pro abroad, why couldn't a 17-year-old junior? For that matter, why not a 16-year-old junior, or younger? It's bound to happen soon, Vaccaro said.

If that seems like one more sign of the basketball apocalypse, consider that many of the Europeans who populate NBA rosters began playing professionally as young as 14. In any case, Vaccaro believes Europe should be a destination only for exceptionally talented and relatively mature players. And Jennings has cautioned that his Italian sojourn hasn’t been one big scoop of gelato: “I don’t want anyone coming over here thinking it’s easy,” he wrote on his Under Armour blog.

American Players Possibly Going to Europe

A nice update from cbssports.com:

Europe still option for recruits, but hardly a vacation

Europe still option for recruits, but hardly a vacation Jan. 13, 2009
By Gary Parrish

So this Brandon Jennings Experiment isn't going quite as planned.

That's what you've heard, right?

Brandon Jennings (left) has struggled some to keep up while playing in Europe. (Getty Images)

That while his classmates -- like Georgetown's Greg Monroe, UCLA's Jrue Holiday and Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu -- are here in the United States making serious impacts on possible Final Four teams, Jennings is over in Europe struggling with the adjustment, averaging only 8.9 points per game and turning the ball over just as much as he's recording assists.

Consequently, you've heard the European clubs have become skeptical of signing more American prospects interested in avoiding college while they wait the mandatory one year post graduation to enter the NBA Draft. And you've heard the market has been diminished for the crop of current high school seniors curious to see whether there's a paycheck waiting in Italy, Greece, Israel or Russia.

That's what you've heard, right?

Well ...

"That's not true," insisted Sonny Vaccaro. "I can tell you, none of that is true."

Vaccaro answered the phone Monday night with the same excitement he always possesses. He explained how he and his wife, Pam, are looking forward to attending President Obama's inauguration next week, then he transitioned right into his favorite topic, i.e., the inner-workings of the basketball world that have featured his fingerprints for decades. Yes, the Godfather of summer hoops turned anti-NCAA crusader is still very much involved in the sport, as the world learned last summer when Vaccaro helped broker the historic deal that made Jennings the first American to choose Europe instead of college. And now Vaccaro is likely just months away from helping secure a similar deal for a similarly heralded high school star, which was the focus of our late conversation.

Here's the gist of it:

• Vaccaro said he had breakfast Monday morning with a table of people working on behalf of or in association with European clubs, and that there are "six or seven" clubs considering offering a contract to an American more interested in spending at least one season in Europe than college. Furthermore, Vaccaro said there are people "right now" scouting various high school players, and that this will continue through March.

"They will make offers," Vaccaro said. "They will make offers (to players) they think can play."

• Though Vaccaro declined to name names -- "Now is not the time for that," he explained -- the 69-year-old legend was very specific about the number of prospects interested in exploring a jump to Europe. He said there are exactly "five" high school seniors who have either contacted him or had somebody working on their behalf contact him, and that there are "eight" underclassmen (juniors, sophomores and/or freshmen) who have also reached out.

"I can say this," Vaccaro said. "(According to) the recruiting things you look at, all of these kids would be considered top 10 prospects in their class. These are kids who are interested in playing professional basketball, and (ones who are) capable of doing it."

As far as this senior class, there is no consensus top 10 list, per se. But the prospects most commonly identified as "top 10-caliber" recruits are Derrick Favors (uncommitted), John Wall (uncommitted), John Henson (committed to North Carolina), Xavier Henry (committed to Memphis), Renardo Sidney (uncommitted), DeMarcus Cousins (uncommitted), Lance Stephenson (uncommitted), Kenny Boynton (committed to Florida), Abdul Gaddy (committed to Washington), Avery Bradley (committed to Texas) and Jordan Hamilton (committed to Texas). Again, Vaccaro declined to name names. But CBSSports.com has previously reported that the prospects who remain uncommitted -- specifically Wall, Sidney and Stephenson -- are the most likely to explore Europe as an option, though it's worth noting that Vaccaro insisted the group of prospects who are intrigued by Europe isn't necessarily limited to uncommitted players.

"I've given teams the names of the kids I think would be worth looking at," Vaccaro said. "That, I've already done."

