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"Of course I think I'm the best point guard in the draft," the 6-foot-1 Jennings said Monday after working out in Westchester for the Knicks, who hold the No. 8 pick in the June 25 draft. Referring to Ricky Rubio, Jennings added, "I would hope he would say the same thing. Since I can't be the No 1 pick in the draft, I at least want to be the No.1 point guard in the draft."

Various mock drafts have both Rubio, the 18-year-old Spanish sensation, and Jennings, who skipped a year at the University of Arizona to play professionally in Italy, going in the lottery. Yet virtually every one has Rubio getting chosen ahead of Jennings.

DraftExpress.com predicts the 6-4 Rubio will go No. 4 to the Sacramento Kings; the Knicks will select UCLA freshman point guard Jrue Holiday at No. 8; and the Nets will take Jennings at No. 11. According to that Web site, Jennings will be the sixth point guard taken overall.

NBADraft.net has Rubio going at No. 4, the Knicks taking Davidson guard Stephen Curry and Jennings going to the Nets.

Jennings took the occasion of Monday's meeting with the media to apologize for comments he made during a recent workout in Sacramento when he said, "I think the dude is just all hype."

"I think I got a little carried away with it, I was having too much fun with it," Jennings said. "He's not all hype. The kid has more experience than everybody in this draft because he's been playing [professionally] since he was 14, so he's a great player. He did his thing in the Olympics. Overall, he's a great person. I know him, we did a photo shoot together, so no disrespect to Ricky Rubio."

Jennings was named the 2008 Naismith and Parade Magazine Player of the Year at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy when he averaged 35.5 points, 6.8 assists and 3.2 steals.

He is a tremendous athlete with rare quickness and leaping ability. He is a highlight reel in action as he knifes through traffic and makes no-looks passes to the open man. He is a tremendous ballhandler and creates his own shot consistently.

Jennings made history a year ago when he opted to skip college to sign a three-year, $1.2 million deal to play in Italy with Lottomatica Virtus Roma. The deal, brokered by former sneaker czar Sonny Vaccaro, allowed him to opt out after each season.

The deal called for the team to pay for a three-bedroom condo on the outskirts of Rome and for Jennings' younger brother, Terrence, to go to the city's best prep schools. Since Jennings did not have his driver's license yet, his mom, Alice Knox, shuttled him to and from practice twice a day.

"My mom and my brother were a big part of it," Jennings said. "I think if they didn't come, I would've been back by now. I would've been way back because it's kind of hard."

Jennings was a spot starter, averaging 5.5 points a game.

He admitted there were times when he wanted to pack his bags and come home, times when he worried that his draft stock was plummeting because he wasn't playing that much.

"First thing, you have to be mentally tough," he said. "If you're not mentally tough, you're not going to be able to handle it. You can't whine, you can't just say, 'I want to go home.' Once you get over there and do it, just stick with it and do it because at the end of the day it's all going to work out."

When Jennings first went to Europe, there was speculation that it would trigger a trend and that many American players would follow suit. Some worried that the NCAA would lose a number of its potential stars to the European ranks, only to have those players come back to the NBA when they were old enough.

Vaccaro, for one, is staunchly opposed to the NBA's 19-year-old age limit.

"I've talked to parents of children who are in ninth grade and tenth grade, and some kids who are gonna be seniors this year that are looking at it as an option," Vaccaro, referring to Europe, told HBO Sports."I don't know if anyone else will do it. But they know they have an option. And that's a good thing."

No mass exodus of American players has yet happened, but Jeremy Tyler, a 6-foot-10 junior at San Diego High School, broke new ground when he announced his plans to skip his senior year of high school and spend two years overseas before entering the 2011 NBA Draft. His father and uncle plan to be with him abroad. Jennings said he spoke with Tyler recently.

"I think that's a really good idea," Jennings said of Tyler's decision. "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."

Lance Stephenson, the 6-foot-5 McDonald's All-American out of Brooklyn Lincoln High, has yet to pick a college while awaiting the results of a sexual assault case against him.

Vaccaro has advised the Stephensons against going to Europe, but Jennings said he thought Europe could be a good option for Lance.

"Yes, I really do," he said. "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."

As for his own future, Jennings is only working out for the teams which pick from No. 4 through No. 8 (Sacramento, Washington, Minnesota, Golden State and the Knicks).

Jennings says he is a pure point guard and, having played in Europe, would fit perfectly into Mike D'Antoni's "seven seconds or less" offense, a system made famous by D'Antoni's time with the Phoenix Suns.

"I really want to come here, I'm not going to lie," Jennings said. "D'Antoni's system is great for all point guards. You see what he did for Steve Nash for the two years. And the Phoenix Suns were one of the most exciting teams to watch for those years, so his system is great for me."