Brandon Jennings has earned a lot of hype coming out of the gate. ESPN has him ranked as the top rookie of the season so far and justifiably so: the Compton native is averaging an impressive 18.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists through five games in his NBA career.
I’m not sure anybody saw this coming.
Throughout last year’s NBA Draft process, Jennings was probably the biggest enigma. Once considered the top player in his graduating year, Jennings spent a highly publicized season in Italy playing Euroleague basketball instead of going the traditional one-and-done route at an NCAA institution.
In light of the Bucks rookie’s explosive performance out of the gate, many basketball heads are now wondering aloud if more talented teens will opt for the Euroleague route on their path to the NBA. This is a valid question, and certainly it will be interesting to see if Jennings ends up being a trailblazer or an outlier. I however am wondering aloud if this tells us anything about how Ricky Rubio will fit in the NBA.
If Jennings, a 20 year-old who struggled mightily and was relatively inconsequential to his actual team performance in Europe is able to make his presence felt on an NBA court — what does (if anything) that project for the moppy haired FC Barcelona star?
Open Run 