• One of the common misconceptions of all this, Vaccaro said, is that the European clubs now realize how difficult it is even for a player of Jennings' caliber to transition from American high school basketball to European professional basketball, and that's why options will be limited going forward. But Vaccaro said the actual finances of a deal are barely an issue, because the European clubs put buyouts in contracts that essentially allow them to recoup any financial investment.

For example, let's pretend a European club wanted to offer John Wall, the nation's top point guard, a $1 million contract to play professionally next season. What it might do is put a $500,000 buyout in the contract, meaning if Wall was then selected No. 1 in the 2010 NBA Draft, whichever NBA franchise picked him would subsequently send $500,000 to the European club that initially signed him, meaning the European club would be out only $500,000.

That's how this stuff can work, give or take a few hundred thousand dollars.

"It's been under-reported in the American media, but the buyout pretty much protects the teams," Vaccaro said. "They're going to get most of their money back on the buyout. So money will not be the reason (a European club doesn't sign an American high school player). They might not do it because they don't think there's a player who can help them win games. But money won't be the reason, because they'll get most of that money back."

So what does this all mean?

It means that some group of college fans is almost certainly destined to be disappointed by a prized prospect shunning school the way Arizona fans were when Jennings opted for Europe. It also means the trend will likely continue for many years to come, and that the only thing that has changed in the five months that Jennings has been in Europe is that the difficulty of the task has been underscored for all to see.

Remember, Jennings really is averaging only 8.9 points per game, and he really has turned the ball over just as much as he has recorded assists. That alone proves that playing professional basketball in Europe is much more difficult than playing college basketball in the United States, and then there's the mental side of it that Vaccaro believes is actually the hardest part.

"There was a game where Brandon didn't play (at all) the whole game; that stuff happens in Europe, and you have to know how to handle it," Vaccaro said. "Brandon handled it. But if you're a prima donna who can't handle it, you shouldn't even do it. That guy won't make it. So while I will help any kid who asks for my help, I won't recommend this to a kid who I don't believe in my heart can make the mental part of this journey.

"But I can tell you, Brandon's experience has not hurt (the next batch of) kids," Vaccaro said. "It's just helped them understand that doing this isn't easy."

Jennings Frustrated?

Not all his honey and milk in the land of wine and dine for Brandon Jennings as the latter half of his Euroleague season begins.

He is currently averaging 8.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 10 games of Euroleague play.

Here are excerpts from a recent email ojmayonnaise of brandonjennings.net posted:

“I’ve gotten paid on time once this year.“

“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.”

“I don’t see too many kids doing it. It’s tough man, I’ll tell you that. It can break you.”

“My role is to play D and take open shots — that’s it, and I’ve accepted that role.”

It must be pretty humbling for such a creative playmaker to feel like his role is the same as Mario Elie's.
I think he'd feel differently if he had more games like he did below, last month, in which he played a season-high 29 minutes and scored 13 points against Tau Ceramica:

Lucky 13?

It looks like 13 high schoolers are considering the jump to Europe ala Brandon Jennings, although Jennings hasn't had a great season so far. Despite the potentional cultural acclimation stresses in a transnational move and the high possibility of not being "the man" as they would in college, there are a few advantages to going abroad for these 13:

1) Hundreds of thousands of dollars while biding time before playing in the NBA
2) Experience playing at a higher level and in circumstances more approximating the NBA
3) Jennings has already done it and is communicating with a few of these high school seniors right now. A trail half-blazed is still easier to follow than a none at all.

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports Dec 31, 7:32 pm EST

In a hotel suite on the Las Vegas strip, Sonny Vaccaro negotiated the contract of high school star Brandon Jennings with the owners of Lottomatica Virtus Roma. Vaccaro has been one of basketball’s greatest business visionaries ever, but he insists that he’s baffled for the way the Euroleague franchise has been so stingy over the point guard’s playing time.

“I haven’t figured out the European game yet,” Vaccaro said. “I don’t know why if they were going to pay him a half a million dollars, that they don’t play him. It’ll be illogical to pay this kind of money and keep him on the bench.”

As much as anything, Jennings delivered Lottomatica immense publicity with his signing straight out of Compton, Calif. Few NBA executives believed that Jennings’ leap to the Euroleague would be without a sluggish transition. All along, they planned to watch closely and see how he handled it. Despite an average of just 18 minutes a game, NBA executives and scouts don’t consider him a disappointment.

