American Jennings enjoys the pioneer life

By Paul Virgo

ROME (Reuters) - Six months after making basketball history by signing for Italy''s Virtus Roma, teenager Brandon Jennings knows the pioneer''s life is a tough one.

Expectations were high for the first American prospect to skip college and move directly to a professional league in Europe since the NBA ruled in 2005 that its players must be at least 19 and a year out of high school.

Patience and time for a point guard adapting to a new country, playing style and team mates were in short supply, however.

"Coming over here, you''re a long way from home, you''re across that water so it''s a whole different world around here," Jennings, who joined in July and is now 19, told Reuters.

"It''s different from American basketball. I play on a real talented team right now, so I''m not able to showcase my skills as much. With the time I get, I try to do what I can."

Along with the challenge of settling in to a foreign environment, the product of Virginia''s Oak Hill Academy also had to cope with the pressures of being in a struggling side.

In December, Croatian Jasmin Repesa quit as coach after more than two years following five consecutive domestic league defeats. He was replaced by Nando Gentile, who has helped Roma to recover.

Rather than complaining, Jennings is counting his blessings and meeting the challenge head on.

"(I have) no regrets," he said. "Sometimes I think how everything would have been easier if I''d gone to college. But I love the experience because of the mental part, just the physical (test of) playing against grown men every day.

"The most I can do is go out there and do what the team needs and work a lot on my game off the court. That''s what I''m taking pride in now, my work off the court."

HANDSOME SALARY

The obvious reason for Jennings''s groundbreaking move was that it enabled him to earn a handsome salary at Roma instead of spending an unpaid year at college in the United States.

However, he also sees professional life in Italy''s Serie A and in the Euroleague as better preparation for the NBA than a year of outclassing fellow teenagers at the program he had previously chosen at the University of Arizona.

"It gets your mind set for the things to come in the league (NBA)," he said. "Here they aren''t going to baby me. They aren''t going to tell me what I want to hear.

"Here they''re always going to be on me and they''re going to treat me like a pro. So when I do things wrong, they''re going to get on me. It''s basically trying to be a man, grow up."  Continued...