As a college basketball head, I honestly haven’t seen much of Brandon Jennings and Ricky Rubio outside of high school play and the Olympics. With both players staring overseas, there are some questions to how they will perform at the pro level.
I was sniffing through ESPN this morning and read Jennings comments on his fellow point guard prospect. The Lottomatica Roma PG hyped himself to reporters during the NBA pre-draft camps like he was promoting a heavyweight title fight and bashed the baby-faced Rubio.
“I think the dude is just all hype. I can't even front. I'm just going to be real with you guys,” Jennings told reporters.
Jennings followed up
keeping it real with another gem, stating that Rubio couldn’t hang with him or the rest of the top point guard prospects in this year’s draft. Jennings used Rubio’s stats against him in their head-to-head meeting last year as evidence - very thin evidence.
Someone get this kid a breath mint. I haven't seen this much crap come out of someone's mouth since my buddy ambushed me with
Two Girls, One Cup.
Bashing another player just weeks from the draft is a total douche move and it could completely backfire on Jennings. Obviously, he’s a little jealous that Rubio is projected to go as high as second to the Memphis Grizzlies, and somehow believes berating the Spanish wonder kid will improve his draft stock.
Jennings stock was already on the decline before his statements. After shocking the college basketball world by picking Italy over Arizona (money over development), he failed to make an impact large enough to be felt on the other side of the pond.
While he was averaging less than eight points in Euroleague and under six points in Lega A, his college counterparts like Jonny Flynn and Jrue Holiday were leaping up the draft board with stellar campaigns in the NCAA.
Currently, the 6-foot-1 Jennings out of fabled Oak Hill Academy is projected to go as high as 14th to the Phoenix Suns. Maybe Steve Nash can knock some sense into this kid. And perhaps he can learn from Shaq that in order to talk $h!t, you’ve got to be the $h!t – not play like it.
Add to Jennings’ floundering future this growing piss-poor attitude. NBA teams, especially those drafting in the Top 10 and looking for stability, aren’t going to waste a pick on a loud-mouth rookie who, regardless of how high he can jump or how many 3-pointers he knocks down, will at some point turn and bite the hand that feeds him.
They’d much rather waste a pick on a tested point guard, who played pro ball against grown-ass men before he sprouted pubes and can impact a game in other ways besides making the Sports Center Top 10.
I don’t want to go all Jay Bilas on the situation (might be too late), but Rubio’s defensive skills as well as basketball smarts – and the fact he isn’t slandering his competition in Spanish – makes him a much more respectable and safer selection.
If you had to choose between Rubio or Jennings to anchor your team, which player are you drafting?