Brandon Jennings

Yannis Koutroupis wrote an article for the Hoops World about Brandon Jennings (ESPN interview) and his path to the NBA. I am sure it will be an intriguing discussion in the years to come as more high school players go to Europe instead of one mandatory year in college. Some will obviously succeed there and some will fails. It won’t be much different than when HS players were jumping straight into the NBA.

The author of mentioned article was inspired by Jennings’ more than solid stats to start his rookie season.

Throughout the first 12 games of the season Jennings is running away with the Rookie of the Year award in the NBA, averaging 24 points, four rebounds, and five assists a contest.  He’s shooting the ball remarkably well, hitting at a 46% clip from the field and 47% from deep.

Jennings’ coach, Scott Skiles, knows where his player’s success is coming from. Talent, maturity, coupled with great work ethics.

“He’s been very good, obviously,” acknowledged Bucks head coach Scott Skiles. “He works very hard, he’s a good practice player, and his preparation is solid. He worked hard all summer to get ready for this. So far he’s been great.

This is the dangerous part, where many young players might get caught – the lucrative contract coming right out of high school. Also, for guys not interested in school, not having to worry about the grades might be another attraction point.

Financially Jennings saw more income than most college graduates, let alone those who just received a high school degree like him. He wasn’t subject to the NCAA guidelines like he would have been at Arizona, so he didn’t have to worry about maintaining a 2.0 GPA or dealing with restricted practice opportunities. Jennings endured a crash course on being a professional while in Europe that collegiate programs simply can’t replicate. In his eyes it’s a big reason behind his stellar start.

But wait. Words of cautions from Gregg Popovich. This may not be for everyone.

“Every individual has a different set of circumstances that makes them decide what works and that’s just a decision that gets made based on that – what’s important for he and his family,” stated Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. “I don’t think you can speculate on whether it’s good or bad based on what he did or someone who goes to school for four years did. For four-year guys, maybe that was the best they could do. For this particular individual maybe that was the best thing he could do. It’s a very personable decision.”

Yannis finishes his article with likely the best advice for young players.

As an 18-year-old Jennings was in the minority by having the talent, mental, and physical toughness to excel as a professional. It was far from easy for him though and at times he questioned his choice but he ended up persevering. He’s a rarity though, which is why college remains the best decision for the vast majority of young basketball players out there with professional aspirations.

1. Shoot - Off the dribble, the post, three point range.
2. Pass – Correct pass at the right time, give it to a teammate in a position where they can make a play.
3. Dribble – Handle the basketball, go left, go right, create the shot.
4. Defend – Guard multiple positions.
5. Intangibles – Know the time, read the situations, rise to the occasion, make the right play to win the game.

We strive, enough of us do, to be the best. We strive to win. We strive to avoid defeat. Enough of us still do. Don’t believe otherwise.  The liberals have made efforts to shut that aspect of our nature down. Wherever you live, I am certain that you, when you were a child or your kids today in youth sports are told not to keep score, because the losers, it’s just not fair. They’d be humiliated, especially if one girl’s basketball team can defeat another one 100 to nothing. And let’s fire the coach who put that game together. It’s so unfair.  So let’s not keep score. Well, here’s the dirty little secret. The kids are keeping score. [Applause] You know they are. They don’t want to lose. They know what winning and losing is. They’re saying, well, why go out there and put on the pads and play football or T-Ball if the objective here is to not keep score. So they’re keeping score. They get in the car with mom and dad and they tell mom and dad:  Yeah, we kicked their butts tonight. Wait a minute, I thought you weren’t keeping score. They weren’t officially. They keep score. We’re competitive people. Adults are doing the same thing.

Covenant coach who beat Dallas Academy 100-0 is fired, Barry Horn, The Dallas Morning News

The Covenant School fired its girls basketball coach Sunday, the same day he posted a message on a youth basketball Web site saying he disagreed with school officials who had publicly apologized for the team’s 100-0 victory over Dallas Academy.

“I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel ‘embarrassed’ or ‘ashamed,’ ” part of the post says. “We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy.”

Grimes said in his Sunday post that his team stopped applying full-court defensive pressure after the score reached 25-0 three minutes into the game, then dropped into a relatively benign zone defense and began resting its starters in favor of its three bench players.

