The point guard is 18 years old, 6-foot-1, left-handed, a package of speed and skill. He grew up in Southern California and played his final two high school seasons at basketball factory Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

His name is Brandon Jennings. He is the test case.

As if being a potential lottery pick, an imposing talent in a slight 170-pound body and an electric talent wasn't enough, Jennings in July went historic by jumping directly from high school to a professional contract in Italy, taking the NCAA out of the loop as the supposed stopping ground for rising stars prepping for the NBA.

For now, it is unprecedented, this decision to ditch a freshman season at Arizona for a multiyear deal with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, a pact that probably will last just for 2008-09 before he opts out and enters the draft. But it has such potential to appeal to future prep stars that Jennings and his excellent adventure will be tracked on two continents: by the NBA, which will scout him against better competition than he might have faced in the Pacific-10 Conference, by European teams that don't usually deal in young overseas prospects and by college programs that now must recruit against other countries in addition to other schools.

The lure is obvious for prodigies with no interest in academics: If U.S.-born players cannot be drafted until they turn 19 during that calendar year and their high school class is a year removed from graduation, that season of waiting for the NBA might as well be spent earning money and living an adventure rather than in a web of NCAA regulations and, in theory, expectations of schoolwork.

Just as obvious is how it can all go horribly wrong.

A lot of teenagers, after all, struggle with the transitional life of a college freshman a short plane ride from home, with the same monetary system, the same language and an athletic department swaddling them with support staff. And now they're doing Europe?

On the other hand, there is that. It's just Europe.

Most cities that will attract high-level prospects are big enough that English is common. Familiar food joints can be found. Video games work just as well there. And in the case of Jennings, his Rome-based club says it will arrange for tutoring and media training.

What no one can bridge for the player is the basketball itself. NBA executives say the competition in the likes of Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia and Turkey is better than in even the best conferences among U.S. colleges.

Fans are historically ruthless in some of Europe, known to heat coins with a lighter and take aim from the stands to show their disgust. Media coverage can be intense.

"It's not easy to find players mature enough to go through an experience like that – from a life standpoint, from a cultural standpoint – that is so different," said Maurizio Gherardini, a longtime executive in his native Italy before joining the Toronto Raptors' front office in 2006. He said it's essential for a young American player in such circumstances to have strong support.

"And I'm not just referring to teammates," Gherardini said. "Otherwise, the experience is not going to be good.

"When you go over there and play as an American on any team, people are expecting you to be some sort of a key contributor for the team. … If you just go there to go there and play in a mediocre league, then it doesn't help the purpose of going overseas. If you are planning on going to a good, quality league, then you are supposed to be in a position to contribute to a team, and it's not that easy. The level of competition is very high.

"Talking from a media standpoint, a lot of these countries have three or four daily newspapers that are just sports newspapers. They are all after you in terms that they are analyzing your performance on a daily basis. You need to understand the system.

"You need to understand what a national league is. What a cup competition is. What the Euro competition is. Traveling throughout Europe, which means traveling through completely different scenarios and habits. You need to be mature enough to understand all the changes that you're going to have to face."

Call The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper, (916) 321-1210.