This Day In NBA History: Brandon Jennings Becomes First High-Schooler To Skip College, Sign Overseas

Former NBA point guard Brandon Jennings will always be a pioneer. Back when he decided to skip college and sign overseas, it was a landmark decision.

It happened on July 16, 2008, when Jennings landed a deal with Italian club Virtus Roma — making him the first American to go directly from high school to a European pro team.

Jennings had just finished his senior season as the nation’s top-ranked point guard while at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. He then went to Las Vegas, working out in front of international teams. Three days later, he signed to play in Italy.

“For the doomsday folks who thought this wouldn’t get done, the speed with which it was completed must surprise them,” said hoops legend Sonny Vaccaro, the former sneaker marketing executive who assisted Jennings and his family as a go-between for the negotiations. “Both parties were very prudent in their approach.”

Jennings originally had committed to Arizona. But back then, there was NIL in place. So he figured he would start making money to play basketball right away. He landed a three-year deal with an NBA out.

The following year, in 2009, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Jennings with the No. 10 overall pick. That then made him the first player to skip college, head overseas, and get drafted by an NBA team.

In just his seventh game, he scored 55 points, breaking the record for a Bucks rookie (previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

That said, Jennings was a very good NBA player during most of his run with the Bucks, but he never made the All-Star team. He eventually was traded to the Detroit Pistons in a deal that sent forward Khris Middleton to Milwaukee (2013). Middleton, of course, went on to become a key factor in the Bucks’ 2021 run to the championship.

Not long after, Jennings bounced around between the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards, with a few overseas stints sprinkled in, before playing his final season with the Bucks in 2017-18.

Overall, he played in 555 NBA games, compiling career averages of 14.1 points and 5.7 assists. In a few of those seasons, there was no doubt he warranted strong consideration for the All-Star team. In most others, when healthy, he was an electric player who was very much watching.

But most of all, he led the way in showing young players that they didn’t need to go to college when the end game was the NBA.