I do not fear for the well-being of Brandon Jennings. I laugh when I read that he is getting in over his head with this basketball-in-Europe thing.
His journey is practically fail-safe.
After my senior year in high school, I drove to Los Angeles bent on working in a major-league baseball city for the summer.
How hard could it be? I had saved a few hundred dollars. A hamburger in those days cost, what, 55 cents? Gas was 34 cents a gallon.
It would be a Big Adventure filled with Dodger games, big-city life and the beach.
I drove a yellow 1963 Pontiac Catalina convertible. My best friend, Dave Ringle accompanied me. A prominent booster of Utah State’s football team told us to meet him at his restaurant in the L.A. suburb of San Gabriel. He said he would get us jobs.
We were to go to a nearby Pepsi bottling plant and apply for work; the booster had greased it.
“It’s union,’’ he said. We looked at one another. There were no unions in Logan, Utah. We smiled. Great. That must mean higher wages.
We drove to the Pepsi plant and noticed protestors carrying signs and wearing angry faces. The Pepsi plant was on strike. We were to be scabs.
After the interview and on-the-spot hiring, we returned to my car. The protestors were waiting. If I have been more afraid in my life, I can’t remember when.
We got out with only a dent on the right rear panel of the big Pontiac. Someone had smacked it with a stick of wood.
We did not report for work on Monday morning. After three days of job-hunting and motel-hopping, we realized the worst. — L.A. was too big for the kids.
We counted our money and decided we had enough to spend a few more days in Los Angeles, watch the Dodgers and, if needed, sleep in the big old Pontiac. Then we would drive 800 miles back to Utah and pump gas for the summer.
The last two nights we slept in Elysian Park, near Dodger Stadium. In the wee hours, a policeman rapped on the window and shined a light in my sleepy, frightened face.
“What in the hell are you doing here?’’ he asked.
I told him about watching the Dodgers and not having enough money for a motel room.
“You’re lucky you’re not dead,’’ he said. “Get out of here. Now.’’
So don’t tell me Brandon Jennings’ after-prep-school adventure to Europe is going to be a harrowing experience. He’ll have big money, a posse and adult supervision.
At 19, he has spent the last two or three years from his life traveling America, coast to coast, living on his own. I’ll bet he’s never slept in a car.
Compared to what the rest of us in the real world did when we were young and (often) dumb, Jennings is about to check into Camp Paradise.
What Jennings is about to do is step into the lane in European ball and get knocked back to last Monday — every Sunday and twice on Saturday.
In the pro ball of Europe — where it’s now or never for most brutes trying to make a name for themselves and a knot on the head of any 6ft., 165lb. rookie guard trying to show off — the likelihood of a season- or career-ending injury happening seems to be more
possible.
No, probable.
I’m sure you’re insured and things will be just fine.
Best of luck to you, Brandon.
And thanks for doing us all a favor with, uh, your decision.
More power to Jennings.
He will be well paid via salary & shoe contracts to do what he loves.
Spending a year in Europe will also help his personal & emotional growth.
Certainly he will be pounded upon by much stronger more mature players, but hey, that’s his JOB now.
Never wanted to go to college, only wanted to play ball & is probably good enough to do so and was smart enough to figure out a way to be able to do so and bypass the hypocrisy of school.
Rejected the U of A, boo-hoo, get over it.
Lute & Co. knows it is high risk/reward going after a lot of players of Jenning’s stature, battling tooth & nail with all the other high profile coaches sucking up to young kids. Nasty way to earn a living.
U of A looks after it’s interest. Kid looked after his.
We will be once again very thin this year & not only due to Jenning’s non-arrival, but our self-inflicted chaos.
Good luck to Mr.Jennings,
but I’ve still got a team to root for.