NBA teams know Jennings is gifted, but most are intrigued with his staying power. How’s he handling adversity? How’s he interacting with his older teammates? Just three weeks ago, Jennings’ first coach with Lottomatica quit. For most draft picks, Jennings is experiencing a much more realistic simulation of a rookie year than had he been jacking up shots and getting coddled at the University of Arizona. Two NBA executives who’ve watched Jennings practice in Italy left impressed with his progress.

“It shows that he had the [guts] to be a trailblazer,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “This isn’t ideal if his confidence is frail, but so far he hasn’t shown to be a wuss. If the team can get to the Euroleague Final Four, he still has a chance to shine.”

Vaccaro, the retired sneaker executive, has turned himself into a conduit between Euro teams and the families of high school stars. He says that 13 different families of the top class of 2009 prospects have talked with him about the European option. With the NBA mandating that players must wait until one year after high school graduation to enter the draft, the possibility of making a few hundred thousand dollars in Europe is incredibly intriguing.

This move isn’t for everyone. Most kids couldn’t handle living in a strange country, never mind adapting to Europe’s far more team-oriented, passing game. Vaccaro says one team destined for the draft lottery has told him that Jennings won’t slip past it. Another Eastern GM says that unless Jennings gets into trouble between now and the June draft, nothing will push him out of the lottery. In what’s considered a thin 2009 draft, Jennings picked a good year to be a test case.

“If Brandon goes over there, makes a good dollar and goes in the [draft] lottery, I think that the balance of scales will be tested here,” Vaccaro said. “I think you’ll see more players wanting to do this. All 13 families have said to me, in one way or another, ‘How can they criticize us for thinking about going pro and making some money when the coaches and everyone else around us are making millions?’ None of them are saying they’re ruling out college – nor should they – but this is a legitimate option now.”

Nevertheless, it’s inevitable that the financial crises in Europe promise to change pay scales for players this summer. Several agents say that there’s no telling how dramatically contracts could decline this summer, but no one believes that Russian and Euro teams will be offering the lucrative deals available a summer ago. The bottoming out of oil prices have hit Russian teams the hardest. Teams have been late paying American players, and even later paying agent’s fees.

Moscow Triumph was glad to let center Nenad Krstic out of his multi-million dollar contract so he could sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Triumph had paid him on time, his agent, Marc Cornstein said, but sources insist that the Russian team was relieved to rid itself of the financial burden with Krstic. Jannero Pargo, the ex-New Orleans Hornets guard, is returning to Moscow Dynamo after its holiday break, but league sources say there is still a chance he could return to the NBA this season.

“There’s no question that this year has brought up issues [in Europe] that have never existed before in this business,” Cornstein said. “There are teams that they thought had a legitimate budget for this year, but for one reason or another, have been greatly affected.”

When Cold Domestic hits Hot International

First things first.
Let's clear up what this pic from Brandon Jenning's Under Armour blog is all about.
It's about B-Jennings getting up early in the morning for a photo shoot with ESPN the magazine.
And it's certainly about acclimating pretty well to the locals, at least for this particular shoot.
Slight non-sequitor: What is it with some of these Italian males and their machismo? Even the lil one front, center and splayed, seems knee-deep in it. You'd think think he was holding onto a security blanket or something - jeesh.

How's Jennings' team doing?
Despite head coach Jasmin Repesa's surprise resignation on Dec. 9, Lottomatica Roma continues to do really poor/well. From Euroleague.net:

The shock announcement came the night before Roma heads to play DKV Joventut in Badalona on Thursday, when assistant coach Nando Gentile will take over the visitors' bench on an interim basis. Roma has lost four straight games in the Italian League, but has won five straight Euroleague games to lead Group C with a 5-1 record and on the verge of clinching a berth in the Top 16. Repesa cited domestic results in statements quoted by the club. Roma has struggled at home in the Italian League, losing four straight games, and currently sits in ninth place in the domestic standings.

Not a Whole Lotta Success ... Yet: Jenning's Progress

Lottomatica guard Brandon Jennings has played nearly 3 times more effectively in his four Euroleague games this season than his four Serie A Italian domestic league games.

