In data 24 gennaio il New York Times ha pubblicato questo articolo:
Brandon Jennings Sends Home a Warning From Europe
By RAY GLIER
Perhaps white sails will one day appear on the horizon behind Brandon Jennings, a flotilla of high school basketball stars trailing him to Europe eager for a payday. But Jennings does not want anyone to get shipwrecked overseas just because he made the trip.
He issued that warning this week from Italy, where he is playing for Lottomatica Virtus Roma, a top professional team. He fears that top high school players may be seduced by visions of instant riches, fame and success in Spain, France, Italy, Greece or some other destination.
“I’ve gotten paid on time once this year,” Jennings said in an e-mail message. “They treat me like I’m a little kid. They don’t see me as a man. If you get on a good team, you might not play a lot. Some nights you’ll play a lot; some nights you won’t play at all. That’s just how it is.”
Jennings, a 6-foot-2 point guard who was regarded as the nation’s best high school player at his position a year ago, signed a $1.2 million deal in salary and endorsements to head to Europe in August instead of staying in the United States to play college basketball. Some analysts suggested that other elite players would follow the same path because of the rules requiring prospects to be a year removed from high school before becoming eligible for the N.B.A. draft.
The deal for Jennings allowed his mother and his half brother to live with him in Italy, and he said it still made economic sense. Yet he said he wanted others to know about his experience.
“I don’t see too many kids doing it,” his e-mail message said. “It’s tough man, I’ll tell you that. It can break you.”
Lottomatica Virtus Roma officials did not respond to requests for comment submitted through Francesca Mei, the team’s media director.
Jennings does not resemble the pioneer some envisioned when he left for Europe as a dynamic player who could create his own shots and score 20 points or more a game. In Italy, he said, he has been stifled offensively. He is averaging 8 points a game.
“My role is to play D and take open shots — that’s it,” he said. “And I’ve accepted that role.”
He acknowledged that the journey had helped him mature, and he said the rigors of playing in Europe may benefit others.
An N.B.A. assistant coach who has been to Europe and has watched Jennings play said his potential draft standing had not been harmed. The coach requested anonymity because he was discussing a player currently ineligible for the draft.
“I think it is good for him,” he said. “He was getting a defensive component that he needed. If I was a scout and I needed a point guard, I would be extremely impressed with what he has done over there.”
Several of the top-rated players in the high school class of 2009 said they would not follow Jennings to Europe:
¶Derrick Favors, a 6-9 forward from South Atlanta High School in Georgia who is considered by some to be the nation’s top prospect, has announced he will sign with Georgia Tech this spring. “I’m definitely going to college,” he said.
¶DeMarcus Cousins, a 6-10 forward who plays for LeFlore Magnet High in Mobile, Ala., said he also would attend college. His father, Jessie Cousins, said the family had not had contact with European teams.
¶Renardo Sidney, a 6-10 forward at Fairfax High in Los Angeles, intends to play in college, said Harvey Kitani, his coach.
¶Lance Stephenson, a 6-5 guard at Abraham Lincoln High in Brooklyn, wants to play in college, according to his coach, Dwayne Morton.
¶And Xavier Henry, a 6-6 guard at Putnam City High in Oklahoma, has announced he will attend Memphis.
Bob Gibbons, a North Carolina-based recruiting analyst, said all of those players would be considered N.B.A. draft prospects this year were it not for the league’s eligibility requirements. That does not mean they should rush to audition for European teams, he said.
“Myself, among others, thought there would be a revolution and players going to Europe,” Gibbons said. “I’m not so sure now after what I have been hearing with Jennings and all the cultural obstacles there are.”
Michael Reddick, who coaches Favors at South Atlanta, described Europe as “a man’s league.”
“There are a lot of things you have to consider to do something like that,” Reddick said. “I played over there 12 years, and it is not easy.”
Paul Hewitt, the Georgia Tech coach, said high school players needed to understand the cultural differences, including language barriers, and the challenges of being homesick and of having to manage daily affairs. If a high school star does skip college for the pros in Europe, Hewitt said, he should negotiate for the team to pay for college in case of an injury or lack of development.
Sonny Vaccaro, the former sneaker company executive who brokered Jennings’s deals with Lottomatica and the sponsor Under Armour, said he had been in contact with high school players and their parents who were interested in Europe.
But Vaccaro said there had been a change from last summer, when he worked on the deals for Jennings. Economic conditions in Europe are just as difficult as they are in the United States, and he said he underestimated the emotional strength a player needed to compete overseas.
