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They never would have believed it.

Those guys never would have imagined that one of their own would be taking off for a worldwide basketball tour that would take him to Spain, the Canary Islands, Puerto Rico, France and New Zealand over the span of two months.

"I thought about the guys from the neighborhood who thought that I was too little and I would never make it to where I'm at now," Rosario, a 6-foot-3 freshman shooting guard, said by phone from Puerto Rico. "And that's what gave me motivation. That's what makes me work harder. That's why I work so hard at everything I do."

Rosario, Rutgers' leading scorer as a freshman, averaged 13.5 points as the Scarlet Knights went a perfect 4-0 against foreign competition during its trip to the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa.

Next up: Rosario will compete for Puerto Rico at the 23rd World Juniors Basketball Tournament in Douai, France, from June 10-14 before traveling to Auckland, New Zealand, for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship from July 2-12.

"Mike earned this opportunity," Rutgers head coach Fred Hill said. "Not only did he perform exceptionally well on the court this past season, he also closed out the semester strong in the classroom. Combining our team trip to Spain with his competing for Puerto Rico, there's no doubt that Mike is going to have a busy summer. The potential for growth, from both a personal and basketball standpoint, is significant."

In a wide-ranging interview, Rosario discussed the trip to Europe, his goals for the summer and his hopes for next year's Rutgers team.

Rosario spoke a little bit of Spanish before the trip but he and his teammates and coaches took language classes at Rutgers to prepare for their travels.

"My coach made us take a class for two weeks, three weeks," Rosario said. "We were learning the history of Spain and Madrid and everything. We learned how to ask for things in Spanish in a hotel and stuff."

During the trip, the team took in a bullfight in Madrid's 25,000-seat La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

"I have never seen anything like that before," said Rutgers junior center Hamady Ndiaye, a native of Senegal. "The bullfight is something that everyone is going to remember for a long time."

On the court, the team got stellar play from freshman wing Pat Jackson, who starred at Brooklyn Boys & Girls High School but saw limited time on the floor last season. Jackson led the Knights with 13.8 points per game while adding 7.3 rebounds.

"It was hard on him," Rosario said. "After practice I told him not every freshman always gets a shot at playing, especially in the Big East.

"I told him to keep playing hard and coach will give him a chance to play. And coach gave him a chance to play [in the Canary Islands]. Coach knows what things Pat can do now as far as helping us grow as a team."

Another player who contributed on the trip was Jonathan Mitchell, the Florida transfer who averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in the four games.

The 6-7 Mitchell hails from Mount Vernon, N.Y., and was playing his first games with the team after sitting out a year per NCAA transfer regulations.

"He's a nice fundamental basketball player," Rosario said of Mitchell. "He understands the game. He can help us out a lot because of his height. He's not a rookie. He's a veteran at everything we're doing right now. That's an extra boost for us to accomplish things we want to accomplish next year."

Rosario said the players are especially impressed with Mitchell because he won a national championship at Florida in 2007.

"A lot of players on the team look up to him as far as understanding how to win and how to be a champion because he was on a championship team and he understands what it takes to be on a championship team and that's what we're trying to do as a team," Rosario said.

Rutgers brought nine players on the trip and, as of now, has just 10 scholarship players for next year, none of whom is a natural point guard. Earl Pettis, a wing player, recently transferred to La Salle and last year's point guard, Anthony Farmer, graduated.

The Knights are hoping that point guard James Beatty of Miami Dade College will commit to them over the summer, giving them a legitimate floor general. Adding a pure point guard could make the difference between finishing in the upper or lower division of the difficult 16-team Big East.

A year ago, Rutgers finished 11-21, 2-16 in the Big East. The season was frustrating at times for Rosario, who had come off a perfect 32-0 campaign and a mythical national championship under legendary coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony in Jersey City.

"We didn't really have a true point guard on the trip,' Rosario said. "I think it would be great for us to add somebody at that position as far as having a legitimate point guard who knows how to lead and understands what it takes to win."

If Beatty doesn't come to Rutgers, Corey Chandler, a combo guard out of Newark who had his ups and downs last season and at one point was said to be considering transferring, could get the call.

"I really think Coach Fred Hill might put Corey Chandler at the point guard," Rosario said. "That's my suggestion. I think he might do that."

Rutgers fans are also hoping that Jio Fontan, Rosario's teammate at St. Anthony and on the Puerto Rican U19 team, might find his way to Rutgers.

Fontan spent last year at Fordham but is seeking a release from his Letter of Intent. Fordham officials have refused to grant him his release and Jorge Fontan, Jio's father, is on record saying his son will not return to the Bronx school.

Without a release, Fontan would have to sit out a year before suiting up at another Division I program. He could spend next year at a junior college or training in Puerto Rico.

In the meantime, Fontan and Rosario are looking forward to playing on the Puerto Rican team in France and New Zealand.

"It's going to be big time playing with the Puerto Rico men's team and experiencing all the teams out there that have so many talented players," Rosario said. "It's going to be a good experience."

Todd Washington, a senior adviser to the president of the Puerto Rican Basketball Association, said he believes Rosario will serve as a role model for the other players.

"He came down during the spring break to work out with the U19 team and just his work ethic, his focus, his discipline were amazing," Washington said. "Seeing him in person, he was better than he looked on TV. He was an animal. He's got a chip on his shoulder."

"One of the tasks we've given Mike is to be a leader and we feel he's up to the challenge."

It is possible Rosario could also play with the Puerto Rican Senior Men's National Team at the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship in Puerto Rico from Aug. 26-Sept. 6. He would first have to get permission from the Rutgers coaching staff.

"The National team wants to develop its elite youth talent," Washington said. Let's hope that these guys go to New Zealand and put work in and can then join the National Team."

At the FIBA U19 World Championship, Rosario and Fontan could run into to a couple of their former St. Anthony players, Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas) and Dominic Cheek (Villanova), who have been invited to try out for the U.S. team.

"It's going to be great for four kids from North Jersey playing on two national teams that are very highly known and us having an opportunity to travel the world," Rosario said. "No other kid really has that experience and we're not going to take it for granted."