Jennings worked out at the team’s Westchester campus back in May, along with Tyreke Evans, Earl Clark and Austin Daye.

Instead, Knicks President Donnie Walsh opted to pick forward Jordan Hill with the No. 8 pick on draft night and Jennings went to the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 10.

On Saturday night, Jennings made the Knicks pay, dropping 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists as the Bucks absolutely slaughtered the Knicks, 102-87, in Milwaukee.

New York is now 1-6 on the season.

“I was a little upset because New York was one of my No. 1 teams I did want to go to at the time,” Jennings told The New York Times.

He said he thought the team would add LeBron James in 2010 and he might be part of something special.

“I thought for sure,” he told The Times. “They needed a point guard. LeBron was coming in ’10. I was thinking: ‘Aw, man. Here we go. Here it is.’

Walsh said he didn’t choose Jennings, who starred at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy before spending a year with Lottomatica Roma in Italy, because he didn’t have a “feel” for him.

“Even though I had him up there, we’re not playing up and down, we’re not playing five on five, I couldn’t get a feel for him,” Walsh told The Times.

Jennings entered the game averaging 18.8 points per game and is the early favorite to be the NBA Rookie of the Year. He is also benefitting financially from his deal with Under Armour.

Hill?

Head coach Mike D’Antoni opted to play him in the first half of the last two games, but recently said he had five big men who deserved playing time ahead of Hill.

After the Milwaukee game, D’Antoni said he planned to play Hill and fellow rookie Toney Douglas (16 points) more in coming games, but let’s face it. Neither possesses close to the talent Jennings does.

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**First off, for those keeping track at home, my Black summer league Ultimate team in the Westchester Summer League (WSL) came back from a 7-4 deficit to Gold to win 10-7 in an exciting, rain-shortened affair at SUNY Purchase. We scored six unanswered goals to win the game and garner the No. 4 seed in Saturday’s playoffs…Wish us luck.

PITINO APOLOGIZES, FEELS THE HEAT

**Louisville coach Rick Pitino apologize for his behavior and was effectively backed by Louisville president James Ramsey.

“I let them down with my indiscretion and I’m sorry,” Pitino said.

Pitino is taking a lot of heat for his actions, and this episode will no doubt be used against him on the recruiting trail.

Tim Dahlberg of the AP came out with a really strong column and some harsh words for Pitino and his employers.

Vinnie Tatum was such a good soldier that he kept guard over Pitino in the back of a restaurant even as the coach was having drunken sex with a woman he had met just hours earlier. Tim Sypher valued his job so much that he gave Pitino the keys to his condominium, then kept watch as the coach gave the same woman $3,000 so she could go across state lines and get an abortion.

Meantime, Shawn Teague, the father of 2011 Louisville target Marquis Teague, told Jody Demling the Pitino situation will have no impact on his son’s decision.

“It hasn’t changed a thing for us,” Shawn Teague said. “Of course, I want to see some things fall out a little bit more. Things happen and things can change – even with this situation – and we still have to look to see if anything is going to happen as a result of what did happen. But in terms of who Rick Pitino is and how I feel about him and how my family and Marquis feel about him, there’s no change in that whatsoever.”

He added that “didn’t know the extent of what happened,” but added that he doesn’t have “any qualms with Pitino.”

Rod Odom Sr. echoed similar sentiments to Jeff Goodman of Foxsports.com.

“It doesn’t change anything with us,” the father said “We sat down as a family last night and analyzed it and spoke to Rod about it.”

SELBY VISITING UCONN

**Josh Selby, the point guard out of Baltimore (Md.) Lake Clifton High, who decommitted from Tennessee, will visit UConn Thursday, as will Long Island forward Rod Odom.

“Everybody is coming after him [Selby[," Lake Clifton coach Herman Harried told the Hartford Courant. "It's just going to be a matter of what he and his family thinks is best for him. If UConn doesn't get him, that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with UConn or that UConn did anything. I want to say strongly that the UConn coaches have done a fine job recruiting him."

