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Post by noves on Jul 9, 2008 0:36:02 GMT -5
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Post by Funky George! on Jul 9, 2008 0:39:23 GMT -5
This is so unique, but I hate it. He's gonna hate not playing in the tournament when all the guys he grew up with are, and it sucks for a top American prospect to not be on display throughout the year. He's upset that the NCAA thinks his second scores are bullshit and probably fucked up his third set anyway. Oh well.
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Post by dj on Jul 9, 2008 1:24:43 GMT -5
kid will make some coin instead of getting a free education, which he doesnt want/wouldnt have taken seriously anyway.
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 9, 2008 6:54:13 GMT -5
smart move by him. if he performs well against pro competition his stock could rise like crazy
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Post by Phoenix Phil on Jul 9, 2008 11:48:41 GMT -5
I think he's going to struggle overseas... huge adjustment. It'll be interesting following him, though
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Post by AllStar0608 on Jul 9, 2008 12:13:41 GMT -5
smart move by him. if he performs well against pro competition his stock could rise like crazy i disagree. the europe game is way different, players who play in NCAA are more prepared for the NBA. also lute olsen is GREAT at improving PGs so he is dumb for not getting to Zona. |
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 9, 2008 12:19:52 GMT -5
Of course the European game is different than the NBA. The European game is A LOT more physical and to see the college game will “groom” him to the NBA is pretty dumb as we all know the college game is pretty different compared to the NBA where as in college it’s more of a TEAM game, while in the NBA it’s more of an individual’s league.
So to say that going to Europe is a mistake because college will make him “more-prepared” for the NBA than in Europe is pretty dumb. 16-17-18 year old kids already playing professionally in Europe, would dominate most any college team and there isn’t a person who would dispute that.
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Post by cjmjones008 on Jul 9, 2008 12:40:47 GMT -5
He isn't the type of PG most Euro teams wants so it will be interesting on how he fits in. I hope this doesn't pave the way for everyone to start doing this, but I hope he does well.
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Post by Aaron2344 on Jul 9, 2008 12:55:30 GMT -5
i think he's going to do well. a good amount of euro teams love their athletic, good passing point guards.
i'm sure he'll struggle early, but i think he'll be fine. i'm excited to see him out there.
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Post by DB on Jul 9, 2008 18:04:14 GMT -5
I hope he does well, it would have been cool watching him in zona. He needs the cash now though.
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Post by Rocky on Jul 9, 2008 18:16:13 GMT -5
I hate this. I don't think it will help his stock at all (in comparison to tearing up the NCAA), and it won't help him financially. Yeah, he'll make a nice salary this year, but he could potentially cost himself endorsement money in terms of a shoe deal etc. One year of college is enough to gain a prospect a huge, multimillion dollar shoe deal (Durant, Melo) on the weight of their work done in front of the American viewers. He won't have that opportunity.
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 9, 2008 18:56:04 GMT -5
I hate this. I don't think it will help his stock at all (in comparison to tearing up the NCAA), and it won't help him financially. Yeah, he'll make a nice salary this year, but he could potentially cost himself endorsement money in terms of a shoe deal etc. One year of college is enough to gain a prospect a huge, multimillion dollar shoe deal (Durant, Melo) on the weight of their work done in front of the American viewers. He won't have that opportunity. He's going to get all the recognition he could dream of because he's going to be "the first kid to go to Europe instead of college" so believe, I don't think Jennings is worried about publicity, he's going to get plenty. |
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Post by Rocky on Jul 9, 2008 19:48:24 GMT -5
I hate this. I don't think it will help his stock at all (in comparison to tearing up the NCAA), and it won't help him financially. Yeah, he'll make a nice salary this year, but he could potentially cost himself endorsement money in terms of a shoe deal etc. One year of college is enough to gain a prospect a huge, multimillion dollar shoe deal (Durant, Melo) on the weight of their work done in front of the American viewers. He won't have that opportunity. He's going to get all the recognition he could dream of because he's going to be "the first kid to go to Europe instead of college" so believe, I don't think Jennings is worried about publicity, he's going to get plenty. True. But to me, this doesn't make him recognizable at all, it just makes him the answer to a trivia question. He'd be more recognizable if he went to college and dominated in the public eye, rather than putting up numbers in Europe. |
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Post by Phoenix Phil on Jul 9, 2008 19:59:49 GMT -5
I don't see how going overseas would put a dent in his chances of landing a big shoe deal. If anything, it might enhance his chances because Adidas/Nike/whoever can market his product to American AND European audiences right off the bat
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Post by Gossip Girl on Jul 9, 2008 20:14:52 GMT -5
I think he will develop playing against the best of what Europe has to offer. With that being said I still think it wasn't that great of a move to make.
