Brandon Jennings Is Slowly Carving a Name of His Own

It took 10 months in Rome, then 10 picks during the draft until Brandon Jennings arrived in the NBA. Yet miraculously, it took less than 10 games for Jennings to score 55 points and set himself apart as one of the best point guards and rookies in the league

Jennings, a small point guard, standing 6'1" and 169 pounds, is generally the youngest and smallest player on the court. Yet, when taking into account his size, Jennings makes up for it with the size of his skill.

Coming into this season, Bucks fans were dreading seeing the record, as the Bucks came in with almost no upgrade from last season, save a rookie who averaged a measly 6 points per game in Rome. How would he fare in this league?

No one, not even the experts, could have predicted the Bucks would be over .500 and Jennings would be playing as well as he's been. After Jennings' jaw-dropping 55 point effort in only his seventh game, he received much love and congratulations from fellow point guards Steve Nash and Baron Davis, neither of whom have ever scored what Jennings managed to put up.

A couple of days ago, while discussing and arguing basketball with my friends, we attempted to compare Jennings with someone else of his caliber in the league. Names were thrown around such as Arenas, Baron, Westbrook, Archibald, and many other players who have carved their names in this league. Yet, none of those players matched what I've seen of Jennings so far.

Arenas, in his pre-injury days, averaged a nice 29 points a game and put up a modest number of assists. Yet, watching the two play, you can't help but notice Arenas's tendency to drive and get fouled whilst Jenning's style of play involved many more picks, and fewer fouls. The comparison did not work. Nevertheless, Arenas came the closest out of those few.

However, Allen Iverson, mentioned by one of my colleagues, sparked a conversation. Both are approximately the same size, near astounding in their rookie season's, and both quick off the dribble. Another resemblance is that both play point guard, but neither is the passive type. Still, Jennings has delivered far more assists than Iverson had, and has not delivered the attitude problem yet.

One of the similar characteristics that sidetracks Jennings from the rest is, for lack of a better word, his "aided ball-hogness." Though he most definitely should not be classified as a ball-hog, there is no denying that Jennings loves to shoot the rock. To say the least, this has been extremely good for this team, helping them to better themselves.

One of the reasons Jennings has made his mark as one of the few surprises of the young season, is because heading into the draft, as well as during the draft, Jennings was disregarded because of his poor play in Europe. A sure lottery pick out of high-school, Brandon dropped to 1oth, to a team that was not even completely sold on him.

There were certainly many valid reasons for not picking Jennings. He was classified by many as a mediocre shooter and a point guard who could often turn the ball over. The situation in Italy, if I may repeat myself, did not help.

In grade school, Jenning's father passed away in a tragic death. According to Sports Illustrated , Jennings took this situation in hand by using his god-given talent in any way possible to support his family. After easily being one of the top high school players in America, Jennings decided to attend the University of Arizona, yet failed the exams necessary for his enrollment. This is where Sonny Vaccaro comes in. He was the "master-mind" of sending Jennings to Europe.

Jennings quickly accepted this situation and headed overseas. It was not the smartest idea on his part and this ideal situation turned disastrous. He was playing against actual men, in comparison to high school kids, and Jennings' game suffered. Had the Bucks primary focus been the same as the nine teams who passed up on him, who knows where Brandon would be today?

He attended all the team's summer practises, quickly setting him apart from the rest.

"One day the trainer did some exercises with Brandon that killed him. If he missed one shot, he had to start all over again, and it got so bad I had to go outside and do a prayer for him, I was so frustrated for him. But now I think about Brandon scoring those 55 points and coming down the lane and pulling up those shots, and they were the same shots that trainer was making him do over and over. That work really paid off for him," said Jenning's mother, Alice Knox. She is a huge supporter of her son and somehow managed to come to all of Brandon's practices.

Just as his mother managed before him, Jenning's will undergo the hardships of the NBA, and maybe, just maybe, he will get the aid needed from a 55 point performance to be at the top of the ROY ballots.