It seems that all the fuss about Arizona recruit Brandon Jennings going to Europe is about to actually happen. Jennings lawyer, Jeff Valle, told ESPN.com that his client will play in Europe this fall: "Over the course of the last two months I have consulted a number of people in basketball before coming to this decision," Jennings said in a statement released through Valle. "I would like to thank the University of Arizona for their interest and support through this process."
Jennings, a Los Angeles native who played his final two high school seasons at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., was rated as the nation's top point guard in the class of 2008, according to ESPN.com.
Valle said Jennings will not even wait for his third standardized test result to see if he got a qualifying score after his second test was questioned by the NCAA. The results from the third test are due later this week.
"That's a moot point now," Valle said. "He's not going to the University of Arizona. Brandon plans on going to Europe."
And that, I guess, is that. Jennings will hire an agent as well as consult with prep hoops guru Sonny Vaccaro in order to get signed to a European team as soon as possible. He will then enter the 2009 NBA Draft.
As I've said before, there will be plenty of eyes on Jennings in the coming months. How he handles and performs going overseas to get a quick paycheck (instead of building his name brand in college) could be a key moment for prep-to-pro basketball hopefuls down the line.
