Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Jennings’ game – and my favorite – is his continuous motor. He doesn’t seem to stop moving to the annoyance of the opposing guards. If you look back at the early clips, nearly every time he scores, he’s looking to get right back to his man to pick him […]
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Jennings’ game – and my favorite – is his continuous motor. He doesn’t seem to stop moving to the annoyance of the opposing guards. If you look back at the early clips, nearly every time he scores, he’s looking to get right back to his man to pick him up the full 94 feet.
Jennings was a three-star recruit coming out of high school in Richmond, where he was named All-Metro Player of the Year and First Team All-State after starring for the St. Christopher’s school. He chose VCU over offers from Colorado State, Louisville, Penn, Richmond, and others, according to 247 Sports.
Brandon Jennings would bring JPJ back to life if UVA can land him.
He’d have ACC guards in straitjackets every night. A total energy guy.pic.twitter.com/iLp4ukqHnf
There weren’t as many shots to go around with the stars VCU had, but Jennings can make teams pay when left open. The strength of his game centers more around getting to the bucket, and he does it well using his explosiveness and length to get extra steps on his defenders in smaller gaps like in the clip below.
The heart and hustle he plays with is evident when Jennings is on the floor. His relentless play helped make him a crowd favorite inside the Siegal Center, in addition to being an in-state recruit and would be plenty of fun to see in UVA’s quickened pace under Odom.
If there’s an aspect of Jennings’ game to nitpick at outside of his overall lack of time and experience on the floor, it’d be his fouling. While he saw 13 minutes of playing time per game, he averaged 1.9 fouls per night and commonly picked up two or three fouls despite the lower usage. But, given how aggressive and athletic the Rams were this year, Jennings could’ve certainly been pushed by Odom and staff to be ultra aggressive guarding the ball as well as contesting chances at the rim, knowing the Rams had other guards to shoulder a heavier scoring and minute load once he picked up those fouls.
Jennings found himself behind two of the better wings in the Atlantic-10 this year in veterans Joe Bamisile and Zeb Jackson, who were two of VCU’s top three scorers, for a backcourt that proved to be one of the best across all mid-major teams. Despite that, Jennings still found his way into the lineup, averaging 13 minutes per contest.
As a true freshman with the Rams, the left-handed Jennings averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds, while shooting 36% from the field for Odom’s squad. And while, yes, those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, the context matters.
In an era when programs now look for the shiniest new player with double figure averages in the transfer portal, Brandon Jennings, at 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, could provide plenty of value for the Virginia Cavaliers after his freshman year at VCU. Evidently, he’s a target for new head coach Ryan Odom after visiting Charlottesville this past weekend.Jennings’ game was plenty raw in his first year, but the Richmond native showed flashes, doing a little bit of everything for the Rams. He has the length and quickness to be a hounding on-ball defender and is able to use that ability to create offense for his team the other way. He shot a very solid 39% from three, but on only 28 attempts. — Garrett Keogh (@garrett_keogh01) March 31, 2025
While in some instances it may be intimidating to bring in a younger guy who has yet to come into his own as a college player, the familiarity between Jennings and Odom shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s one thing to have both coach and player are new to a school and to each other, but the prior relationship between the two in this instance could drastically help streamline Jennings’ confidence and development against ACC competition if he chooses to head to Charlottesville.