TYLER TO ISRAEL

**Jeremy Tyler signed a one-year deal Wednesday with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League for $140,000.

The 6-11 Tyler initially committed to Louisville but then announced  he would skip his senior year at San Diego High and spend two years abroad and return to the U.S. for the 2011 NBA Draft.

He becomes the second American player to skip college in as many years. Brandon Jennings signed a $1.2 million deal to play a year of pro ball in Italy last season before becoming the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft. While Jennings struggled for playing time, Tyler wants to play right away.

"It's really important," he told The New York Times. "If you have playing time, people are going to see you. Brandon didn't play much over there. In order to get better, I need to play. I'll be playing against grown men that have kids and have been playing for years."

Sonny Vaccaro, who wants to stick it to the NCAA by showing that American talent can play abroad instead of here, brokered both the Jennings deal and the Tyler one.

"[Tyler] had his ups and downs during the workouts,” he told the Times. “He’s not as far along as Brandon Jennings was. He only played one year of high school basketball and the team wasn’t very competitive.

“I wanted to allow him the comfort level that he doesn’t have to win the Euro Cup next year.”

ROSARIO TO PUERTO RICO

**Rutgers guard Mike Rosario will return to Puerto Rico to train with the SEnior National Team and potentially compete in the Tutu Marchand Cup and the FIBA Tournament of the Americas later this month.  Fordham guard Jio Fontan was also invited, but is committed to his college team.

“We reached out and got coach [Fred] Hill’s blessing,” said Todd Washington of the Puerto Rico Basketball Association.  “Mike understands that there are no guarantees and has to show the coaches that he can do more than just fill it up.”

JOURNAL NEWS CUTS 50 JOBS

**The Journal News of Westchester County is the latest area paper to have mass lay-offs. The paper held a big meeting of its 228 employees today to announce that 50 jobs would be lost in news and sports. Everyone has to reapply for their jobs and corporate will decide who is re-hired. Those who aren’t don’t get severance.

“We’ve been working on a restructuring plan for the Journal News for a while,” Michael J. Fisch, publisher and president of the newspaper, told The New York Times.  “That’s partly the reason for the move today, but the other part of the reason for having employees reapply for newly defined jobs is to recognize that our business has changed.”

NADAL RETURNS TO TOUR

**Rafael Nadal returned to the tour in Montreal and won by walkover over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. It is good for tennis to have Nadal back and hopefully he can round into form by the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 31. Always one of my favorite events to cover.

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“They’re the favorites,” Sonny Vaccaro, who is advising Tyler, said by phone. “It looks like Jeremy Tyler is going to end up with Maccabi Haifa. It’s 90 percent done.

“The contract has not been signed yet. As soon as they do the faxes back and forth, it should be done Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Maccabi Haifa finished second in the Israel Premier League last year and also features Davon Jefferson, the former USC forward.

Jefferson made the team after a two-day tryout at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. on July 28-29, where 60 players competed for a roster spot, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Jefferson opted to leave school after his freshman  season and played briefly with the Lakers’ summer league team but only saw action in two games. If he had stayed another year, he might’ve turned into a lottery pick.

Tyler, who turned 18 two months ago, will become the youngest foreign player to play in the Israeli league. He initially committed to Louisville but then announced his plan to spend two years abroad before entering the 2011 NBA Draft.

He is the latest American, and first high school player, to leave to play professionally overseas.

After failing to qualify for college, Brandon Jennings spent a year in Italy and then became the No. 10 pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in this year’s NBA Draft.

Nick Calathes of Florida and Terrence Oglesby of Clemson also left college to play overseas.

RUBIO STAYING IN SPAIN

Per RealGM.com, Ricky Rubio will remain with DKV Joventut, according to the team’s Twitter account.

“After endless comings and goings, Ricky Rubio is finally where he is. After many speculations about its future, the player decided to put an end to the issue of their transfer and will be announced at DKV Joventut, where he still has two more years [on his] contract.”

