The Front Row: Jennings lands on his feet

MAMBO ITALIANO: Well, that didn’t take long.

Former Wildcat recruit Brandon Jennings will be making his precedent-setting transition to European basketball as a member of prominent Italian club Pallacanestro Virtus Roma.

He will ink a multiyear deal, but don’t expect him to play more than one year in Italy. He has made his intentions clear to declare for the 2009 NBA draft, so a hefty buyout check will need to be made out to Pallacanestro Virtus Roma to secure his rights.

Former NBA notables Brian Shaw, Danny Ferry, Rick Mahorn and even NBA Hall-of-Famers George Gervin and Michael Cooper spent time with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, a Series A Italian squad.

Former college standouts Allan Ray (Villanova), Ibrahim Jaaber (Penn) and David Hawkins (Temple) currently call Pallacanestro Virtus Roma home, so Jennings won’t experience total culture shock.

This is a quality league Jennings has landed in. Will the teenager have what it takes to battle grown men in a foreign land?

Stay tuned to this story. Jennings’ success or failures will have a massive impact on the state of college basketball recruiting.

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NO FLUKE: Look who’s back in the mix in another golf major.

Whether it’s staring down Tiger Woods on the back nine at the U.S. Open or battling the elements at the British Open, Rocco Mediate is apparently unflappable.

The 45-year-old Mediate has never won a major and has dealt with back issues through most of his 23-year career.

Suddenly, he’s one of golf’s premier players. He’s succeeded in conditions that’d make most elite golfers crumble.

Only three men — Mediate, Robert Allenby and Graeme McDowell — finished under par yesterday. The Tiger-less field is wide open, but few have been able to take advantage.

Our friend Jean Van De Velde? Still in the mix, four strokes back.

Even though Woods is busy recovering from knee surgery, it doesn’t mean this Open is lacking in drama or interesting storylines.

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