Here's the breakdown:
Euroleague: 10.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 41.7 3Pt%, 92.9 FT%
Serie A: 5.5 ppg 1.3 rpg 2.3 apg 18.3 3Pt% 50.0 FT%

This may have something to do with Jennings being a much bigger star in his domestic league and than the "big pond" - all of Europe. Domestic defenders may be focusing on him more than bigger-name Euroleague oppponents. It'll be interesting to see if this trend continues.

The bottom line, though, is that so far Lottomatica Roma is winning: after eight games in both leagues, it was 7-1.


Here's Jennings showing that all that team-first talk is the real deal. Check out this hustle-born floor burn!



I haven't seen Jennings try to do to much of the same showboat style dribbling and passing he was famous for in high school. It seems that Coach Repesa has for the most part been able to tame that side of him. But here's a bit a reversion as Jennings tries to do too much:



Below is video from a victory over Ricky Rubio's Badalona team. Unfortunately, Rubio is injured but will return soon.



Check out this nice backstage interview with FIBA. We learn Brandon models his game after another lefty PG, Kenny Anderson, and is especially close to fellow Los Angelinos Marcus Williams and Tyson Chandler. On the eve of the election, he's also not a afraid to make a pitch!



Interview with Euroleague.net in which Jennings says that the competition is not difficult - he's been playing adults for years and after an initial adjustment period feels he's improving just fine.


We learn some of his habits from his own blog. It's easy to flinch at this a bit and think - "He's wasting an invaluable cultural opportunity!" But, hey, it's not like he's studying abroad or anything.


Other than that, I just go to practice, come home and go right to my room, where I stay on the internet. I’m on Myspace a lot, AIM, I do the Skype thing a little, and I ordered the NBA League Pass online so I’m keepin up with the NBA. And I ordered the college package…

Jennings Makes Euroleague Debut

It is done.
Young Brandon Jennings is now officially a Euroleaguer.
Thursday, Lottomatica Roma's Jennings played 22 minutes, scored 9 points on 3-7 from the 3-point line, garnered 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 0 assists in a 68-63 loss to Alba Roma.
Not the most auspicious of Euroleague starts for the 19-year old.
But still better than his previous two club matches in the top domestic league in Italy, in which Jennings averaged 17.5 minutes, 5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists while shooting 33.3% from the floor.

It's obvious Jennings is learning to adjust to the European game.

As his teammate, Ibby Jaabar, pointed out, Jennings just can't expect minutes to be handed to him on a silver platter:

Everything is going to be earned. I’m sure he’s a competitor. I’m sure he believes that he’s talented enough to take that spot. Everything will be earned. Everything in due time. This isn’t the type of program that because you’re a No. 1 pick you’re going to start. You earn everything.

And when he does earn his minutes, he won't find team dynamics to be as consistent as they are stateside:

I think Europe is a lot different than the N.B.A. and college. Guys are in and out. You’re never playing on the same team. You don’t play on one team your whole career. The team is always changing.

Go to 5:10 in the following video to see Jennings knock down some of his first points:



Here's a shout-out to ca18804, who uploaded the video.

Jennings Flourishing Thus Far

Lottomatica Roma's Brandon Jennings, the preps-to-peninsular pro in progression, has had a fine first month of preseason play in Italy.

Dario Marra tells us that he's averaged almost 20 points in his first 5 preseason games and

has shown, in this first part, why he’s considered as a potential first 5 picks in the next draft. Still very skinny, BJ is very quick and can handle the ball with both hands, has a great capacity to find a way to the basket, being very aggressive in dribbling to the basket and in shooting from long distance... . Obviously, Jennings could find some hard moments with teams more physical and, in general, with the slower European game, but there is no doubt that the roman audience – and all the Euroleague fans - may have some fun (he’s spectacular in open floor) in the next season.

If you daren't believe Dario, then check out this video of a scrimmage in which he scored 16 points and dished out 7 assists in his first scrimmage against a team from Serbia.

The NY Times' Pete Thamel did a recent story on Jennings in which some interesting facts came to light:

1. Jennings makes $1.2 million a year in salary and endorsements, and the team provides a luxury three-bedroom apartment, a Volvo station wagon and eight round-trip tickets between Rome and the United States.

2. His mother and younger brother are living with him in Rome, providing him a support network. His mom drives him around, since he lacks a license. Jennings pays his brother's $20,000 international school tuition. “Right now, we have no worries,” Jennings said. “As long as those two are good, I’m happy.”