“A less-driven kid would have come home,” Vaccaro said. “They practice twice a day, and the Europeans play everybody. It is not like one of these silly college games where the same seven guys play every minute of every game. When it’s over, the fact he was able to handle it is going to be more landmark than him just going over there.”
Pete Babcock, the former general manager of the Atlanta Hawks and the Denver Nuggets, said high school players in the United States had grown up watching college basketball. Their dreams are to play for those programs, he said, not in obscurity in Europe.
“There is not going to be a mass exodus,” said Babcock, now a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I don’t see it happening.”
Le parti che vedete evidenziate sono state riportate, citandone la provenienza, durante la partita di mezzogiorno su SKY. Non è stata data una notizia, solo riportato e letto il virgolettato proveniente dal NY Times, rimandando le altre opportune considerazioni alla serata in occasione della gara di Caserta. Nel pomeriggio la Lottomatica ha diramato questa nota:
La Virtus Roma invia qui di seguito una dichiarazione di Brandon Jennings, in cui il giocatore desidera fare una precisazione su un articolo pubblicato sulla stampa americana.
“In merito alle dichiarazioni rilasciate in un articolo pubblicato ieri, desidero precisare che non intendevo essere critico nei confronti della squadra e del club. Il punto è che cercavo di dare l’idea di quanto questa esperienza sia per me una grande sfida. Sento che sto crescendo ed imparando. Riguardo al mio pagamento, so che ci sono stati solo dei ritardi dovuti al trasferimentoda una banca all’altra, ma il contratto è pienamente onorato. La squadra e il club trattano me e la mia famiglia nel modo migliore. Non ho alcun rimpianto a essere venuto a Roma e sono certo che questo farà di me un giocatore migliore e una persona più forte. A questo punto, desidero solo tornare ad occuparmi del basket giocato”.
(“Concerning the statements in yesterday’s news reports, I didn’t mean to be critical of the team. The point I was trying to make was how challenging this new experience has been for me. But I feel I’m growing and learning. As far as my payment, I know there have been some delays due to wiring issues from bank to bank, but my contract is being fully honoured. The team has treated my family and me very well. I have no regrets in coming to Rome and I feel that this will make me a better basketball player and a stronger person throughout my career. At this point, I just want to get back to the business of playing basketball”).
In serata, prima della gara di Caserta il presidente della società romana Toti ha espresso disappunto perché da parte mia sarebbe stata estrapolata una parte dell’articolo e data una notizia non corrispondente al vero. Con enorme rispetto per la libertà di valutazione e critica del Presidente, il sottoscritto NON ha dato una notizia, ma si è limitato a riportare un virgolettato di Jennings proveniente da fonte di assoluto rispetto, senza fare alcuna valutazione ma solo prefigurando (correttamente) che se ne sarebbe riparlato vista l’ovvia rilevanza giornalistica. Naturalmente riportare l’articolo per intero era impossibile e giornalisticamente insensato, per cui sono state riportate frasi di senso compiuto, correttamente tradotte e non contraddette in altre parti dell’articolo. Mi permetto, fatte sempre salve le difformi opinioni, di difendere con forza il diritto/dovere di riportare materiale giornalisticamente rilevante come quello che potete leggere sopra. Se Jennings non ha detto quelle cose o il NY Times le ha erroneamente riportate o alla Virtus Roma non piacciono le cose dette è a loro, anche tramite SKY che correttamente gliene ha dato l’occasione, che eventualmente andavano dirette le rettifiche o le critiche. Insisto, se avessi fatto finta di non vedere quelle dichiarazioni non avrei fatto il mio lavoro, che è stato di mero “copia e incolla”. Non voglio ingigantire la cosa, ergermi a paladino della libertà giornalistica od annoiare. Credo però di aver agito secondo elementari principi professionali, che nelle mie intenzioni animano tutto quello che faccio. La vicenda per me si chiude qui. Faccio il giornalista non per cercare scoop, men che mai incollando il lavoro fatto da un altro collega. Ma sono abbastanza sicuro dopo quasi 30 anni di professione di saper riconoscere una cosa rilevante da una non rilevante. E tanto questa lo era da provocare una nota della società e la dichiarazione serale. Non c’è alcunchè da nascondere, nessun piano segreto, nessun Grande Vecchio (ho testimoni che ho agito di mia spontanea volontà, senza suggeritori di alcuna natura). Per stasera i pensieri a raffica si chiudono qui, perché è tardi. Domani si torna a parlare di basket, promesso
Il (non) caso Jennings
In data 24 gennaio il New York Times ha pubblicato questo articolo:
Brandon Jennings Sends Home a Warning From Europe
By RAY GLIER
Perhaps white sails will one day appear on the horizon behind Brandon Jennings, a flotilla of high school basketball stars trailing him to Europe eager for a payday. But Jennings does not want anyone to get shipwrecked overseas just because he made the trip.
