Top prep prospect Jennings signs with Italian team

Former Arizona recruit Brandon Jennings on Wednesday signed with an Italian professional league team, completing his plan to pass up college and play professionally in Europe to prepare himself for the 2009 NBA draft. Jennings signed with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma of the Italian pro league. "I'm so excited,'' Jennings said by phone from Las Vegas, where he had been training the past week. "I can't believe that it happened so fast. I remember Sonny ]Vaccaro, the former grassroots basketball camp director] talking about it and then I called him and it happened so fast already.'' Jennings said he will head to Rome next Wednesday for a news conference. He said he and his mother, Alice Knox, and a few other family members, would spend some time in the city, return home and then come back in late August to get ready for the season.... [read full story]