Ian Thomsen of CNNSI.com asked an NBA scout to breakdown a few lottery picks to keep an eye on this season. Among the players mentioned was Brandon Jennings:
“I’ll be curious to see what kind of year Jennings has in the Euroleague and Italian league,” the scout said. “He’s a highly talented guy, and I think his life has gone well over there so far. His brother is there with him, he’s in a great school in Rome, his mom is over there. But the basketball — I think he’s finding out that it’s really hard. The Euroleague is more than people think.
“He’s left-handed and he can fly. He’s a little wild, though, and he’s not a great shooter. He can definitely score, and there will be nights when he’ll bang out a bunch of jumpers, but that’s not his forte. He’s not as powerful as Derrick Rose. Jennings has the same kind of speed and elevation, but Rose is taller and wider. This kid is thinner but he’s just going to attack, attack, attack.”
The scout goes on to say:
On Dec. 11, Jennings matches up against Ricky Rubio, the 18-year-old point guard for the Spanish Olympic team who now plays for DKV Joventut of Spain.
“There will be more NBA scouts that day than there will be at the Carolina-Duke game, I promise you,” the scout said.
Jennings had a back page feature in the most recent edition of SLAM and indicated he would be matching up with Rubio on October 29th. But since that date has come and gone with little fanfare, December 11th must be the correct date.
I hope ESPN finds a way to televise Jennings and Rubio’s first matchup. If they can find a way to televise LeBron James’ high school games, this has to be doable.
