Botching the Italian Job: The case of Brandon Jennings

by Chad Ford Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings is off to a torrid start, prompting the inevitable "What the heck were the [insert your lottery team here] thinking on draft night?" questions. Considering that Jennings was ranked in the top five of our Top 100 draft prospects virtually all year, why did he slip to No. 10 in the 2009 draft? I covered Jennings closely throughout the draft process and even took a trip to Italy to gather opinions from those who coached him overseas as well as those who watched him play. The result was this in-depth story chronicling Jennings' year in Italy and the reaction he was getting from both NBA and international scouts. In early June, there was anything but a consensus on what kind of NBA player he'd become, and NBA executives and scouts traveling to the Reebok Eurocamp were furious that Jennings was a last-minute scratch. According to one veteran general manager: "We all came to see whether this kid can really pl...