by Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com

(excerpt)

“I’m OK, it’s just that. … You can’t believe. … He made another! … It’s this kid I covered in high school. … He just. … Wow! … He did it again!. … They can’t stop him. … Oh no he didn’t!”

I was hyperventilating over Brandon Jennings, of course, and his third-quarter cremation of an entire NBA franchise.

Brandon Jennings averaged more than 38 ppg at Oak Hill Academy.

He made 12 consecutive shots and scored 29 points from every spot on the court — driving right-hand spin shots (he’s left-handed), pull-up jumpers from the foul-line, an assortment of 3-point bombs — fadeaways, catch-and-shoots and pull-ups.

The 6-foot-1 rookie point guard for the Bucks did much of the same in the fourth quarter and, despite going scoreless in the first, finished with 55 points, three off the rookie record held by the most dominant player in league history, Wilt Chamberlain. Yes, that Wilt who once averaged 50.4 points per game.

Anyway, while my girls rolled their eyes and went to catch an episode of “iCarly,” I just kept gushing and spitting superlatives to no one in particular.

While doing so, I retraced my life back to Milwaukee — not where the Bucks play — but where the 2008 McDonald’s All-American contest was held. I was fortunate enough to cover the game and three practices preceding.

Jennings, the MaxPreps Player of the Year that season, was one of five native Golden State guards in the game whom I featured, and West co-coach Tom Diener gushed over his heart, handles and hoop sense.

Diener didn’t need to know that Jennings shattered the single-season scoring mark by averaging 38.7 points per game his senior year at Oak Hill Academy, a place that helped produce NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Stephen Jackson, Jerry Stackhouse and Rod Strickland, to name a few. He didn’t need to see the Oak Hill alumni list, either, to make a comparison to a future NBA Hall of Famer.

“He’s Allen Iverson with a great attitude,” he said that week.

I remember thinking at the time that Diener, who led Vincent High School to five Wisconsin state titles, was full of cheese. But watching Jennings slice through the Warriors like a slab of Swiss, I realized I didn’t know jack. Jennings showed the confidence, poise and savvy of an NBA veteran — just like Diener projected.

“No, really,” he told me 18 months ago. “He’s probably the best guard I’ve seen at this level.”

(Read the complete story at MaxPreps.com.)

November 16, 2009 – bucks.com

Congratulations to 2008 OHA graduate Brandon Jennings!

Milwaukee Bucks Rookie Brandon Jennings

The National Basketball Association announced today that Bucks guard Brandon Jennings was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the games played November 9 through November 15.

Jennings averaged 43.5 points, 7.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 39.5 minutes per game in helping the Bucks to a 2-0 record. He shot 60.4 percent from the field, 90.0 percent from three point range and 87.5 percent from the line in two contests. The Bucks defeated the Denver Nuggets (currently 7-3) 108-102 on November 11 and came back from a first half deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 129-125 on Saturday.

Jennings became the third player in franchise history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Redd) to record 50-plus points as he tallied 55 points in the victory over Golden State, breaking the team’s rookie scoring record previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (51, February 21, 1970) and it was the most scored by an NBA rookie since Earl Monroe had 56 in 1968.  The 55 points were also just two shy of the franchise’s high-scoring game of 57, set by Michael Redd on November 11, 2006.

Saturday’s performance also marked Jennings becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score 50-plus points as he was 20 years and 52 days old and LeBron James was 20 years and 80 days old when he accomplished it on March 20, 2005. Jennings’ 45 second-half points were the most in a half since Kobe Bryant tallied 55 on January 22, 2006. By recording 30-plus points in consecutive games (he had 32 against Denver), Jennings is the first Bucks rookie since Glenn Robinson in 1995 to have back-to-back 30-plus point nights.