I don’t understand the criticism of Jennings and the prophetic doom and gloom predictions. Yes, he may struggle in Europe. But (from what I gather) he doesn’t have another option. He did not get a high enough score on the SAT to enroll at Arizona. What would you do if you were in his shoes? A major part of the problem for Jennings is the NCCA’s antiquated reliance on the SAT or ACT. He clearly has the grades, recommendations and other qualifications to be a student at Arizona. Many elite colleges across the country have made SAT scores an optional part of the admission process. For some, the decision is to help the school move up in the rankings. But an underlying assumption is that the SAT test is not always a reliable indicator of how well one will do in college. Clearly, one who does well is bright. But studies show that doing poorly on the SAT does not indciate a lack of academic intelligence. We sometimes find students who performed poorly on such standardized tests find themselves graduating at the top of their class. This was the case a few years ago of a college student at an elite college who won the most prestigious post (college) graduate science award in the country. His SAT scores were horrific, and he took the test a number of times. (This is one of numerous examples on this topic). He is now at an Ivy league school after turning down other Ivy league schools and the leading West Coast Universities. If we’re to blame someone for this, let’s blame the NCAA’s unquestioned reliance on the SAT or ACT in playing a determining role in deciding on the academic admissability of a student athlete.
#5 don’t make excuses. Did you ever take the test? Its not difficult. Did you ever have to go through the NCAA Clearinghouse? The requirements are PATHETIC to qualify. It goes along with this cute idea that every kid in the US is supposed to go to college. Some kids aren’t meant to attend college. Brandon Jennings is one of those kids. Whether is because he is dumb, didn’t try, etc, its clear that he has no business on a college campus academically or athletically. You say the NCAA has unquestioned reliance on the SAT, but it also takes into account GPA, which is a much less reliable indicator of intelligence than the SAT. Brandon had his 3 chances, and may have cheated on #2. Who knows.
By the way, Hansen calling European basketball Camp Paradise is ridiculous. He should read the article on P2 on ESPN.com…Jemelle Hill writes about a guy over there who was dodging gunfire on the way to practices, among other incidents.
Darren, I’m not making excuses. I took the test and did extremely well.
But Darren, my advice is before you make such claims, do your homework. I was part of a national task force that evaluated this very issue. Many elite colleges have responded to our conclusions. Simply, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Your analysis has not taken class, ethnicity, and other factors relating to educational opportunities into account, not to mention, you have not addressed why many elite schools have begun to make the test an optional part of the admissions process. Your youth excuses you from such an ill informed analysis. But I hope by the time you graduate you have developed the critical skills necessary to thoughtfully engage this issue.
#5,8
1. Your rambling post does not convince us that you were part of the “national task force”.
2. Experts do not generally hide behind anonymous nicknames, e.g. “confused, maybe not”.
3. There is no evidence that the author of #8 is young. Your pseudopaternalism is disrespectful.
4. Darren is correct. The SAT is a more reliable predictor of capacity than the GPA.
Gretchen, I apologize for what you characterize as rambling. But I can’t help but notice that your tone, style and words in your first claim are that which you argue against.
In response to your second claim, in professional circles you are right. But this is a blog in a local paper, not to mention such an ad hominem does nothing to show your intellectual rigor.
As far as number three goes, Darren brought it on himself. I assume he was not harmed and in no need of your protection. By the way, you clearly are speaking without doing your homework. Darren has said he is a student in the mid-west on other posts; although, he may have just graduated. (If I’m wrong on that, I stand apolegetically corrected. I truly meant no harm.)
Back to you; citing Darren as your sole support for your claim is, let’s say, not indicative of one who has a solid SAT score. (I couldn’t help hurl such an ad hominem your way to show you the true art of their rhetorical value and to give a taste of the analogic reasoning highlighted on the SAT. Plus, much to my amusement, I imagine it will upset you, get your blood boiling and open you to that ‘oh so angry impulse’ that drives one into hurling reckless insults. ) More importantly, there are plenty of studies that support Darren’s claim and your subsequent support. Why not cite them with a few substantive, correlative ad-hominem(s) thrown in – instead of throwing merely specious claims framed in insipid ad hominem(s). On this note, I urge you to follow Ben Franklin’s advice: “[One] that spits against the wind, spits in [one’s] own face.”
Clearly jennings was not educated enough for college. He could not pass the SAT so his only option is to go play overseas. He is to small to play their physical style and could get himself hurt. The real person to blame here is Olson!! He never should have recuited this kid!!! confused, maybe not you are a tool and should be posting on some spoiled, snotty, ivy league web site with all the other morons who don’t know what they are talking about.