Rubio was drafted No. 5 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ADIDAS NATIONS UPDATE

Canada will face USA 2010 in the championship of the adidas nations event Saturday in Texas. Check out the live webcast of the game at www.eastbay.com/adidasnations at 4:30 PM EST.

BIG EAST FILLS UP TOP 25

NBADraft.net has a preseason Top 25 out with Kansas at No. 1 and Kentucky at No. 2. The site has six Big East teams in its Top 25: No. 5 West Virginia, No. 7 Villanova, No. 17 UConn, No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 22 Georgetown and No. 23 Louisville.

EAST COAST ALL-STARS IMPROVE TO 2-0

The East Coast All-Stars team that features Corey Chandler and Pat Jackson of Rutgers improved to 2-0 on its foreign tour with a 95-54 victory Friday over BC Benesov in the Czech Republic. The game was shown live nationally on Czech TV.

Jackson had 8 points and 7 rebounds and Chandler posted 6 points and 5 steals.

“Our team played well tonight and our matchups gave them some problems,” All-Stars coach Guy Rancourt said. “Benesov has a solid program…We greatly appreciate the hospitality of the players, coaches and fans.”

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The 6-foot-8, 205-pound native of Starkville, Miss. had committed to play for Memphis head coach Josh Pastner, but will pursue a pro career instead.

“It was a difficult decision,” Williams said in an official press release that appeared on Rivals.com. “But after consulting with a number of people, and taking my family situation into consideration, playing overseas is the best move for me.

“It will not be an easy transition, but I have surrounded myself with a core of very competent people who I trust and who have my best interests at heart, so I am confident that things will work out very well.”

Williams, who has yet to qualify academically, has yet to officially notify Pastner of the decision.

“Obviously if a kid has a chance to play professionally and have a chance financially to better him and his family, again, you have to support the kid because that’s No. 1,” Pastner told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “For us, you can’t cry over spilled milk. We have to deal with what we have to deal with and the squad we’ve got. We’ve got a good core group, and we have to coach them up and be extremely positive.”

Trey Godfrey, an advisor to Williams, said the young man has yet to hire an agent and that he hasn’t determined which country he’ll play in.

“It’s a done deal,” Williams told Jerry Meyer of Rivals. “We’re trying to work something out in China.”

Brandon Jennings, an American high school star, skipped college last year to play professionally in Italy and ended up being the No. 10 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

Jeremy Tyler, a 6-10 junior from San Diego, will play professionally overseas for two years before entering the 2011 NBA Draft.

And two American college guards, Nick Calathes of Florida and Terrence Oglesby of Clemson, are also headed to Europe to play professionally.

**Here’s a good story on Lance Stephenson arriving on campus at Cincinnati from the Cincy Enquirer. Stephenson still hasn’t spoken to the media since SNY broke his commitment on June 30.

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Sonny Vaccaro

The Grassroots Basketball of America (GBOA) Hall of Fame announcement will be held at the Palms Hotel and Vaccaro will be given the organization’s Grassroots Pioneer Award.

Grassroots legends Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Stephon Marbury, Chauncey Billups, Sharief Abdul-Rahim, Rafer Alston, Felipe Lopez and Tim Thomas will also be honored

The event will also raise money for Coaches Versus Cancer.

Vaccaro has long been an opponent of the NBA age limit and has been influential in recent years in brokering Brandon Jennings‘ contract with an Italian club and in negotiating for American high school phenom Jeremy Tyler to play overseas as well. Tyler will skip his final two years of high school and then enter the 2011 NBA Draft.

“I just think it’s a whole new world,” Vaccaro told The New York Times in reference to American players going overseas. “There’s never going to be a migration, like the salmon going upstream. But there’s going to be selective kids who have the option.”

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A year from now, the Knicks will zero in on LeBron James and a high-profile class of free agents that also includes Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Steve Nash.

But beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, New York must worry about the immediate task at hand.

The Knicks can begin negotiating with their own restricted free agents, David Lee and Nate Robinson, and they can meet with other team’s free agents, such as Dallas point guard Jason Kidd.

