Yahoo! Sports: Foreign correspondence prepped Jennings

Foreign correspondence prepped Jennings

by Dan Wetzel

In his first career NBA game, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out nine assists.  He was within a couple plays of joining Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only player to ever record a triple-double in t heir NBA debut.

Brandon Jennings nearly became the first player since Oscar Robertson to have a triple-double in his first NBA game.

The next night, in leading the Bucks to victory, Jennings led the team in scoring with 24 points.

Prior to last weekend, Jennings had been known as the trailblazing young player who boldly decided to skip college to spend a year in an Italian pro league developing for the NBA.

Now he owns one of the best starts to an NBA career … ever.

The two facts are related, the Compton, Calif., native assures.

“I think the whole year in Europe helped me out,” Jennings said. “I was playing against older guys, 30-year-olds, guys with lots of talent who were stronger than me, smarter.”

Jennings, 20, is aware of his place in hoops history and how his rookie season will impact the game’s immediate future. He knows all eyes are on him and his stat line. He knows plenty of people want him to fail.

He isn’t backing down from any of it.

The NBA instituted an age minimum for American-born players in 2005 that essentially mandated they attend at least one year of college. Players previously could jump to the NBA right out of high school.

(Read the complete story at Yahoo! Sports.)