If there’s any kind of underlying theme for the current lockout, it’s NBA players of all ilks returning “home.” For some, it’s less literal; plenty of young NBA players have returned to the college campuses they once called their own in an effort to complete their degrees and, in some cases, compete against the players suiting up for their alma mater. For those playing in the Goodman League and the Drew League, it could be a return back to the league that fostered their basketball beginnings, a way to give back to the basketball system that raised them as players.
Then, at ESPN Los Angeles, the Kamenetzky brothers have been rattling of installments of a tremendous series entitled “The L.A. in my Game,” connecting with NBAers from the L.A. area to fully understand how the city itself functions in the scope of player identity. Up this week is an interview with Brandon Jennings, and though he has plenty of interesting responses -- ranging from him rattling off a list of future NBA stars that his team bested in AAU ball to dubbing Baron Davis the “Godfather of Los Angeles basketball,” -- one in particular stood out to me:Andy Kamenetzky: What does it mean to you to be a player from L.A. and part of that lineage of players people think about from this city?
Brandon Jennings: Well, first of all, a lot of people say “L.A.,” but I claim “Compton.” I claim the city of Compton hard, because there’s not a lot of players that came out of Compton. A lot of players didn’t really come out of Compton that made it. When people say “L.A.,” I say, “Oh, I’m from Compton.” Being from the city of Compton and growing up in a rough community, it means a lot to me to be able to make it out of there. A lot of players came through there. Tayshaun Prince came through there. DeMar DeRozan. Tyson Chandler went to Dominguez for four years. I went to Dominguez and I grew up out of there, so for me, that’s really big. To this day, there’s nothing like it, to be able to come out of Compton and make it to the NBA.
Next year, hopefully, when the lockout ends and we can get things rolling, I really wanna dig back into the community of Compton and also Gardena. Because those are the places where I grew up and where I hung out. That’s all I really know. So hopefully, next year, we can start a league in Compton or Gardena and we can do our own little thing.The distinction there is important, if only as a way to best understand Jennings; it’s important to him that people know that he’s not just another L.A. product. No one exactly needs to put Compton on the map, but Jennings wants to represent the are and, better yet, to serve it. He doesn’t aspire to be another list on the sheet of players with “L.A. in their game,” but a genuine trail blazer for the basketball players in Compton who made it out but is never afraid to look back. That’s as close as you’ll get to fitting Jennings in a nutshell.