At 6-foot-1, 169 pounds, Brandon Jennings could blend in walking down the streets of Milwaukee.

But put him on a basketball court and the Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard can’t help but stand out.

Jennings continued his opening splash in the NBA with 19 points, eight assists and four rebounds Wednesday as the Bucks rallied from a halftime deficit to thump the winless New Jersey Nets 99-85 at the Bradley Center.

At 6-3 the Bucks are off to their best nine-game start since the 2001-02 campaign. Much of that start has to do with the little lefty drafted No. 10 overall.

After Wednesday’s performance, Jennings upped his point total to 223 through nine games (24.8 points per game). In doing so, the 20-year-old surpassed Shaquille O’Neal’s NBA record of 217 points in the first nine games of his career in 1992.

His 55-point performance against Golden State last week surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Bucks rookie record, was the most points scored by a rookie since Earl Monroe netted 56 in 1968 and the second-most ever (LeBron James’ 56) by a player younger than 21.

When you’re being mentioned with Shaq, Kareem, LeBron and Earl Monroe, fans know they’ve got a special player.

As with any rookie there are going to be growing pains. Mistakes will be made — from bad passes to poor shot selection. But even the most pessimistic of Bucks fans now have a reason to be excited about the club.

Milwaukee can thank Jennings for that.

Fantasy Flash

*Must start: Coming off a bye, the Texans’ passing combo of QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson. Owners might be hesitant given Tennessee’s recent uptick, but most of that has been on offense. The Titans’ defense is dead last against the pass and 30th in points allowed.

*Bust: Frank Gore. The San Francisco RB has been a fantasy stalwart the last three weeks, but that ends on Sunday. The Packers’ defense is fourth against the run (93 yards per game) and against premiere backs make it their No. 1 priority.

*Sleeper: Kevin Smith. The Detroit RB hasn’t had a monster game this season, but Cleveland is coming to town. The Browns are 30th in the league against the run and have trouble defending swing passes, a big part of Smith’s role.

Book it

That’s enough of the Bears, who lost at San Francisco to drop my prediction record to 26-25.

I firmly believe what my colleague Andrew Horschak said: the Milwaukee Marquette vs. Bradford game at Indian Trail was the “real” WIAA Division-1 State Championship football game. On Friday, Marquette will run roughshod over Menomonee Falls by at least two touchdowns in the title tilt.

Mike Larsen can be reached at mlarsen@kenoshanews.com