7/10 - Some Links, Some News

The Brandon Jennings Edition!! These are links to some of the best (and some of my favorite) writers' opinions on Jennings trip across the pond. And for the record, I'm sick of talking about Brandon Jennings, so hopefully this will be the last post about him for a while.

First, there's a couple of things that are bothering me about all of this. For one, it's ridiculous to me that anyone can question whether or not a European team will take on Brandon Jennings for one year. NBA teams routinely pay $500,000, if not more, to buy out players under still under contract in Europe. Jennings expects to make around $300,000 (actually, it may be closer to $100,000 according to Euro basketball guru Jonathan Givony), but even if he does sign for 300k, the European team could still conceivably end up more than $200,000 ahead. Buy for a dollar, sell for two.

It also bothers me when people say one of the risks he faces is that he will fall off the map for NBA scouts. Please!! The NBA scouts Europe almost as much as they scout the NCAA at this point. Add to that the fact that everyone even remotely associated with basketball now knows the name Brandon Jennings (and will probably be following his Euro trip very closely) and there is no way that he will lose any profile. Maybe his draft stock drops a bit, but name recognition won't.

And with that, on to the links.

-Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports: "We all (know) assume that big-time basketball and football recruits receive "illegal" benefits for pretending to be student-athletes at America's institutions of higher learning. We also (know) assume that journalists and news organizations can make names for themselves by exposing the fact that the kids and their parents/guardians are just as greedy as the constantly renegotiating coaches we put on pedestals. Brandon Jennings, a former Arizona commit, is smart. Why play the silly game? Why pretend to be a college student for one semester when he can't even "pass" the SAT or ACT? Why let a jealous member of his posse do what Louis Johnson did to O.J. Mayo?"

-Dana O'Neill of ESPN: "The coaches point to the obvious concerns -- potential injury and lousy play, either of which would cripple a player's NBA draft value. Europe, after all, isn't exactly the ugly stepchild to America's game it once was. Boeheim pointed to Danilo Gallinari, the sixth pick in this year's NBA draft, who was considered an elite player in Italy yet averaged only 14.9 points and 4.2 rebounds there. And if a player fails, by injury or lack of production, there is no safety net. An NBA dream can quickly turn into a European journeyman's course."

-The Big Lead: "How many 18-year-olds can handle going from high school to living on your own in Europe? Did any of them see how much soccer star Landon Donovan hated it? It’s one thing to play in college for a few years, then ride an NBA bench for a few years before going to Euro to make a career out of it in your late 20s. But a teenager? We’re more curious about how the European teams handle this. Will they really be willing to give a player $300,000 for one year of service, knowing that said player is simply coming there to show NBA scouts what they’re made of? Have European teams expressed interest in American high school players?"

-Jeff Goodmann of Fox Sports: "Jennings move to Europe will be an interesting test case for future kids who could explore the overseas market instead of going to prep school. I don’t expect an influx of players to go this route, because frankly, there’s only a couple of kids each year at the highest level who would even explore this avenue."

-Kevin Anderon of SI.com: "I would have great trepidation going over to foreign soil at that age," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "But he'll make a considerable amount in his year not in the NBA. The pro scouts will follow him just the same as any college player. It's just growing up in a hurry. Physically, he'll do things their players don't."

-Dan Shanoff of The Sporting News: "Nevermind that if Jennings was in the NBA Draft -- the 2008 NBA Draft, mind you -- he would have been a lock 1st-round pick, perhaps even top 10. Nevermind that the system of college coaches, NBA scouts and mainstream pundits will rush to crush him for doing exactly what he should be doing. Ironically, the least cynical actor in all of this is the kid. Everyone has ulterior motives in this; at least his are transparent: His goal is to play professionally -- and the NBA undoubtedly wants him -- but the system won't allow him access to it."

-Eamonn Brennan of The Dagger: "It goes without saying that Jennings' decision is a huge risk, but I said it anyway just then in case it wasn't clear. The common concerns are as follows: He'll get eaten up in European ball; his draft stock will drop; he'll become a casualty of lower profile; living in Europe will take a mental toll on him. Etc. With all due respect, these concerns seem about as realistic as this football simulation."