So Sonny Vaccaro has finally grabbed the NCAA by the balls, like he's been plotting in some Mafia den to do for years now. Ridiculously skinny yet talented point guard Brandon Jennings, the next BIG THING in college hoops, has decided to not attend the University of Lute Olsen, and instead sign a pro contract in Europe for a year, before entering the 2009 NBA Draft.
Ever since the NBA instituted its one year policy, we've been waiting for this moment. Everyone thought it would be Orange Juice Mayonnaise and Billy Walker (both close friends of Vaccaro) to be the pioneers of this continent-hopping way of going pro straight out of high school, but they instead joined the One Year of College Class of 2008 (or, an awkward sorta year and a half in Bill's case) that produced one of the greatest, strangest years of college ball to date.
For Jennings himself, it's hard to say how it will play out. College or pro, the boy needs to put on weight at some point. His game right now is Steve Nash-esque, but with dunking and other more uh, exciting facets. But regardless...he needs strength for when he'll face the bigger guards that he'll inevitably face in the NBA, and now, probably in Europe too.
I have mixed feelings on this issue for Jennings. I think he's stupid to pass up a chance to work with Lute Olsen, one of the greatest basketball minds alive. There is no guaranteeing his European coach will click with him, or even speak English. Arizona is also a hell of a lot closer to LA than uh, Europe. Even if his family moves with him, will cultural changes still bother him? The longer schedule is probably nothing. He's been at Oak Hill for 2 years, which plays longer schedules than teams in the Final Four. But it's the little things. What if this demoralizes him, stumps his basketball growth, or just exposes weaknesses that turn GMs off? And it can't be about the pay. He's not gonna get a million dollar contract. Hell, NCAA boosters will probably do him better.
I just worry about the kid because I like his game and attitude, but I don't think this path is as glorified as it seems, and unfortunately, Vaccaro might ruin Jennings' life.
It sickens me because this is about punishment to the NCAAs for Vaccaro, who he rightfully believes is a soul-sucking institution that unfairly profits off of its players, without providing them with adequate educations or anything more than a chance to hone their game. I have issues with the NCAAs that are in a similar vain. At the same time, Vaccaro is EXPERIMENTING with a boy's LIFE, just to get back at the NCAAs. He whispered sweet nothings to Jennings, things that might hurt him much more than Rodney Guillory and OJ Mayo's bad marriage. Oh, sure, it could work out great for him too, and probably end college hoops as we know it today. Instead of the NCAA profiting, Europe will! And we know America LOVES supporting foreign economies rather than their own.
The fact is, both the NCAA and NBA need to be working together for some form of reform. While they act like they are separate institutions, fact is that the NCAA is a funneling system into pro sports where basketball is concerned. I've been an advocate for awhile of actually developing athlete-friendly curriculums at schools, where they can take classes in life skills and financial management and such to PREPARE them for the pros beyond on the court. It's gotten to a point where it's just silly to fool ourselves into thinking the NBA can institute a rule more similar to the NFL's, where the kids have to almost finish or finish college. Kids have been allowed straight into the NBA for far too long. Trying to do that now would mean ALL of college would go to Europe for 3-4 years. Someone fucked up way back, but that doesn't mean we can't get creative now, and do something to actually HELP the kids now for the 1 year or so they stay.
And yes, I'm an old man with this. I would prefer I see kids playing ball for 4 years still. But I realize times have changed, and rather than whine and bitch, let's figure out something that actually works, that teaches and prepares the kids and makes the most of their short stops onto the NBA.
But experimenting with a kid's life and career is not the best first solution. Congratz Sonny, because you did win. You stuck it to the NCAAs, because they're too busy counting their March Madness revenue to bother coming up with a plan to counteract their problems. Now let's hope that ALL of these people haven't already ruined the promising career of the next great point guard.
