Brandon Jennings seems frustrated in Italy, where he is playing for Lottomatica Virtus Roma. In an email message, some notable quotes include:
“I’ve gotten paid on time once this year.“
“They treat me like I’m a little kid. They don’t see me as a man. If you get on a good team, you might not play a lot. Some nights you’ll play a lot; some nights you won’t play at all. That’s just how it is.”
“I don’t see too many kids doing it. It’s tough man, I’ll tell you that. It can break you.”
“My role is to play D and take open shots — that’s it, and I’ve accepted that role.”
Jennings is currently averaging about 8 points on 18 minutes of play per game.
dizzzamn bj…i think it wouldve been better if u would have went to college but i guess im only saying that cuzz i wanna see u play…still gonna be top 5 in the nba draft for sure
Comment by justin brown — February 1, 2009 @ 8:07 am
In the words of Howard Stern’s sidekick Artie Lang…. “waaaaaaa, waaaaaaaaaa” Maybe Brandon realizes he should have spent more time in school caring about his grades and future. No one should feel sorry for a guy who runs away from challenges.
Comment by Johnny Boy — February 2, 2009 @ 11:32 am
yo thats how it iz bruh when yur on a gud team.. i learned my role to and thatz to hustle and shoot when im open or not some nights i see the floor some nights i dont see the floor and it almost broke me to but i cant quit now or back down ya dig just gotta do whatever it is right it cant be wrong
Comment by bobby peterman — February 3, 2009 @ 1:08 pm
should have went to college with everybody else one more year wouldn’t have hurt you. so i hope you get to nba because your not drafted you messed your self up by not going to college
Comment by whoeversam — February 4, 2009 @ 5:39 pm
Kids should have the opportunity to work and get paid after HS and go to the NBA if they are good enough. Colleges make a lot of money off these kids. For example, with 12 to 15 players they give scholarships to even if the cost is 100,000 each to gradute wich most don’t kids don’t graduate but the coleges make more than 1.5 milliom per per year during home games.
Comment by DD — February 7, 2009 @ 11:00 am
Brandon is big sissy!
Comment by Dave — February 7, 2009 @ 2:55 pm
Wait, Brandon typed those quotes? Who knew he could even spell? Too bad the SAT wasn’t all about spelling, he might have done better than that chimp that outscored him.
Comment by Dave — February 7, 2009 @ 2:59 pm
He had to release a statement where he drew back every single word of that message.
1) Payments: he didn’t know how the bank system works…he never studied it and none from his entourage took the time to explain him that if the payment is made on day1 from an Italian bank to his US account a week or so has to pass before the money is available…after someone explained that to him he understood it.
2) He’s playing with people 10 years older than him. Most of them have been playing as a pro around the world since they were 16 (Becirovic or Brezec or the Italian vets) or have had a lot of experience in the last 5-10 years (Hutson, Jaaber). He’s a kid. None ever was patronizing or condescending on him. I live here, I see the games, I see practice, I sometimes follow the team on the road. When he plays with his brain turned on he gets to play more minutes. When he makes good choices he plays more. The team is not playing for peanuts but for professional league titles with sponsors, tv contracts and so on, it’s a multi billion euros biz, not a joke. If he’s capable of a good contribution to the team he will play otherwise he will not. The most important thing is that the team wins over here, if a star has to sweat hard or a young one has to rust on the bench it’s not important. Yesterday he made a very good game with a few stupid mistakes and a lot of astonishing talent blazes, but the most important thing is that the team won equalling the franchise record of 9 straight Wins in a row in the italian championship.
3) It’s true: it is tough, you are not playing against high school kids or taking a hundred shots a game against college boys, you’re playing against people whose only purpose in life is to stop you and break you and kick your ass on the court. Most of them have been doing that for a long long time, some even before you were born…people is not here to applaud you or attend your show…they are here to see if you’re worth the money you’re getting or the price of the ticket. That’s real life.
4) You’re getting somewhere near to a decent D, you’ve got great flair for the steal and starting to make sensible choices…keep on improving.
By the way, I can assure that he has paid for that message…oh yeah he has paid…he’s not likely to write something like that for a looong looong time…
Our idea of “regular discipline” over here is something short of “West Point” by USA standards.
Comment by Virtus Roma Fan — February 9, 2009 @ 6:01 am
He had to release a press statement taking back every single word in that message. ^_^
His payments are fine, he just didn’t know how an international bank transfer works…problem solved. He got some extra running in the gym and (they tell me) a fine because of those words. We care about discipline here. After that he made a couple good games with good percentages and some steals (10 last game).
Sunday night at the end of the game he got hugs and high fives from all his teammates and his good share of applause from the crowd after he MVP’d in our 9th straight Win (franchise record).
Comment by Virtus-Roma-Fan — February 10, 2009 @ 12:26 am
Dude is gonna be just fine. Watch how better he’ll be when he hits the league next year. Dude is playing against fundamentally sound ballplayers everyday. Plus he’s going through intense training. No pain, no gain. This dude is a trailblazer and b/c of this move he made I don’t even watch college ball anymore. I wish I could watch Euro ball b/c him and Ricky Rubio are the two best in their age bracket!
Comment by Fresh MLK — February 12, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
come on brandon !!
you have to be tough. forget about gucci armAni and all of that.
train hard. play hard. it’s only a few months to go.
if your play was up there with your expectations you will have a larger role.
forget showcasing. fundamentals and hard work first. flashiness will automatically follow.
Comment by zauluz — February 13, 2009 @ 6:35 am
and LEARN man !! or in the future you will regret not getting soaked up with the european game. not saying it’s better, but it will truely make your vision of basketball WIDER. make you wiser.
people count on you man !
Comment by zauluz — February 13, 2009 @ 6:39 am
Looks like he learned his lesson.
Getting better every day.
Tonite (8:30 CET) we play against VirtusBologna (Earl Boykins’ team) in an in-out match in the “Italy Cup Final 8″.
BJ expected to shine in the first crucial game of the season.
Tonite will also be the debut of our new addition guard Ruben Douglas (former AZ Wildcat).
Comment by Virtus-Roma-Fan — February 19, 2009 @ 1:15 am
yo man i hope u make it 2 da NBA u got sum killa skills, ive seen ur videos on youtube. U can be like top5 in da draft like Derrick rose and meachel beasley, and O.J. man. keep it up my dude c u in da NBA man
Comment by Gregory — March 2, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
i think it helped him a lot because hes playing against grown men and if he would have went to college he would have been dominating because everybody in college isn’t that good and he can also get to spend more time working on his weakness with professionals and learning the game…….for us to say he should have went to school…….. we should be saying that about all the European players that get drafted because they have been playing in the pro league since they were 15 i wish you luck but i think you should stay another year over there after you get drafted if a good team draft you.
Comment by john — March 29, 2009 @ 7:25 am
Maybe if he wasn’t such a greedy dumb ***, he could have studied harder, and went to Arizona, that got to the Sweet 16, without him. Instead he’s riding the bench, and collecting a check overseas, while hurting his Nba draft status. A smart kid would have made a better decision. He’s just a greedy one though.
Comment by Jeff — March 31, 2009 @ 2:59 am
Sorry it has to be that way but at least yourt still doing well. I don’t about the stats or what kind of game you have. your my favorite player because your unselfish and a team player.
Comment by Nitronatester — May 24, 2009 @ 7:25 pm