3. During the night's Jennings stays home, on his computer. This could be seen in a negative light - he's not experiencing the culture of a world-class city or a positive one - he's "staying out of trouble" and keeping in contact with him friends and family back home. It is after all his job to improve his basketball game and a boring social life is one of the best ways to free up time to do that.

4. One positive "cultural" influence the move has had on his lifestyle so far is a change in diet.

The dinners at Del Taco and In N Out Burger, two fast-food restaurants in abundance near the family’s Los Angeles home, have been replaced by salmon, chicken and vegetables bought fresh daily at a local market.

5. Jennings is at least saying the right things on the expanding-your-mind-when-you-travel front, even if he stays mostly in his apartment and gym. He said he'd ask anybody making the same leap: "What do you want to get out of it? If they’re coming over here for the money, don’t do it. If they want to learn and get better, they should think about it. If you have a bad attitude, it’s not going to be good.”

It'll be interesting to see if that attitude holds up as the season wears on.

Jennings: TrailBlazer; More Smoke than Fire? Part 2

In my last post, I discussed potential roadblocks on 18-year old Brandon Jennings' path to success in Rome.

His new team's coach, Jasmin Repesa, is one.

I saw the sideline-stomping, crew-cut sporting Repesa in action last fall and wrote after the game:

Lottomatica Roma head coach Jasmin Repesa is the single most intimidating coach I have ever witnessed. Our group sat just a couple of rows behind the visitors' bench and watched, slack-jawed, as Repesa tore into his players with a ferocity and laser-eyed intensity that simply had to be experienced to be understand. As I looked into Repesa's cold, black, beady pupils, I can only liken my impression to him as a combination of Dennis Hopper and Jaws. I do not think that his players made eye contact with him one time the entire game. I once read that there are two types of coaches - the kind that teaches through fear and intimidation (the "Bobby Knight" type) and the kind that teache primarily through patience and positive reinforcement (the "Mike Kryzewski" type). Well, in Europe, clearly the master of the "Bobby Knight" style of coaching is the Croatian Jasmin Repesa.

Chances are this won't be the best coach for a young, albeit talented, player just learning to play with grown men, learning the new FIBA rules and experiencing a trans-Atlantic cultural transition.

Then again, as easily as for a jumper, Jennings may rise to the occasion.

Jennings: TrailBlazer; More Smoke than Fire? Part 1

Nobody has ever done what Brandon Jennings is about to do.

The Oak Hill Academy superstar, a flat-top sporting wizard with the ball, will play in Rome this fall as the first recent high school graduate to attempt using European basketball as a springboard to NBA riches.

Other Americans have played in Europe before, but generally after college or a fruitful NBA career (think: Dominique Wilkins). One, Kobe Bryant, played in Italy from age 7-14, but only because his father was already playing there.

But by signing with Pallacanestro Virtus, aka Lottomatica Roma, this summer, Jennings has bucked the standard thinking about what a 18-year old star should do when NBA don't permit draft entry until age 19.

Instead of waiting around this summer to see if he could play in the desert sands of Arizona, he decided to bolt for the cultural riches of Italy. Watching his progress abroad will prove fascinating, and there are a number of threads to follow. DX Draft Express International Scouting Director Luis Fernandez examined one:

1. Is the Italian domestic league the best fit for Jennings?

Jenning's new team is in the Italian domestic league A1, which is - no surprise - better than the other domestic league - A2. It rates only behind the Spanish ACB league as Europe's top domestic league, so it's no place for daisy-pushers, nor a place where teenagers can easily make a mark.

Why?

Fernandez breaks it down:

This is a very physical league where strength and mental toughness is at a premium, two things a player like Jennings cannot be expected to bring to the table at this point in his career.
Roma enjoys a deep roster and a very structured game on both ends of the court. There are no one-man shows here, the ball needs to flow and the team works united for a purpose. A player like Jennings, who loves to jack up shots and to dribble looking for the final definitive pass, probably doesn’t enjoy the experience and maturity to adjust quickly enough. Playing in a top league, you need to be extremely mature and consistently effective in order to enjoy significant freedom within the system, certainly not the easiest task for such a young kid playing the point guard position.

I watched Lottomatica Roma play in person, and in my next post I will discuss why meshing with its stentorian coach Jasmin Repesa may prove a difficult task for our young wunderkind...