After coming off a successful rookie season, Brandon Jennings has already set some lofty goals for his second season. Individually, Jennings wants to average a double-double and make the All-Star team. As a team, he wants the Milwaukee Bucks to win the Central Division and get out of the first round of the Playoffs.
In other news, at his Pro Basketball Camp for kids, Jennings took part in a game and showed off his sweet stroke as he nailed the game winning basket from deep behind the 3 point line.
Brandon Jennings may not have won rookie of the year but he was honored as one of the top rookies of the season by being named to the All-Rookie Team. Jennings is joined by Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Darren Collison, and Taj Gibson. The second team is made up of DeJuan Blair, James Harden, Jonas Jerebko, Jonny Flynn and Marcus Thornton.
Brandon Jennings was two points shy of an NBA record for a playoff debut. Jennings scored 34 points on 14-of-25 shooting using his quickness to get to the basket and to create room for his jump shots, including shooting 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. Despite the good shooting and second half comeback, the Atlanta Hawks were too much in the opening game of their series against the Bogut-less Milwaukee Bucks and now lead the series 1-0. Game 2 will be in Atlanta on Tuesday followed by Games 3 and 4 in Milwaukee on Saturday and Monday. If you don’t have your basketball tickets for the game, Tuesday’s game will be on NBATV (7:00 est) and Saturday’s game will be on ESPN (7:00 est).
Asked how the Playoffs compare to the regular season, Jennings said:
“The intensity is a little higher, but I can’t tell, because I’m playing above my head this whole series. There’s no pressure on us. All we have to do is play basketball.”
Here’s hoping for a few more good games from Brandon in the Playoffs.
Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings got some more hardware at the start of the month when he was named the Eastern Conference rookie of the month award. Jennings has won the award four out of the five months of the NBA season.
During the month of March, the Bucks had an 11-4 record, with Jennings averaging 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The rookie of the year award is likely to come down to Jennings, Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings, and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Of the three rookies, Jennings and the Bucks are the only ones that will be in the Playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings participated in the 2010 Skills Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend. The Skills Challenge Skills measures all-around game with different stations for dribbling, passing and shooting. The NBA odds were surely against him as Jennings competed against two past champions – 2005 champion Steve Nash and 2008 winner Deron Williams, as well as high flying Russell Westbrook, a late replacement for last year’s champion, Derrick Rose. Jennings ended up finishing 3rd overall, completing the obstacle course of layups, outside shots, and direct pass-shots in 35.7 seconds, less than a second off the pace set by finalists Steve Nash and Deron Williams. Jennings finished third overall in the Skills Competition. The Bucks rookie’s stumbling block was a direct pass into a net that took Jennings five tries to make. Nash won the competition in the final round with a time of 29.9 seconds.
After the weekend, Jennings said the best part was being able to meet new guys, see new faces, build friendships, and give him motivation to work harder to come back every year.
How would you have liked to see Brandon Jennings in the uptempo offense of Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks? Instead, the Knicks drafted seldom used and now traded Jordan Hill of Arizona as the 8th pick. Now comes word that the reason Brandon wasn’t on the Knicks’ radar was because the Issiah Thomas’ scouting staff didn’t seem that high on Jennings. This staff was inherited by Knicks GM Donnie Walsh, who took over in April, 2008. Just another reason for Knicks’ fans to be mad at Issiah ruining the franchise .