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 9, 2008 20:22:22 GMT -5
I don't see how going overseas would put a dent in his chances of landing a big shoe deal. If anything, it might enhance his chances because Adidas/Nike/whoever can market his product to American AND European audiences right off the bat Agreed... and he can already have a shoe deal in Europe, lol. |
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Post by Rocky on Jul 9, 2008 20:47:23 GMT -5
I guess so. I just don't like it.
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 9, 2008 22:44:37 GMT -5
Hey mark this one's for you. lol
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 9, 2008 22:45:42 GMT -5
I'm glad Jennings did this.. I think the NBA rule that you need to be 19 is so stupid.
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Dave
All-Star
Ex-GM
Posts: 7,222
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Post by Dave on Jul 9, 2008 23:22:13 GMT -5
I just don't think this is well thought out by him and more just saying fuck it I'll do what I want.
Does anyone account for what if he flops out in Europe what happens to his draft stock?
What league does he play in? Does he play in the highest? Does he play for mediocre?
If he tears up a low level league does that prove anything?
How will he fit in with his teammates who are completely foreign?
How will he fit in with the culture?
How will he do on his own overseas(Yes his parents can live with him first year of his deal however he didn't do well in the structured environment of oak hill academy)?
He won't have the same structure as he would in college with a schedule made out for him, class, workouts, time to eat, lift. Or have academic advisors, compliance offices, etc that student athletes have. He will sitting his apartment and playing games. Also how will these Europeans(teammates) embrace him if he is showboating or something. Also who knows if he'll get major minutes or if something goes wrong and the team releases him.
What he should do is prep another year and quit school right after basketball season is over like Andray Blatche. He will then be 1 yr removed from highschool and all problems are solved.
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Post by DB on Jul 10, 2008 9:43:40 GMT -5
Some Euro leagues are more competitive than the entire ncaa. If he has success overseas I see no reason why he would not go number 1. He is from Compton right? He wants money now to help his family out. A shoe deal seems to be in place while getting paid from the team. I bet he is going to be a star over there, only if it is 1 year.
I would of went to college though.
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 10, 2008 10:03:05 GMT -5
He’s been thinking about it for over a year now. A blog on his website dated somewhere around 8 months ago talks about it.
I mean how bad can he flop? How is this any bigger of a risk then when the NBA allowed players to enter the draft straight out of HS? I think this can only improve his stock because he will be playing against professional competition, and I don’t think any team he goes to will play him more than 15-20minutes a game.
He’s probably going to play on an Italian team and the Italian league is probably the second best league behind Spain. He’s rumoured to either go to Armani Jeans Milano (Danilo Gallinari’s former team) or Locomatica (Allan Ray former UConn basketball player’s team) Both have two great coaches who are great at grooming young players Attilio Caja and Jasmin Respesa.
He wants to play in Italy, but even then, in Europe, they have a big tournament where the best teams in each league play against each other in a sort of playoff so you have some teams from Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, etc. So even if the league isn’t great but he chooses the top-team in that league(which is going to happen because he want’s a six figure deal, a lower level team doesn’t have the cash to give him that) he’s going to be playing against some good competition.
As I listed above with Allan Ray playing for Locomatica there is an abundance of non-European players, especially American, playing on those teams. Armani Milano has about 3 or 4 American born players.
I haven’t heard of one American who hasn’t loved the culture in Europe. He’s going to be a “star” no matter where he goes. He might love it so much he’s going to want to stay, lol. But in all seriousness his problem is if he’s going to behave and not get into trouble because the nightlife in Italy, Spain, Israel, etc can get pretty intense.
As I said above, I don’t think he’ll have a hard time dealing. Homesick? Sure. Though the way he’s got to think of it, it’s just going to be a year. He can almost call it a really long vacation.
European basketball practices are serious. There are mandatory curfews, team meetings, etc etc. It’s a lot more stricter than here. You won’t here no Allen Iverson’s going “Practice? It’s Practice, Man!” over in Europe because they’ll cut your ass so fast it’s ridiculous. And I doubt he’ll be sitting at home playing games. There’s no 21 and over to get into places in Europe or any of that crap. My biggest worry is him staying out of trouble. Sure he may catch a couple of pranks or even a few insults from a few teammates, but don’t NBA rookies go through the same thing?
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James
Scrub
Ex-GM
Posts: 2,398
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Post by James on Jul 10, 2008 18:20:01 GMT -5
This should be incredibly interesting, I can't wait to follow him for the year. I think he'll do very well in Europe.
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Post by noves on Jul 10, 2008 18:30:22 GMT -5
Allan Ray went to Nova.
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Post by duceisinmyheart on Jul 10, 2008 18:32:32 GMT -5
that's besides the point
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