Jul 11 2008
Brandon Jennings Heads to Europe
I’m glad Brandon Jennings made this decision. Whether or not he realizes the implications of his action, I think he is on the verge of starting a new trend. If Jennings is able to go to Europe, and play one or two quality seasons and return to the NBA as an already well paid lottery pick, then maybe this will impact high school stars to evaluate the “you must go to college and pretend to be a student” system currently in place.
Jason Whitlock in his column points out how the NCAA basically pimps black athletes into making the college campuses money. While these athletes do have an opportunity to earn a college degree, many have no intentions of using the opportunity while others really don’t deserve the opportunity academically. Whitlock rightly demonstrates how only in basketball and football are kids forced to go to college in order to then become a pro in their sport.
Tennis, golf, hockey, soccer and baseball all allow teenagers to sign contracts and play against “grown men” as young as 14 years old. Interesting how no one in the media seems to take those sports to task for exploiting such youngsters.
Only in a sport dominated on the college and pro levels by black players (including some from disadvantaged backgrounds) is there this concern about their “well-being” and maturity level. Guaranteed if there was talented white high school players projected to be NBA stars and considered lottery picks, there would be little conversation about age restriction.
Doug Gottleib says “But Jennings is not ready for the culture shock of playing overseas, for the challenge of playing grown men as opposed to over-matched high schoolers, for the huge drop in the NBA draft stock.”
So Gottleib is now concerned about the kids drop in draft stock and ability to transition to the culture shock of playing in Europe. What about the culture shock that many of these kids get when they go to college?
Maybe Gottleib had an easy transition to college, but I remember my college experience and there was dozens of kids who couldn’t transition and left after a year or less. Sure there will be a culture shock for a young athlete moving to Europe, but if the team which invests in him is serious, they will take steps to help him transition.
Many athletes don’t go to college from a harsh background, but take Allen Iverson’s background. He grew up immensely poor, and as he has stated grew up with sewage seeping into his families carpet. How was the culture shock when he arrived at the mostly white, mostly wealthy Georgetown University? Point is it happens, and the kids deal with it.
Culture shock? How about being one of these prized recruits and surrounded by 20,000 mostly white fans in the south, and they are starting to harass you because your not living up to billing. In Europe this scenario may also include racial slurs and bananas thrown onto the court. However, regardless of where these kids decide to go they will face some difficult transitions.
The common thought is that college provides them an opportunity to mature and improve their game. How exactly is playing in Europe not going to provide the same potential opportunity. My thought for years is that rather than the NBA having an age limit, they should keep focused on having the development league be a true minor league system. There they could develop while solely being required to play basketball, not worry about a Sociology class which they have no desire to be in. Or worse yet accepting something even as minor as a dinner from a booster and losing eligibility or costing his team game forfeitures.
Jennings is now free to sign a contract in Europe to play for a likely 6 figures, and even get a few endorsement deals over there. Additionally, if he’s successful, he’ll have established himself against professionals, likely matured and ready to transition to the NBA.
If he went to college? He’s unlikely to play professional quality individuals regularly, he’ll continue to be a part of the “we’ll take care of that for you” system and still may not be ready to transition to the NBA. However, if he is in college and fails to fulfill the academic guidelines, they’ll take away his ability to play which is the one thing he wants to do.
College athletics is about the opportunity for talented student-athletes both to play sports and earn a college education. Somewhere along the line it became entertainment for the masses and a money making machine for the Universities and other entities.
Has baseball been harmed by having some players who choose minor leagues over college? Not at all. And in fact the NCAA College World Series is starting to gain interest from fans.
There is and will always be a difficult balance between the amateur status of the players and the professional entertainment they are stars of. However, too often the process is one sided. The Universities are able to tout their athletic accomplishments, while the students are involved in a system which attempts to make them faceless and nameless.
There have been failures who went straight to the NBA, but consider the HS players drafted in the lottery since Kevin Garnett turned pro. There are busts: Johnathan Bender, Kwame Brown, and Sebastian Telfair. Some solid players: Martell Webster, Eddy Curry, Shaun Livingston. Future stars: Josh Smith, Andrew Bynum. And the superstars: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and KG. Thing is you can do the same break down with the other players (college players 2-3 years, 4 year players and Europeans). I’m pretty sure you’ll see more busts in the 4 year college players and Europeans then the 0-3 years of college players.
These players have to live with their decisions. And it is blatantly unfair and unreasonable to place artificial restrictions on their ability to decide their own lives. If they get misled by agent, so be it. It was their call. Unable to develop while being distracted by having cash and all the dangers of being young? One year of college won’t mature an individual to avoid those dangers.
It’s time for these players to make their own decisions, and the NBA needs to worry more about supporting the players they draft rather than restricting them from choosing their own life path.
To Brandon Jennings, make the most of your decision. Use those who spell gloom and doom for you as a motivating factor in your develop. You took control of the process rather than being used by the system. And I for one fully support you in that.
