Before the National Basketball Association season began, the buzz around the Milwaukee Bucks was that there wasn't any buzz.
Brandon Jennings, who turned 20 in late September, has taken care of that problem in short order with a mixture of style, flash and swagger.
When Jennings poured in 55 points Saturday night at the Bradley Center to lead the Bucks over the Golden State Warriors, the 6-foot-1 wisp of a point guard left mouths agape and the whole league talking about the kid from Compton. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Earl Monroe and Elgin Baylor had scored 55 or more points as an NBA rookie.
Jennings' feats have left his advisers at BDA Sports Management, his agency, and Under Armour, the athletic apparel and shoe company that signed Jennings as its first NBA player, smiling. They saw something in a national high school player of the year who bucked the system by skipping college, going to Italy to play professionally for a season and now is draining three-pointers in Milwaukee.
What exactly did they see? And what kind of marketing potential does he have now?
Kris Stone, director of brand marketing for Under Armour's basketball division, remembers the morning in a Manhattan hotel in 2006 after Jennings handed out 15 assists in an all-star prep basketball game at New York's famed Rucker Park. It was 6 a.m., and Stone had arrived at the hotel to get the all-stars to the airport.
"I saw Brandon coming out of the elevator with a basketball in his hand," Stone said Tuesday. "I asked him where he was going. He said, 'I'm going to work out with Ben Gordon.' Here he is at 6 a.m., and he wants to get better playing with a pro. That stuck with me."
"You see a guy with tremendous skill and a strong work ethic," added Bill Sanders, chief marketing officer for BDA Sports Management in Walnut Creek, Calif. "He has a natural gift for the game."
It's way too early to say whether all that talent and poise will translate into marketing and endorsement gold. He is 20 after all, and the list of can't-miss athletes who disappeared from the limelight is long. But for the moment, both Sanders and officials at Under Armour say the phones have been ringing.
In professional sports, the path to prosperity begins with a paycheck. But those athletes who transcend their sport and join the marketplace to endorse shoes, apparel and sports drinks can rise to even greater heights.
For now, Jennings says he wants to stay "humble and hungry."
On Monday night, Jennings scored 25 points, had eight assists and seven rebounds in a losing effort against the Dallas Mavericks. It was remarkable enough that he took the shot that would have given the Bucks the lead in overtime.
In the locker room later, he took the blame for not spotting an open teammate.
On Tuesday night, an off day for the team, Jennings showed up at Children's Outing Association's Goldin Center on Milwaukee's north side, and he shared a meal and played a video game - basketball, what else? - with youngsters.
The appearance, which had been planned for weeks, is part of a long-term strategy Jennings' advisers have mapped out. Working with children, especially those with single parents, is something Jennings knows plenty about. His mother, Alice Knox, raised him.
"That's where I came from," Jennings said of his upbringing. "At times, it was rough. But we made it through. And I want to tell these kids they have a chance, too. With confidence and faith."
Jennings said he did not want to think about the endorsement opportunities that could come his way now that he has made such a big splash. "Basketball comes first," he said. "It's something I love to do. If it (endorsements) happens, it happens."
Sanders, the sports management executive, said Jennings should be in no hurry.
"Our vision with Brandon is that this is a marathon, not a sprint," Sanders said. "We want to build a long-lasting portfolio. There are opportunities for him, but that's a short-term vision."
Under Armour, which signed Jennings to an undisclosed long-term deal, is being much more aggressive, in keeping with its corporate nature. On the company Web site, Jennings is prominently featured with videos, a blog and a list of his accomplishments.
"Under Armour is a pretty outside-the-box company," Sanders said. "They saw his potential. He plays the kind of game shoe companies like. I'm sure they're thrilled."
Steve Battista, Under Armour's senior vice president of brand, said his BlackBerry was filled with messages after word spread late Saturday night that Jennings had made history. The company is thrilled by his early success, he said.
"It's rare that you meet a 20-year-old with so much poise and talent. It is so rare," he said. "We want to make him a great shoe and make some great apparel and let him do what he does on the court."
While Jennings will focus on basketball, he has learned a few things about the Wisconsin sports scene. He knows the Green Bay Packers grab most of the attention in Wisconsin this time of year.
With that in mind, Jennings says he has a new favorite team in the National Football League. And his favorite player, he said, is wide receiver Greg Jennings.