Read the full story here.

Xavier and his father Carl Henry told the Kansas City Star that a month after Xavier committed to play for Kansas the family looked into a deal that would have sent Xavier to Europe next season.

“You don’t have to take any classes,” Xavier told the newspaper.

The deal would’ve paid Xavier $1 million, but the snag was that they would not have known which team he would play for (Say what?).

“I’m the one going over there with him,” Carl said. “I’m not going over there where they’re fighting.”

In a separate interview with TheShiver.com, Carl confirmed that both Xavier and C.J. Henry would play for Kansas next year. He said both are hard at work for basketball season but are not working out with the team or attending summer school.

In August, they plan to work out with NBA players in L.A.

“We are going out to L.A. in August, like the 2nd-9th, to work out with a lot of pros out there. Paul Pierce, Derrick Rose, Sheldon Williams, and Tyreke Evans. I know a lot of those guys from my days and we think it will be great for them to work out with those guys,” Carl Henry said. “Blake Griffin and his brother Taylor both went out there and worked out in the past too.”

They will head to Kansas in mid-August.

“I think classes start somewhere around August 19th. I think we are heading up on like the 17th or so,” Henry said. “Both boys have been enrolled in classes.”

Americans heading to Europe instead of American colleges is a hot trend. Brandon Jennings did it last year and was the No. 10 pick of the recent NBA Draft.

Jeremy Tyler, a 6-10 big man from San Diego, will skip his senior year of high school and play two years overseas — potentially in Israel — before entering the 2011 NBA Draft.

Even Epiphanny Prince, a former Rutgers women’s player who once scored 113 points in a high school game, is leaving Rutgers to play overseas.

The recent news about Henry has even sparked some conspiracy theorists to mention to me that perhaps Lance Stephenson is holding out on his commitment to see exactly what Henry does.

If Henry were to go to Europe, Lance could theoretically wind up back at Kansas, his first choice all along.

More likely is that Stephenson, whose sexual assault case was adjourned until July 15, will end up at Cincinnati or somewhere else.

As for Henry and those in his class, Jeff Goodman has a 2010 mock NBA draft out and Henry is No. 6 behind John Wall, Derrick Favors, Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu and Renardo Sidney.

Devin Ebanks of Long Island City, N.Y. and a rising sophomore at West Virginia is No. 20; Tyshawn Taylor, Henry’s teammate at Kansas and a former standout for Bob Hurley at St. Anthony of Jersey City, is No. 26; and former Manhattan Rice and current UConn star Kemba Walker is No. 29.

Jeff, no fan of Lance Stephenson, has him as a “Wild Card.”

One NBA Draft expert told me Stephenson would have been a “late lottery” pick in this year’s draft had he been eligible, which he wasn’t because of the NBA age limit.

The story examines a number of factors complicating Lance’s recruitment, from his father to his pending sexual assault case to the BornReady.tv website to his academics to his on-court demeanor.

At this point, Florida, Kansas, Maryland and St. John’s have all bowed out. Arizona may or may not still be in it, and Memphis is interested but hasn’t been in direct contact of late.

What do you think?

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“We’re planning to play them in the Jimmy V,” an Indiana source said.

The news was first reported by Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com.

Pitt is losing DeJuan Blair, Levance Fields and Sam Young, but returns guards Jermaine Dixon, Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Travon Woodall, and is bringing in McDonald’s All-American big man Dante Taylor. Both Gibbs and Taylor were invited to try out for the USA U19 National Team that will compete in the FIBA World Championships next month in Auckland, New Zealand.

Indiana is still pulling itself out of the Kelvin Sampson recruiting scandal but head coach Tom Crean is making recruiting inroads in the metropolitan area.

Kyrie Irving, one of the top combo guards in the Class of 2010, has Indiana near the top of his list.

Speaking of Irving, he visited Texas A&M this week and told AggieYell.com that he enjoyed his visit, thought highly of the facilities there and that the school was a real possibility for him.