Gretchen, I forgot to say: I did not claim to be part of “the national task force.” I claimed to be part of “a national task force.” Big difference.
And rest assured, when I see someone like Darren calling into question the intelligence of a young man (18 years old) without regard for the young man, and his circumstances, I will respond in the above style. I cannot imagine how humiliating it might feel to have what is normally confidential (SAT scores) to be publicly displayed in way that gives rise to those with a disposition to mock, for example, Brendan Jennings’s performance on the SAT test.
Shame on you for participating in such an exercise.
I took the SAT and got through the Clearinghouse without problem. It is not difficult is you are trying. Confused, you mention that I don’t take into account Brandon’s ‘class, ethnicity, and other factors relating to educational opportunities into account.’ I am not disputing your assertion that the SAT is foolproof, has been shown to be biased towards certain groups, and is not an indicator of intelligence. I agree, and several studies have shown so.
However, I am talking about Brandon Jennings, and Brandon Jennings alone. I don’t know what his mother pulls down a year, but I do know that Oak Hill’s website says it costs $25,000 a year to go there. Brandon already has had many more opportunities academically than most similar young black males from Los Angeles. I know that Oak Hill’s basketball team spends a TON of time on the road during the school year. I’m sure they have the money to travel with tutors and all, but I know that if I spent that much time on the road for basketball, basketball is what I would care about.
My point was that Brandon Jennings wasn’t meant to go to college. Maybe he didn’t care, maybe he wasn’t smart, who knows…Using the ‘SAT is biased and not an indicator of intelligence’ argument in this case is not relevant when the kid attends a private academy for two years. If he wanted to be at UA, my opinion is that he had every opportunity to get here. When you claim that I didn’t take his circumstances into account, it makes me think that you aren’t…The thing is, he will be fine. He has the athletic talent to do well with no college education. More power to him, and I wish I did. It just shows that the 19 y/o age limit is a stupid rule that is hurting college hoops.
Darren, Nice response. My reasoning is that if he did well at Oak Hill, he’d do just fine at Arizona, regardless of his SAT score. There are other factors we did not discuss, such as test anxiety, mis-gridding, slowing down to discern the best answer, etc….
No one faces SAT like tests in college, which is why many of us believe we need to emphasize achievement tests in the admissions process, which manifest the types of classroom criterion one will face in college.
Andrew, I have not told anyone they’re opinion is not welcome. Being critical is another thing. You are the one – in your response to me – who holds the position you critique. Plus, something to note, since Murdoch purchased it, educated people no longer read the Wall Street Journal. Any other suggestions? ;-)
What Jennings is about to do is step into the lane in European ball and get knocked back to last Monday — every Sunday and twice on Saturday.
In the pro ball of Europe — where it’s now or never for most brutes trying to make a name for themselves and a knot on the head of any 6ft., 165lb. rookie guard trying to show off — the likelihood of a season- or career-ending injury happening seems to be more
possible.
No, probable.
I’m sure you’re insured and things will be just fine.
Best of luck to you, Brandon.
And thanks for doing us all a favor with, uh, your decision.
Right.
BEAR DOWN, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA!!!!!
— Carlos 07/11/2008 11:09 PM #
It’s a new era, Greg: it’s called “dumb and done”!
— Kim 07/12/2008 06:16 AM #
At least the AZ taxpayers had not wasted any scholarship monies on him yet.
— John 07/12/2008 08:44 AM #
More power to Jennings.
He will be well paid via salary & shoe contracts to do what he loves.
Spending a year in Europe will also help his personal & emotional growth.
Certainly he will be pounded upon by much stronger more mature players, but hey, that’s his JOB now.
Never wanted to go to college, only wanted to play ball & is probably good enough to do so and was smart enough to figure out a way to be able to do so and bypass the hypocrisy of school.
Rejected the U of A, boo-hoo, get over it.
Lute & Co. knows it is high risk/reward going after a lot of players of Jenning’s stature, battling tooth & nail with all the other high profile coaches sucking up to young kids. Nasty way to earn a living.
U of A looks after it’s interest. Kid looked after his.
We will be once again very thin this year & not only due to Jenning’s non-arrival, but our self-inflicted chaos.
Good luck to Mr.Jennings,
but I’ve still got a team to root for.
— Ken C 07/12/2008 08:54 AM #
I don’t understand the criticism of Jennings and the prophetic doom and gloom predictions. Yes, he may struggle in Europe. But (from what I gather) he doesn’t have another option. He did not get a high enough score on the SAT to enroll at Arizona. What would you do if you were in his shoes? A major part of the problem for Jennings is the NCCA’s antiquated reliance on the SAT or ACT. He clearly has the grades, recommendations and other qualifications to be a student at Arizona. Many elite colleges across the country have made SAT scores an optional part of the admission process. For some, the decision is to help the school move up in the rankings. But an underlying assumption is that the SAT test is not always a reliable indicator of how well one will do in college. Clearly, one who does well is bright. But studies show that doing poorly on the SAT does not indciate a lack of academic intelligence. We sometimes find students who performed poorly on such standardized tests find themselves graduating at the top of their class. This was the case a few years ago of a college student at an elite college who won the most prestigious post (college) graduate science award in the country. His SAT scores were horrific, and he took the test a number of times. (This is one of numerous examples on this topic). He is now at an Ivy league school after turning down other Ivy league schools and the leading West Coast Universities. If we’re to blame someone for this, let’s blame the NCAA’s unquestioned reliance on the SAT or ACT in playing a determining role in deciding on the academic admissability of a student athlete.
— confused, maybe not 07/12/2008 09:06 AM #
Can he take Budinger with him? Please!
— So92625 07/12/2008 09:22 AM #
#5 don’t make excuses. Did you ever take the test? Its not difficult. Did you ever have to go through the NCAA Clearinghouse? The requirements are PATHETIC to qualify. It goes along with this cute idea that every kid in the US is supposed to go to college. Some kids aren’t meant to attend college. Brandon Jennings is one of those kids. Whether is because he is dumb, didn’t try, etc, its clear that he has no business on a college campus academically or athletically. You say the NCAA has unquestioned reliance on the SAT, but it also takes into account GPA, which is a much less reliable indicator of intelligence than the SAT. Brandon had his 3 chances, and may have cheated on #2. Who knows.
By the way, Hansen calling European basketball Camp Paradise is ridiculous. He should read the article on P2 on ESPN.com…Jemelle Hill writes about a guy over there who was dodging gunfire on the way to practices, among other incidents.
— darren 07/12/2008 09:43 AM #
Darren, I’m not making excuses. I took the test and did extremely well.
But Darren, my advice is before you make such claims, do your homework. I was part of a national task force that evaluated this very issue. Many elite colleges have responded to our conclusions. Simply, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Your analysis has not taken class, ethnicity, and other factors relating to educational opportunities into account, not to mention, you have not addressed why many elite schools have begun to make the test an optional part of the admissions process. Your youth excuses you from such an ill informed analysis. But I hope by the time you graduate you have developed the critical skills necessary to thoughtfully engage this issue.
— confused, maybe not 07/12/2008 10:14 AM #
#5,8
1. Your rambling post does not convince us that you were part of the “national task force”.
2. Experts do not generally hide behind anonymous nicknames, e.g. “confused, maybe not”.
3. There is no evidence that the author of #8 is young. Your pseudopaternalism is disrespectful.
4. Darren is correct. The SAT is a more reliable predictor of capacity than the GPA.
— Gretchen Collopy 07/12/2008 10:38 AM #
Gretchen, I apologize for what you characterize as rambling. But I can’t help but notice that your tone, style and words in your first claim are that which you argue against.
In response to your second claim, in professional circles you are right. But this is a blog in a local paper, not to mention such an ad hominem does nothing to show your intellectual rigor.
As far as number three goes, Darren brought it on himself. I assume he was not harmed and in no need of your protection. By the way, you clearly are speaking without doing your homework. Darren has said he is a student in the mid-west on other posts; although, he may have just graduated. (If I’m wrong on that, I stand apolegetically corrected. I truly meant no harm.)