In the Bucks win over Denver, Jennings had 32 points, nine assists and four rebounds. He tallied 14 of those points in the final quarter, including going 2-2 from three point range and knocking down all six of his free throw attempts in the final 21 seconds to seal the game. On Saturday, he scored 29 points in the third quarter (12-13 field goals) and 16 in the fourth quarter. With the team down 109-110 with 3:39 left in the game, Jennings scored 12 of the team’s final 20 points, including two three-pointers and two free throws to put the team up four with 10 seconds to play.

Jennings is the team’s first Bucks player since Michael Redd (December 25, 2006 through January 1, 2007) to be named player of the week.

For the latest on Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks visit bucks.com.

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.)

Diminutive point guard Jennings has taken a long and winding road to the NBA.

by Gary D’Amato of the Journal Sentinel

After signing his rookie National Basketball Association contract worth nearly $4.5 million with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brandon Jennings could have walked into any dealership showroom in the city and driven away in something that said he’d arrived.

BMW 7-Series. Cadillac Escalade. Lexus LS600H. Mercedes-Benz S-Class. None of those would do. So Jennings is the proud new owner of a . . .

. . . Ford Edge. Starting MSRP: $26,900.

“I probably saved $40,000,” Jennings says proudly. “And who knows with the league? There might be a lockout in a couple years. I’m saving my money.”

Before you get the idea that Jennings is squarer than Scott Skiles’ jaw, he laughs and adds, “It’s a brand new car. It’s a 2010. Hey, I fixed it up a little bit. I put some rims on it and tinted the windows.”

Jennings also could have picked anywhere to live in metropolitan Milwaukee. Mequon. River Hills. A downtown condo, perhaps?

Not good enough.

(Read the complete story at Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.)

At the ripe young age of 19, guard Brandon Jennings has already been around the block a few times. Has he ever. The trail-blazing Jennings toured Europe playing professional basketball last season, eventually found his way to the Madison Square Garden stage Thursday for the National Basketball Association’s college draft, and now has Milwaukee, and possibly Green Bay, written in as the next stops on his itinerary.

Jennings, a 6-foot-1 guard from Compton, Calif., and a former national high school player of the year, was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 10th overall pick in the draft and immediately becomes one of the major building blocks on which coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Hammond hope to construct a team that will win in the NBA on a consistent basis. Read the Full Story Online.

Lamb scored 23, Jones 17, Gallon had 12 points and Howard 11. The Warriors jumped out to an 11-point lead after the first quarter, and the teams played almost dead even the rest of the way.

Tickets for Friday night’s matchup against Montrose Christian (#6 USA Today) at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, MD are available online. The game at 7pm ET will also air on ESPN2.

Among the highlights:

The American prep basketball legend grew up near LA, some 6,000 miles away, where hoops skills bring girls, hype and carte blanche. He played at vaunted Oak Hill Academy, where training camp means five-on-five full-court for hours, not endless drills. Here mornings are spent lifting weights, sprinting on soccer fields or running through the rocky terrain of nearby woods. Afternoons are spent resting on the minibeds in the minirooms of the minihotel. Evenings? Time to run through drill after drill and get yelled at—again.

“Playing in Europe with grown men who are better than him is going to help him mature as a player,” says an NBA GM who is being kept apprised about Jennings by overseas scouts. “And I can tell you this already: He’s a definite lottery pick in ‘09.”

Read the full story on ESPN.com here.

Under Armour Photo

Yahoo! Sports –Having celebrated his 19th birthday with his mother and younger brother at a restaurant in Rome, basketball’s most important young player climbed inside a Volvo wagon for the drive home and started talking about the biggest rookie burden since Kevin Garnett. Life isn’t so different in Italy, Brandon Jennings said with a laugh on his cell phone. They speak English. There’s Burger King and McDonald’s. The Hard Rock Café has good burgers and good music.

“The only difference is that we don’t have a dryer,” Jennings said late Tuesday night. “We hang our clothes on a line.”

Read the Full Story on Yahoo Sports Here.