The family has a connection to the school because Drederick and Aggie assistant coach Scott Spinelli played together and roomed together at Boston University.

Irving also visited UConn unofficially recently and now lists UConn, Georgia Tech, Duke, Indiana, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Florida, Marquette and Kentucky.

He plans to cut his list to five later this summer and then take all five official visits.

Irving will play this week in the NBA Players Camp in Virginia.

RIGOGLIOSO TO RUTGERS

Former Rutgers walk-on Charlie Rigoglioso has transferred back to the school from Moravian College, according to ScarletNation.com and confirmed by sources.

Rigoglioso, a native of Wayne, N.J. who was a three-sport star at Wayne Valley High School, left Rutgers before last year and played at Division 3 Moravian (Pa.) College.

“The last time that I saw him he said that that was the one of the possibilities, that he would go back to Rutgers,” Wayne Valley coach Joe Leicht said. “When he was there, he liked it. The only problem was he wasn’t playing in the games. But he played in all the practices and they liked him very much.”

He will have to sit out a year before becoming eligible again in 2010-11.

Rutgers is still searching for a point guard for the future and will likely go with Corey Chandler this year if James Beatty of Miami Dade doesn’t commit.

PRINCE TO EUROPE

Speaking of Rutgers, Epiphanny Prince, a star on the Rutgers women’s team, is skipping her senior year of college to play in Europe.

“I just wanted to start my pro career,” Prince told The Associated Press by phone. “I feel it was the right move for me and my family. I’ve always dreamed of playing in the WNBA.”

Several male players have gone or will go to Europe, including Brandon Jennings, who spent a year in Italy and is about to become an NBA lottery pick, and Jeremy Tyler, a 6-10 high school junior from San Diego who plans to spend two years in Europe before entering the 2011 NBA Draft.

**For more Knicks, check out point guard Chris Duhon with Tommy Dee tonight on TKB Radio.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – OK, now I officially have no idea where Lance Stephenson is going to college.

Just a week after I said I thought Maryland was the leader for his services, the Baltimore Sun is quoting two unnamed sources as saying the Terps are no longer recruiting the 6-foot-5 Stephenson.

Last week Lance said he was considering Arizona, Florida, Maryland and Memphis and would decide within “three weeks.”

If Maryland and Florida are both out, does he end up at Arizona or Memphis? Or does he go somewhere else, like a Florida International?

At various times, I have thought St. John’s, Kansas and Maryland would land Lance, the all-time leading scorer in New York State history and a McDonald’s All-American. Now all three schools appear to be out.

I still don’t believe any college commitment can happen until after Stephenson’s sexual assault case is resolved. It was adjourned until June 29.

Could Europe be an option?

The Stephensons have repeatedly said it is not, but Brandon Jennings said he thought Europe would be a good move for Lance.

“Yes, I really do,” said Jennings, who spent last season in Italy and on Monday worked out for the Knicks in preparation for the upcoming NBA Draft. “I think it will humble him a lot. I think he’ll need that, just make him mature on and off the court, start doing things for himself, taking care of his responsibilities.”

Yet Jennings admitted he hadn’t spoken directly to Stephenson.

“No, the only person I’ve talked to is Jeremy Tyler,” Jennings said, referring to the 6-10 San Diego High School junior who will skip his senior year of high school to play in Europe. “He’s real excited and I can’t wait for the kid to go over there.”

“I think that’s a really good idea,” Jennings added of Tyler. “It’s more of a big man’s game over there. The bigs get to stay in the key. The bigs get to do a lot, so I think he’ll do better than I did. I don’t think he should go to a team that’s really, really good. He should go to a team that’s so-so OK so can get some playing time and get used to playing.”

Jennings also said anyone who goes to Europe should be accompanied by his parents. Brandon’s mother and younger brother spent the year in Italy with him.

“I think any kid [who] goes over there, they should have their parents or somebody go over there with them,” he said. “I wouldn’t do it by yourself for your first year.”