**Check out my feature on Brandon Jennings wanting to play for the Knicks.

**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.” (more…)

In an interview with Bryant Gumbel that will be broadcast Tuesday night on HBO’s “Real Sports,” Brandon Jennings says playing ball in Italy is not quite like being in hell. But being in college would be.

Bryant Gumbel:  “Do you view this as purgatory?”  A place you got to go to because you weren’t’ allowed into heaven, which is the NBA?”

Brandon Jennings: “I guess.”

Gumbel:  “Could be worse.”

Jennings:   “It could be.  I could be in college.  I could be in class right now.” (more…)

Lance Stephenson says Europe is not an option and that he will definitely go to college next year.

“I don’t think it’s a good decision to go to Europe,” Stephenson told the MSG Network in a interview broadcast at halftime of St. Benedict’s 89-53 victory over Lincoln Saturday at the Prudential Center. “I just want to go to college and experience new things.”

The 6-foot-5 Stephenson, ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2009 by the Hoop Scoop and No. 9 by Rivals, lists St. John’s, Kansas, Memphis and USC as his favorites and has repeatedly told me and other reporters he likes the idea of bringing St. John’s back.

“I think about that a lot,” he told MSG. “I was thinking about that with my family, to bring St. John’s back, so I think that would be a good look.” (more…)

Lance Stephenson and Dominic Cheek will still be on the board after the NCAA early signing period begins Wednesday.

Stephenson, the 6-foot-5 guard known as “Born Ready” from Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, and Cheek, a 6-5 wing from St. Anthony in Jersey City, are among an elite group of high school basketball players who have chosen to wait until the spring to pick a college.

Read the full story here.

And hit play above for the latest installment of our interview with recruiting expert Tom Konchalski, in which he says Lance Stephenson is being “under-recruited” and also discusses Brandon Jennings’ move to Europe and its implications for other prep players.

Speaking of Jennings, Chris Broussard of ESPN The Mag went to Italy and has this video interview with the former Oak Hill star. Jennings’ advice to those who might follow him to Europe: “Don’t come over here for the money.” And his plans for what’s next? “The NBA, that’s what’s next.”

Pete Thamel from The New York Times has two stories today on Brandon Jennings, and my first though on this is, Great job by Pete getting the paper to send him to Rome for the research. We should all be so lucky.

The first story asks whether Jennings, an elite point guard who opted to play professionally in Europe instead of going to Arizona when his academic status was called into question, is a trailblazer. (more…)

The history-making deal that sent American high school basketball phenom Brandon Jennings to a professional club in Italy was brokered early Tuesday morning in a hotel room at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

After Jennings, 18, his family and his advisors had dinner with grassroots sneaker czar Sonny Vaccaro Monday night, Jennings returned to his hotel suite with Vaccaro and Dejan Bodiroga, the GM of the Virtus Roma team in Rome. Together they spoke on the phone with Virtus Roma head coach Jasmin Repesa, who was in Greece. After Vaccaro left at about 11 p.m., Jennings’ Los Angeles-based attorney, Jeff Valle, remained to negotiate with the Italians. (more…)

Brandon Jennings is pulling a Kobe. A year after playing for Oak Hill Academy on ESPN, he’s headed to Italy.

Jennings, the prep star who announced he would skip Arizona in order to play overseas, signed a three-year, multimillion-dollar contract with the Rome-based Pallacanestro Virtus Roma team. The deal has a buyout clause that will allow him to leave the team and enter the NBA draft when eligible next year, according to the Los Angeles Times. The deal was negotiated by former grassroots sneaker czar Sonny Vaccaro.

Virtus Roma General Manager Dejan Bodiroga “had a comprehensive plan for Brandon that included specific training and education, tutoring programs . . . as well as media training,” Jennings’ Los Angeles attorney, Jeffrey Valle, said in a prepared statement.

Bodiroga also arranged for Jennings’ 13-year-old brother, Terrance, to enroll in an English-speaking school and land a spot on a junior club team in Rome, Vaccaro said.

This is a fascinating scenario, and one which is being followed with rapt attention by the entire basketball world. These are some of the key questions soon to be answered…. (more…)

PHILADELPHIA – Brandon Jennings made an unscheduled appearance here at the Reebok All-American Camp — as a fan only. The 6-foot Jennings recently announced that he would skip next season at Arizona and play ball in Europe instead. He stopped by press row and mentioned that he might possibly play in Italy, Spain, Russia or Israel. Other than that, he’s not doing any formal interviews.

**Despite 19 points and 13 boards from Renardo Sidney, Pump Omni beat Answer XII, 70-66, in the Championship Game. Raymond Taylor led Pump Omni with 15 points, Maurice Creek added 12 and Oscar Griffin 11.

Nobody but Sidney reached double-figures for the losers, but Fuquan Edwin and Erik Swoope each had 8. Sidney told me his Top 6 include Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona State, USC, UCLA and Memphis.

“(I’m going to decide) after my season, after my senior season,” the 6-9 Sidney said. (more…)

Brandon Jennings is headed to Europe.

The National Prep Player of the Year will not go to Arizona, but instead will make an unprecedented move to play professionally in Europe.

“Over the course of the last two months I have consulted a number of people in basketball before coming to this decision,” Jennings said in a statement released through his attorney, Jeff Valle. “I would like to thank the University of Arizona for their interest and support through this process.”

Arizona coach Lute Olson, currently in Philadelphia at the Reebok All-American Camp, seemed at a loss when I spoke to him briefly on Monday.

“We’re disappointed in terms of Brandon’s decision, but we want to wish him the best of luck,” Olson said in a statement. “We hope that things turn out well for him in the future.”

The question now is whether other young players, such as Lance Stephenson and Renardo Sidney, might follow Jennings’ path and play overseas.

“I’m looking at Brandon right now, see how he’s doing. If he goes there [to Europe] then I’ll see how it is,” Stephenson, a rising senior and one of the top players in the Class of 2009, said at the Steve Nash Nike Skills Academy. “If I do it, then I’ll do it, but right now I’m thinking about college.”

Brandon Jennings was supposed to have received his SAT score on Saturday, but it now appears the Arizona commit will have to wait until July 11.

The 6-foot Jennings has said he may head to Europe instead of college even if he secures a qualifying test score — assuming he can find the right situation.

The National Player of the Year, Jennings has taken the SAT three times, according to the Tucson Citizen. He passed on the second attempt, but was red-flagged after the second one because of the jump in scores from the first to the second test.

Collegeboard.com says that “a small percentage of scores are not yet available” and to check back July 11. (more…)