When I first heard that Brandon Jennings was potentially considering bypassing his commitment to play at the University of Arizona to instead play in Europe before entering the NBA draft, I dismissed it as a remnant of the wild times in Tucson when rumors were being thrown around more often than beers on 4th avenue.  Either that or Brandon had apparently decided to pursue soccer as his new passion.

Then Andy Katz decided to write about the story, complete with confusing quotes from Brandon Jennings.  Jennings says he feels Europe may actually prepare him better for the NBA than Arizona.  He says he's considering all options and even if he does come to Arizona, it would likely only be for a single season.   Jennings and his family have spent time with an attorney trying to figure out the right course of action should Europe be the best option.

Of course, Jennings could render all of this speculation moot with a passing score on the SAT.  Its really that simple.  Its ridiculous to argue that Europe is a better training ground for the NBA than Arizona.  With the total salaries of Arizona players equally the GDP for some small European countries, there is no contest.  Its likely posturing on Jennings part to innoculate against the backlash from a potentially embarrassing situation.

That being said, it does raise some questions whether Arizona is ready for the Brandon Jennings era.  He's already convinced he only needs 1 year, he has publicly stated Europe would be better for his development than Arizona and only pointed to the return of Chase Budigner as a reason he is excited to come to Arizona.  How does the rest of the team feel about this from their future point guard?

At this point, I'm starting to feel like Arizona might not be ready for Jennings.  Arizona and Coach Olson are like a married couple who separate after 24 years of loving marriage because the husband flirted with someone else and it caused some problems. Only shortly thereafter the couple gets back together to try and recreate the magic from those first 24 years.  Except this time, they decided to hire a gorgeous babysitter that constantly threatens the renewed harmony in their life.  In this long winded analogy, Brandon Jennings would be the baby sitter.

The point is, sometimes when something is in a fragile state of content, harmony, cohesivness etc., the worst thing to do is throw in another strong unknown. 

Ultimately, its a risk the team and its fans would be willing to take.  Later this week we'll find out if Brandon Jennings passed his SAT or instead was spending his time getting his passport.

(To read the Andy Katz article, sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story)