Brandon Jennings

July 10, 2008 — Oak Hill Academy and National Player of the Year, Brandon Jennings, and his family have decided to pursue several professional opportunities for next year.

Over the course of the last two months I have consulted a number of people in basketball before coming to this decision.” Jennings said. “I would like to thank the University of Arizona for their interest and support throughout this process.”

Brandon Jennings and his family have informed me that they want to pursue professional opportunities in order to achieve his ultimate pursuit of the NBA.” Jeff Valle, who serves as the Jennings family attorney, stated. “He knows that it will be a challenge to play and live in another country, but if he is going to be a top-notch professional he will constantly be challenged and believes he is ready now. Several European teams have expressed an interest.”

In addition to Jeff Valle, the family has reached out to Sonny Vaccaro to act as an advisor.

Statement from Coach Steve Smith, Oak Hill
“Brandon is a proud member of the Oak Hill Family and a phenomenal talent. While we hope all of our graduates will further their education, we fully support Brandon in this tough decision and we wish him success in the pursuit of his dream.”

Related News Coverage

• L.A. Times: Brandon Jennings to go pro in Europe
• NY Times: Top Recruit Weighs the Benefits of a Trip of Europe
• FoxSports.com: Jennings may just be a pioneer for ’student-athletes’
• ESPN: Lawyer says Arizona signee Jennings heading for Europe
• Arizona Daily Wildcat: Jennings skips UA, will spend year in Europe
• Arizona Daily Star: Jennings to bypass UA for Europe
• ESPN Insider (July 3): Jennings playing in Europe would hurt his draft stock, improve his game
• Washington Post: Alternate Path to NBA

Jennings at Oak Hill

Post Season Honors Keep Coming

The postseason honors for Brandon Jennings keep coming. Brandon was named the 2008 EA Sports Player of the Year. That announcement follows Brandon becoming Oak Hill’s first Player of the Year in Parade Magazine. MaxPreps also named him as their Player of the Year.

Brandon Jennings, of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and Elena Delle Donne, of Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Del. have been named the 2008 Naismith National High School Basketball Players of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Bob Hurley (St. Anthony High School, Jersey City, NJ) and Brian Harrigan (Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco, Calif.) were selected as the first-ever recipients of the Naismith National High School Coach of the Year award.

Jennings, a 6-0 guard, posted 33 points, 10 steals and eight assists in the Warriors 59-48 season-ending victory over Montrose Christian (Md.), as Oak Hill finished the season 34-4. For the season, Jennings averaged 35.5 points per game and amassed 1,312 total points.

“Brandon is one of the quickest point guards to ever play for me,” said Steve Smith, Oak Hill head basketball coach. “His presence and talent will truly be missed.”

Congrats to Brandon Jennings for being the 23rd Oak Hill Warrior to be named a McDonald’s All American. Brandon will represent Oak Hill at the 31st McDonald’s AA game on Wed., March 26th at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI. The game will be televised live at 9:30pm EST on ESPN. The same day as the formal announcement, Brandon hit for a Oak Hill single game record 63 points in a 123-58 victory over Bonner Academy (NC). He broke the existing record of 61 points set by Calvin Duncan 27 years ago. He has scored 1,265 is point total to date, besting Josh Smith’s previous record of 980 (see item below). In the Bonner game, Jennings shot 25 of 40 from the field, making 13 of 21 three-pointers, and added seven assists and five steals. He was pulled from the game with just under five minutes to go. (Arizona Daily Star story)

With a handful of games still to go, Arizona-bound Brandon Jennings has achieved the highest single-season point total with 1,011, besting Josh Smith’s 980 during the 2003-2004 campaign. Currently averaging 34.9 points per game, he’ll also likely claim the highest season average, which is now held by Orlando Vega at 30.6. Brandon’s high game was 49 points on Dec. 22nd in Tuscon, Ariz. vs. Dudley (NC), in front of his future Arizona fans. He scored 40 or more eight times.