Boys’ basketball: ‘Real Sports’ interviews Jennings

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Former Compton Dominguez and Oak Hill Academy star point guard Brandon Jennings’ decision to bypass college and spend a year playing basketball for a professional team in Italy is the subject of an HBO ‘Real Sports’ segment that will be broadcast at 10 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

Jennings, who once committed to USC and later switched his allegiance to Arizona before skipping college altogether, is now a part-time starter averaging fewer than 10 points a game for Lottomatica Virtus Roma.

During one particularly illuminating exchange, host Bryant Gumbel asks Jennings if he views playing in Europe as ‘purgatory, a place you got to go to because you weren’t allowed into heaven, which is the NBA.’

‘I guess,’ Jennings said.

‘Could be worse,’ Gumbel responds.

‘It could be,’ Jennings said. ‘I could be in college. I could be in class right now.’

--Ben Bolch