A Brand New Brandon Jennings
Over the past year we haven't heard much from international trail blazer Brandon Jennings. Falling out of the national spotlight was one of the downfalls that came with passing on college and opting to play professionally overseas. While most of the nation was watching guys like Ty Lawson, Earl Clark, and Hasheem Thabeet lead their teams to strong tournament runs Jennings was playing limited minutes for Lottomatica Roma, a professional team in Rome.
Jennings is now reaching the tail end of his journey and things are really starting to look up for him. His stats, which are right around six points and two assists a game, are not indicative of the leaps and bounds Jennings has made development wise in this past year.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress recently spent some time in Rome and caught up with Jennings, who is a completely different player than he was a year ago. The unnecessary turnovers and poor shooting habits are a thing of the past. He now has the look of a true point guard ready to play in the NBA and is really focusing on improving his jump shot in preparation for the next level.
" I've been working with him (my assistant coach) the last two months on my shooting," explained Jennings to Givony. "I got to have my shot tight for the NBA. We've been really doing a lot of shooting drills, pick-and-roll situations; we probably get up 500 shots a day, morning and night."
It's that kind of work that Jennings wouldn't have been able to put in as a student athlete because of the workload that also comes with being a full-time student. Sure Jennings would have been on National TV more at Arizona, but he wouldn't be the shooter he is now.
"When I'm working out I'm making a whole lot of shots now, 30 in a row, 40 in a row," said Jennings. "It feels real good. I'm more confident now."
If you looked at Jennings' shooting percentages though you wouldn't be able to tell how much he's improved as a shooter. He's shooting 46% from the field, but just 23% from deep. There's a reason for that though.
"I know my percentage is real low," admitted Jennings to Givony. "I don't play as much. I'm not comfortable when I'm out there and I'm not in rhythm like when I was in high school. In high school I basically just went out there and played all the time. Out here it's a different type of game. You've got to get your teammates involved more, so I don't really have the same rhythm I did in high school. So I'm back to being more of a point guard, I take shots when I can but it's not really how it was in high school, but hopefully that changes in the NBA."
One of the biggest issues for Jennings has been playing time. His role has been limited with his current team, but he's really worked on areas of his game that will earn him minutes at the next level.
"I'm more aggressive now on the defensive end," said Jennings. "I feel like it's a lot better than when I first came. I'm able to fight through picks and get through screens. I play a lot better one-on-one defense, I think next year that will really help me out."
Jennings is really able to appreciate this past year now that he is on the verge of achieving his ultimate dream, playing in the NBA. However, things were really tough at the beginning and the thought of quitting did actually enter his mind.
"Probably back in November when I wasn't playing as much," revealed Jennings. "Dealing with practices, not shooting well, and just dealing with everything, the whole lifestyle. I felt like maybe I did make a mistake and I should have gone to college. But I just sucked it up and looked at the big picture. How is this going to help me down the road in my career? Now we're in May and it's almost over"
It is almost over and as we get closer to June the draft picture starts to change dramatically. Oklahoma's Blake Griffin is a lock for the top spot, but after that it's anyone's guess as to how things play out. Jennings could end up the beneficiary of the questions surrounding Ricky Rubio's buyout situation and Hasheem Thabeet's age. Now that his maturity level, work ethic, and point guard skills equal his incredible talent he's a very viable option for the second overall pick in this year's draft.
Make sure to check out Jonathan Givony's full report of his time up in Rome checking out Brandon Jennings, it's a great read!
Tom Penn Headed to Minnesota?
After being turned down by the San Antonio Spurs' Dennis Lindsey and the Miami HEAT's Randy Pfund the Minnesota Timberwolves have apparently finally found their new GM in Tom Penn according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Penn has worked under Jerry West and has most recently been a big part of the Portland Trail Blazers' recent success.
According to Stein Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has been reluctant to give full power to his new GM and embrace some major changes. Should Penn indeed accept the job he'll be taking it with the mandate that if Kevin McHale wants to be head coach next season, he will be.
It's far from a given though that McHale actually wants the position, which would allow for Penn to bring in his guy. However, McHale does have the support of the players.
"I'm not really sure," said Love to a group of Minneapolis reporters about whether or not McHale wants to return as head coach. "Seems to me he's still up in the air on it, [it's] still a big question mark. I hope he comes back. If there's anything I can say or Big Al can say I think the consensus is everybody likes him and would love to play for him again."
Regardless of McHale's decision, Penn is walking into a workable situation in Minnesota. There are a lot of pieces there and a young dominant big man in Al Jefferson, who should hopefully be fully recovered at the start of next season. What's held this franchise back the past few years is poor personnel decisions, which shouldn't be an issue with Penn running the show.
Kobe's Technical Rescinded
As expected the league has rescinded the technical foul given to Kobe Bryant during the second quarter of Game 6. Bryant was called for the tech after Artest went flying from some slight contact, somehow coming away with a bloodied lip despite very little visual evidence on the replay. After reviewing the play the league did not see enough to warrant what would have been Kobe's fifth technical foul. Players are only allowed six technicals before they are given a one game suspension, which is why this technical being rescinded is so important for the Lakers. If they don't take care of business on Sunday it wouldn't have mattered either way though.
Chat Today
I hosted my weekly chat today and covered the NBA Draft heavily along with some possible offseason moves. You can check the recap here and leave some comments to keep the discussion going.
