55 Reasons Why Brandon Jennings is a Genius

By: Freaknick

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made waves when he changed his name. Brandon Jennings, on the other hand, is busy changing the game. On Saturday night, B-Jen dropped 55 points, breaking Kareem’s (then Lew Alcindor) Bucks rookie record of 51, falling only three shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time rookie mark. So where are all the haters now? Where are the doubters who shook their heads when they heard Jennings wanted to exercise his right to seek gainful employment after high school? I’ve got 55 reasons why they should reconsider:

1. I don’t know if I made this clear, but he scored 55 points last night.
2. The moment he landed in Italy last year, Under Armour gave him $2 million.
3. I don’t remember being offered $2 million when I arrived at college.
4. Because he’s not friends with Joe Budden anymore.
5. Coming out of high school, Jrue Holiday was ranked as the best point guard by Scout.com. Jennings had a “rough” time in Europe, while Holiday got to start at UCLA and had a decent, yet inconsistent, year.
7. The Bucks drafted Jennings 10th. He’s averaging 26 points per game and starting. Holiday went 17th to the Sixers. He’s averaging 2.5 points and is riding the bench. Hmm…
8. His new hairstyle is cool.
9. I know, I know. His old hairstyle was even cooler.
10. While his peers were in college (what a waste of time…sheesh!), Jennings was getting paid a milli to play basketball in a foreign land. Life sucks.
11. Scott Skiles’ profanity-laced rants can sometimes sound like a foreign language. Old hat for B-Jen after playing abroad.
12. Italy is famous for spaghetti and caprese. College is famous Ramen noodles and Capri Suns.
13. Just to make sure we’re on the same page, he scored 55 points last night.
14. Because…just watch this:

14. Because he’s playing for a coach who’s smart enough to make him shut down his Twitter.
15. He avoided getting drafted by the Knicks. That’s a big win in my book.
16. He’s a lefty who’s lethal with his right as well, which should come in handy when hoisting the Rookie of the Year Trophy with both hands.
17. He might not look too bad in an All-Star jersey next year, if not this season.
18. By the time Rubio comes over here, B-Jen will have already Continue Reading…

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Dear Ricky Rubio: Thanks, buddy! Yours Truly, Tyreke Evans

By: Freaknick

Look: I don’t want to write about Ricky Rubio any more than you want to read about him these days.  The truth is, I wish he would hibernate for a while and then only communicate by waving a series of colored flags.  The GREEN flag means he’ll play for DKV, BLUE means the Timberwolves, RED means he’s playing for another European team, and WHITE means, “You know what guys?  I think I’ll just stay underground and sew flags.” We now know one thing: in my hypothetical hibernation, Rubio will not be waving the green DKV flag.  Right now, I kind of wish he would raise the white one.

People are jumping all over this new non-news as if it’s new non-non-news.  Speaking of double negatives, you cannot not blame Ricky Rubio in all of this.  At first I gave him a pass; you expect naîvete from a youngster like him.  But my patience wore thin right as the NBA Draft rolled around. Ricky wants to play here.  Ricky won’t play there.  Ricky wants to play near a beach.  Ricky’s mom doesn’t like the cold.

I’m betting Michael Jordan’s mom wasn’t in a big hurry to hit the streets of Chicago and bust out her new windbreaker, either.  But somehow, she soldiered on. Now, uttering the words “Sam Bowie” in Portland is akin to yelling out “Voldemort” in the halls of Hogwarts.

Hurricane Katrina displaced Chris Paul in his rookie year; now he has shoes to trudge through puddles…and they’re named after him. Deron Williams probably isn’t a Mormon; he’s doing just fine in Utah.  Marvin Williams?  Andrew Bogut? Solid, but not All-Stars.

After going from Baltimore to Syracuse, Carmelo Anthony probably Continue Reading…

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