Dallas Academy coach Andrew Lott agreed that Covenant stopped pressing at that point but returned with an alternate press later in the game.

“I am 100 percent sure,” said Lott, who estimated that his team was able to take seven shots all game…

Team that won 100-0 girls basketball game has seen enough piling on, Jacquielynn Floyd, The Dallas Morning News

No victory ever came at a higher cost than The Covenant School’s now-infamous 100-zip annihilation of Dallas Academy in a girls basketball contest last week.

What would otherwise have been an unremarkable contest between two little-known private schools has become an overnight global wonder, making the news as far away as Australia.

It’s a terrific, made-for-the-headlines story – a national ethics lesson, a rare chance to disparage arrogant victors and celebrate the long-suffering underdog. It’s a vindication for every kid who ever got picked last for a team or unnecessarily humiliated by an opponent.

After a 100-0 game, Compiled by Staff, USA Today

Dallas Academy girls basketball team talks about 100-point loss, The Dallas Morning News [VIDEO]

Dallas School Apologizes for Basketball Game Blowout, Scott Gordon, MSNBC

A Dallas school whose girl’s basketball team beat another team 100-0 has apologized, calling its win “shameful” and “a victory without honor.”

“It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened,” the statement said. “We humbly apologize.”

Academy basketball coach sees a win in 100-0 loss, Barry Horn, The Dallas Morning News

The game took place Jan. 13, on the road, against The Covenant School. Civello didn’t expect his girls to win. He never really does. His girls haven’t won a game in his four seasons at the White Rock Lake-area school, renowned for its work with students with a variety of learning problems. In most games, they haven’t come close.

The Bulldogs play, Civello said, for more than the final score. They play in hope of improving skills, learning teamwork and picking up whatever life lessons athletics may bring.

But they won’t be playing Covenant again this season; they canceled their Jan. 30 game against the team. After the game, Dallas Academy informed the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools that it was withdrawing its girls team from the league for the rest of the season.

“We just said, ‘The hell with it,’ ” said Jim Richardson, Dallas Academy’s headmaster.

School seeks to forfeit 100-0 win, AP, Rivals.com

A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers — even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.

There is no mercy rule in girls basketball that shortens the game or permits the clock to continue running when scores become lopsided. There is, however, “a golden rule” that should have applied in this contest, said Edd Burleson, the director of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Both schools are members of this association, which oversees private school athletics in Texas.

“On a personal note, I told the coach of the losing team how much I admire their girls for continuing to compete against all odds,” Burleson said. “They showed much more character than the coach that allowed that score to get out of hand. It’s up to the coach to control the outcome.”

He is now an author, having written the 2001 book Just Let The Kids Play: How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports.

(Source: Wikipedia, See Bob Bigelow’s professional career stats)

How to make sports better for kids:

• Eliminate adult misbehavior
• Get qualified coaches
• Make playing time equitable
• Control excess travel sports
• Reduce overuse injuries

(Source: Bob Bigelow Website)

Donna O’Neil published an article in Wakefield Observer on November 14, 2008 based on the interview with Bob Bigelow. The idea is that…

…adults involved in the organization of youth sports who are living out their own sports fantasy through their children are sending the wrong message to kids.

Bob says in the telephone interview that…

…in a utopian world, I would take adults out of the youth sports equation altogether.

Maybe the best summary of Bob’s message is this paragraph:

Although not based on anything scientific, but merely on personal observation, Bigelow said, “If I could take 20 percent of the adults involved in youth sports, and that’s a multi-million number, and put them on a spaceship to Marks, never to be seen again, it would clean up 99 percent of the problems with youth sports. Too much of what is wrong with youth sports is their competition. Only about 20 percent that do get it. I would love to keep them around. I am fighting for the other 60 percent in the middle. That is the battle royal.”

Bob wrote a book where he elaborated on his ideas about youth athletic development and what needs to be changed to make the system work better. Quite a bit of the book is, surprisingly, given at Google Books, certainly enough to get a taste and make judgement if it’s worth buying. If you do decide to buy it from Amazon, here’s the link: