Kasen Jennings has spent much of his basketball journey being told, in one way or another, that he is not quite supposed to be here.
Too small at first. Then overlooked even after he grew. Underrated throughout his career, regardless of what he achieved.
Now, as Jennings prepares for his rookie season with the Bristol Flyers, that familiar feeling is still there.
Only this time, it is fuelling a player who has already travelled a long way from the small gym in Jonesboro, Georgia, where his basketball journey began.
“I’ve been underrated my whole career, since I first picked up a ball even, so there’s always been a chip on my shoulder,” Jennings says.
“When I was younger and smaller you can kind of understand, but even when I grew and became bigger I still had that underrated tag so I’ve always been an underdog, always overlooked.
“But it helps me stay motivated to beat whoever is put in front of me and just be great.”
That mentality can be traced back to his earliest days with a basketball in his hands.
Jennings first started playing at six years old, encouraged by a father who had already forged his own path in the sport.
His dad, Vernon, played at the University of Miami and enjoyed a successful career, meaning basketball was always part of the family conversation. Jennings heard the stories, understood the impact his father had made and naturally wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Although, initially, basketball was not even his first sporting love.
“I was actually more into soccer to begin with,” he says. “I really enjoy soccer to this day, but he felt like I could do some big things with basketball so he put a ball in my hands and got me going down the path early.
“It was always the goal to be professional, and it’s a blessing to be here today in Bristol starting that journey with my rookie season.”
The early challenges only shaped the player he would become.
As a youngster, Jennings was smaller than many of his opponents, forcing him to develop the skills that would eventually become fundamental parts of his game.
“I had to lock in on handling the ball really well, the importance of footwork and using my speed and quickness to create space,” he explains.
Then he grew.
What had once been a perceived disadvantage became another weapon. The guard skills he had developed as a smaller player remained, but now he could combine them with greater size and versatility.
“As I got older I ended up being taller than most guards so having that skillset and my size meant I was really effective at the 1, 2 or 3 spots and even played 4 at times in college,” he says.
“So I definitely have an all-round game now.”
That journey unfolded in one of America’s great basketball talent-producing regions.
Georgia has produced an extraordinary number of elite players, and Jennings had a front-row seat to that talent growing up.
Among those he competed against was Anthony Edwards, the NBA superstar who was emerging through the same Georgia high-school basketball scene.
Jennings and Edwards faced each other regularly, meeting at least three times a year during their high-school careers.
And Jennings has one particularly significant memory from those battles.
“We beat his team in my junior year for the state championship,” he says.
It is an experience that remains part of his pride in where he comes from.
“Georgia is full of incredible basketball talent, very skilled, athletic players and you’ve got to be a dawg to come out of there and make a name for yourself,” Jennings says.
“I’m blessed to say I was able to be a part of that tier of players to come out of Georgia and want to continue to make a name for myself through my basketball.”
That opportunity now comes on the other side of the Atlantic.
Bristol represents the beginning of Jennings’ professional career, but the transition has felt remarkably natural.
He credits conversations with Flyers Head Coach Andreas Kapoulas before signing, as well as the presence of two familiar faces who had already made the move from college basketball to Bristol.
Demond Robinson and Kendall Lewis were teammates of Jennings in college, but their connection stretches back much further.
All three were part of Atlanta Xpress AAU as youngsters, making Bristol feel like a considerably less daunting destination.
“Bristol is a great situation for me,” Jennings says. “The people here are great, it’s not a culture shock and I felt very comfortable here straight away.
“Speaking to Andreas before signing here, it just felt right for me and the culture here is very much what I look for in terms of being built around great people.”
Having Robinson and Lewis available to offer advice about life in Britain has only helped.
“I’ve known them since we were kids, all three of us were in AAU with Atlanta Xpress, so to be able to connect with them and get some advice about life in the UK and here with the Flyers, it made the decision a lot easier.”
Now comes the part Jennings has been working towards since his father first put a basketball in his hands.
His first professional season.
And while there will inevitably be an adjustment period as he learns the demands of the professional game, Jennings already knows exactly how he wants to approach it.
“I’m just a hustler, I’m going to do everything it takes to win and get it done,” he says.
“Whether that’s being a menace on defence or hitting shots on the other end of the floor, making the right play, the extra pass, just being an all-round player, I’ll do whatever I have to to win.”
That approach comes directly from his father, who taught him from an early age that basketball is increasingly a positionless game — and that the most valuable players are those who can find different ways to contribute.
“My dad always told me this is a positionless game and to be successful you have to be able to add to winning in some way,” Jennings says.
“So that’s just what I’ve always been about, and I want to do the same here for Bristol.”
There is no shortage of ambition.
Jennings is not arriving in Bristol simply to experience professional basketball or find his feet.
He wants to win.
“I’m here to win a championship, to win as many games as possible for this team and these fans,” he says.
“We have the talent to make some noise this year and I feel like we can get it done.”
For a player who has spent his career carrying an underdog mentality, perhaps there is a certain inevitability to that ambition.
The six-year-old who picked up a basketball because his father believed he could do something special has finally reached the professional stage.
The smaller guard who had to learn to create space, handle the ball and rely on his speed has grown into a versatile player capable of impacting the game across multiple positions.
The teenager who competed against some of Georgia’s finest talent has crossed an ocean to begin the next chapter.
And the player who has always felt overlooked is ready to make sure Bristol knows exactly what he can do.
His rookie season is here.
And Jennings intends to make it count.
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