He issued that warning this week from Italy, where he is playing for Lottomatica Virtus Roma, a top professional team. He fears that top high school players may be seduced by visions of instant riches, fame and success in Spain, France, Italy, Greece or some other destination.
“I’ve gotten paid on time once this year,” Jennings said in an e-mail message. “They treat me like I’m a little kid. They don’t see me as a man. If you get on a good team, you might not play a lot. Some nights you’ll play a lot; some nights you won’t play at all. That’s just how it is.”
Jennings, a 6-foot-2 point guard who was regarded as the nation’s best high school player at his position a year ago, signed a $1.2 million deal in salary and endorsements to head to Europe in August instead of staying in the United States to play college basketball. Some analysts suggested that other elite players would follow the same path because of the rules requiring prospects to be a year removed from high school before becoming eligible for the N.B.A. draft.
The deal for Jennings allowed his mother and his half brother to live with him in Italy, and he said it still made economic sense. Yet he said he wanted others to know about his experience.
“I don’t see too many kids doing it,” his e-mail message said. “It’s tough man, I’ll tell you that. It can break you.”
Lottomatica Virtus Roma officials did not respond to requests for comment submitted through Francesca Mei, the team’s media director.
Jennings does not resemble the pioneer some envisioned when he left for Europe as a dynamic player who could create his own shots and score 20 points or more a game. In Italy, he said, he has been stifled offensively. He is averaging 8 points a game.
“My role is to play D and take open shots — that’s it,” he said. “And I’ve accepted that role.”
He acknowledged that the journey had helped him mature, and he said the rigors of playing in Europe may benefit others.
An N.B.A. assistant coach who has been to Europe and has watched Jennings play said his potential draft standing had not been harmed. The coach requested anonymity because he was discussing a player currently ineligible for the draft.
“I think it is good for him,” he said. “He was getting a defensive component that he needed. If I was a scout and I needed a point guard, I would be extremely impressed with what he has done over there.”
Several of the top-rated players in the high school class of 2009 said they would not follow Jennings to Europe:
¶Derrick Favors, a 6-9 forward from South Atlanta High School in Georgia who is considered by some to be the nation’s top prospect, has announced he will sign with Georgia Tech this spring. “I’m definitely going to college,” he said.
¶DeMarcus Cousins, a 6-10 forward who plays for LeFlore Magnet High in Mobile, Ala., said he also would attend college. His father, Jessie Cousins, said the family had not had contact with European teams.
¶Renardo Sidney, a 6-10 forward at Fairfax High in Los Angeles, intends to play in college, said Harvey Kitani, his coach.
¶Lance Stephenson, a 6-5 guard at Abraham Lincoln High in Brooklyn, wants to play in college, according to his coach, Dwayne Morton.
¶And Xavier Henry, a 6-6 guard at Putnam City High in Oklahoma, has announced he will attend Memphis.
Bob Gibbons, a North Carolina-based recruiting analyst, said all of those players would be considered N.B.A. draft prospects this year were it not for the league’s eligibility requirements. That does not mean they should rush to audition for European teams, he said.
“Myself, among others, thought there would be a revolution and players going to Europe,” Gibbons said. “I’m not so sure now after what I have been hearing with Jennings and all the cultural obstacles there are.”
Michael Reddick, who coaches Favors at South Atlanta, described Europe as “a man’s league.”
“There are a lot of things you have to consider to do something like that,” Reddick said. “I played over there 12 years, and it is not easy.”
Paul Hewitt, the Georgia Tech coach, said high school players needed to understand the cultural differences, including language barriers, and the challenges of being homesick and of having to manage daily affairs. If a high school star does skip college for the pros in Europe, Hewitt said, he should negotiate for the team to pay for college in case of an injury or lack of development.
Sonny Vaccaro, the former sneaker company executive who brokered Jennings’s deals with Lottomatica and the sponsor Under Armour, said he had been in contact with high school players and their parents who were interested in Europe.
But Vaccaro said there had been a change from last summer, when he worked on the deals for Jennings. Economic conditions in Europe are just as difficult as they are in the United States, and he said he underestimated the emotional strength a player needed to compete overseas.