Back to you; citing Darren as your sole support for your claim is, let’s say, not indicative of one who has a solid SAT score. (I couldn’t help hurl such an ad hominem your way to show you the true art of their rhetorical value and to give a taste of the analogic reasoning highlighted on the SAT. Plus, much to my amusement, I imagine it will upset you, get your blood boiling and open you to that ‘oh so angry impulse’ that drives one into hurling reckless insults. ) More importantly, there are plenty of studies that support Darren’s claim and your subsequent support. Why not cite them with a few substantive, correlative ad-hominem(s) thrown in – instead of throwing merely specious claims framed in insipid ad hominem(s). On this note, I urge you to follow Ben Franklin’s advice: “[One] that spits against the wind, spits in [one’s] own face.”
— confused, maybe not 07/12/2008 11:42 AM #
Clearly jennings was not educated enough for college. He could not pass the SAT so his only option is to go play overseas. He is to small to play their physical style and could get himself hurt. The real person to blame here is Olson!! He never should have recuited this kid!!! confused, maybe not you are a tool and should be posting on some spoiled, snotty, ivy league web site with all the other morons who don’t know what they are talking about.
— Andrew 07/12/2008 12:03 PM #
Gretchen, I forgot to say: I did not claim to be part of “the national task force.” I claimed to be part of “a national task force.” Big difference.
And rest assured, when I see someone like Darren calling into question the intelligence of a young man (18 years old) without regard for the young man, and his circumstances, I will respond in the above style. I cannot imagine how humiliating it might feel to have what is normally confidential (SAT scores) to be publicly displayed in way that gives rise to those with a disposition to mock, for example, Brendan Jennings’s performance on the SAT test.
Shame on you for participating in such an exercise.
— confused, maybe not 07/12/2008 12:06 PM #
confused, maybe not is still a huge tool. Go read the wall street journal or something and let everybody have their opinion! YOU OVER EDUCATED TOOL!
— Andrew 07/12/2008 02:39 PM #
I took the SAT and got through the Clearinghouse without problem. It is not difficult is you are trying. Confused, you mention that I don’t take into account Brandon’s ‘class, ethnicity, and other factors relating to educational opportunities into account.’ I am not disputing your assertion that the SAT is foolproof, has been shown to be biased towards certain groups, and is not an indicator of intelligence. I agree, and several studies have shown so.
However, I am talking about Brandon Jennings, and Brandon Jennings alone. I don’t know what his mother pulls down a year, but I do know that Oak Hill’s website says it costs $25,000 a year to go there. Brandon already has had many more opportunities academically than most similar young black males from Los Angeles. I know that Oak Hill’s basketball team spends a TON of time on the road during the school year. I’m sure they have the money to travel with tutors and all, but I know that if I spent that much time on the road for basketball, basketball is what I would care about.
My point was that Brandon Jennings wasn’t meant to go to college. Maybe he didn’t care, maybe he wasn’t smart, who knows…Using the ‘SAT is biased and not an indicator of intelligence’ argument in this case is not relevant when the kid attends a private academy for two years. If he wanted to be at UA, my opinion is that he had every opportunity to get here. When you claim that I didn’t take his circumstances into account, it makes me think that you aren’t…The thing is, he will be fine. He has the athletic talent to do well with no college education. More power to him, and I wish I did. It just shows that the 19 y/o age limit is a stupid rule that is hurting college hoops.
— darren 07/12/2008 09:26 PM #
Darren, Nice response. My reasoning is that if he did well at Oak Hill, he’d do just fine at Arizona, regardless of his SAT score. There are other factors we did not discuss, such as test anxiety, mis-gridding, slowing down to discern the best answer, etc….
No one faces SAT like tests in college, which is why many of us believe we need to emphasize achievement tests in the admissions process, which manifest the types of classroom criterion one will face in college.
Andrew, I have not told anyone they’re opinion is not welcome. Being critical is another thing. You are the one – in your response to me – who holds the position you critique. Plus, something to note, since Murdoch purchased it, educated people no longer read the Wall Street Journal. Any other suggestions? ;-)
— confused, maybe not 07/13/2008 07:45 AM #
I see they just picked up some kid by the name of Gerlund Judkins, class of 2009, a two-star guard out of Texas.
Can’t find out much about him. Anyone have any insight?
— James 07/13/2008 04:03 PM #