On a list of Compton natives from NWA to Coolio, he's slightly cooler than Cedric Ceballos and just behind Krist Novoselic. If he had been in the dunk contest this year, he could've found himself in the company of Mort Sahl.
2.) He's The Greatest Scorer In Oak Hill Academy History.
Not Carmelo Anthony, not Kevin Durant, not Jerry Stackhouse, not Michael Beasley, not Rod Strickland.
Brandon Jennings
P.S. He also won the Naismith Award for Best H.S. Boys Basketball Player in 2008.
3.) He Wore A High-Top Fade To The All-American Game.
Brandon grew his hair out thru his senior year knowing he was going to play in the All-American game and wanted to rock the Gumby look. Let me rephrase. Knowing that there was something important down the line, he prepared and focused on it for months.
4.) And Then He Brought It Back!
If you miss the old Gilbert Arenas, I'd like to introduce you to the new Gilbert Arenas. Brandon was even going to Arizona a la Gilbert before he changed to the Europe plans.
5.) Basketball, more than any other American sport, is a game.
Baseball lends itself to statistics because its parameters are so easily defined. Football is all about team planning and preparation. Hockey is close but bogs itself in last line changes and other unspoken rules. Basketball is harder to pin down. It's parameters are so simple (beat your man) and ambiguous (how DO you beat him?).
You can show me that Brandon does X-Y-Z and that means A-B-C. I have no problem believing that. I'm just hesitant to believe there is a secret formula to basketball in the same way that getting guys on base and scoring them while preserving outs seems to be the winning formula in baseball. There are too many factors which come into the mechanics of basketball to say there's one or two things you can focus on.
What I like to see is the end result of a player beating his man with style. When Jennings goes around his back before he throws an alley-oop to John Wall, I'm titillated. When he leaves a drop pass for Andrew Bogut between his legs, I'm excited. When he crosses Stephen Curry to the ground, my heart makes a small leap. Why do all of our warriors have to be automatons? Isn't the thing that's great about basketball is when it approaches Art?
All of this is subjectivity, yes. But, for me, subjectivity is not a dirty word. When I watch basketball I want it to be entertaining and Brandon Jennings is one of the most consistently entertaining players in the NBA.
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