With Jennings, wins more important than points

  There was much speculation about Brandon Jennings before the 2009 NBA draft. He was the first American-born basketball player to forgo college for Europe since the NBA made the rule that players must be at least one year out of high school before being eligible for the draft.
      During the draft workouts, he told reporters that he was better than highly touted Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio. While playing in Italy he averaged less than 20 minutes and 8 points per game, and his season scoring high was only 17 points. Now a month into the season, that speculation converted into excitement. Jennings has been compared to as good of players as Allen Iverson, with less than 20 games under his belt. Thus far, Jennings is considered the front-runner for Rookie of the Year by many experts. He is averaging 22.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game -- including his highly publicized 55 point explosion against Golden State. His main challenger for ROY is Sacramento's Tyreke Evans, who averages 19.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game. With such close statistics, the ultimate determiner for ROY could be their team's final number of wins.
      As much attention as Jennings receives for his scoring, the most important number he puts up is W's. It's a long season, but currently the Bucks hold the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, which would be a significant upgrade from last seasons non-playoff performing, 34 win season. If the Bucks can keep the pace, it will be because of Jennings's play, in turn, he will receive the ROY award. The only concern is his durability. He hasn't had any serious injury problems over the past couple of years; however, his lack of playing time last year compared to averaging 34.2 minutes per game this year is the biggest concern over an 82 game season.
      The Bucks have already faced injury challenges this year dealing with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Michael Redd, and Andrew Bogut injuries. Bogut is an important piece to the Bucks' future, but not like Jennings. It is rare to find a point guard who can distribute and score the way Jennings can. As Bucks fans, we are lucky to have the opportunity to watch and experience the benefits of such a player. Now, the Bucks need to build around him and keep him wearing the Red and Green.