“A less-driven kid would have come home,” Vaccaro said. “They practice twice a day, and the Europeans play everybody. It is not like one of these silly college games where the same seven guys play every minute of every game. When it’s over, the fact he was able to handle it is going to be more landmark than him just going over there.”
Pete Babcock, the former general manager of the Atlanta Hawks and the Denver Nuggets, said high school players in the United States had grown up watching college basketball. Their dreams are to play for those programs, he said, not in obscurity in Europe.
“There is not going to be a mass exodus,” said Babcock, now a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I don’t see it happening.”
Le parti che vedete evidenziate sono state riportate, citandone la provenienza, durante la partita di mezzogiorno su SKY. Non è stata data una notizia, solo riportato e letto il virgolettato proveniente dal NY Times, rimandando le altre opportune considerazioni alla serata in occasione della gara di Caserta. Nel pomeriggio la Lottomatica ha diramato questa nota:
La Virtus Roma invia qui di seguito una dichiarazione di Brandon Jennings, in cui il giocatore desidera fare una precisazione su un articolo pubblicato sulla stampa americana.
“In merito alle dichiarazioni rilasciate in un articolo pubblicato ieri, desidero precisare che non intendevo essere critico nei confronti della squadra e del club. Il punto è che cercavo di dare l’idea di quanto questa esperienza sia per me una grande sfida. Sento che sto crescendo ed imparando. Riguardo al mio pagamento, so che ci sono stati solo dei ritardi dovuti al trasferimentoda una banca all’altra, ma il contratto è pienamente onorato. La squadra e il club trattano me e la mia famiglia nel modo migliore. Non ho alcun rimpianto a essere venuto a Roma e sono certo che questo farà di me un giocatore migliore e una persona più forte. A questo punto, desidero solo tornare ad occuparmi del basket giocato”.
(“Concerning the statements in yesterday’s news reports, I didn’t mean to be critical of the team. The point I was trying to make was how challenging this new experience has been for me. But I feel I’m growing and learning. As far as my payment, I know there have been some delays due to wiring issues from bank to bank, but my contract is being fully honoured. The team has treated my family and me very well. I have no regrets in coming to Rome and I feel that this will make me a better basketball player and a stronger person throughout my career. At this point, I just want to get back to the business of playing basketball”).
In serata, prima della gara di Caserta il presidente della società romana Toti ha espresso disappunto perché da parte mia sarebbe stata estrapolata una parte dell’articolo e data una notizia non corrispondente al vero. Con enorme rispetto per la libertà di valutazione e critica del Presidente, il sottoscritto NON ha dato una notizia, ma si è limitato a riportare un virgolettato di Jennings proveniente da fonte di assoluto rispetto, senza fare alcuna valutazione ma solo prefigurando (correttamente) che se ne sarebbe riparlato vista l’ovvia rilevanza giornalistica. Naturalmente riportare l’articolo per intero era impossibile e giornalisticamente insensato, per cui sono state riportate frasi di senso compiuto, correttamente tradotte e non contraddette in altre parti dell’articolo. Mi permetto, fatte sempre salve le difformi opinioni, di difendere con forza il diritto/dovere di riportare materiale giornalisticamente rilevante come quello che potete leggere sopra. Se Jennings non ha detto quelle cose o il NY Times le ha erroneamente riportate o alla Virtus Roma non piacciono le cose dette è a loro, anche tramite SKY che correttamente gliene ha dato l’occasione, che eventualmente andavano dirette le rettifiche o le critiche. Insisto, se avessi fatto finta di non vedere quelle dichiarazioni non avrei fatto il mio lavoro, che è stato di mero “copia e incolla”. Non voglio ingigantire la cosa, ergermi a paladino della libertà giornalistica od annoiare. Credo però di aver agito secondo elementari principi professionali, che nelle mie intenzioni animano tutto quello che faccio. La vicenda per me si chiude qui. Faccio il giornalista non per cercare scoop, men che mai incollando il lavoro fatto da un altro collega. Ma sono abbastanza sicuro dopo quasi 30 anni di professione di saper riconoscere una cosa rilevante da una non rilevante. E tanto questa lo era da provocare una nota della società e la dichiarazione serale. Non c’è alcunchè da nascondere, nessun piano segreto, nessun Grande Vecchio (ho testimoni che ho agito di mia spontanea volontà, senza suggeritori di alcuna natura). Per stasera i pensieri a raffica si chiudono qui, perché è tardi. Domani si torna a parlare di basket, promesso