The end of Brandon Jennings' prep career came to an end in the very same building in which his NBA career will begin.

Of course, in the little more than a year between the 2008 McDonald's All-American game and the start of the 2009-10 season, Jennings logged some extensive miles.

Jennings, the Bucks' first-round draft pick, spent the last season playing professionally in Europe as opposed to the University of Arizona, to which he committed prior to the end of his senior season at Oak Hill Academy.

The 6-foot-1 point guard was already projected as a possible lottery pick after averaging 35.5 points per game at Oak Hill, but because of an NBA rule prohibiting high school players from joining the league until one year after their class graduated -- as well as some problems with his SAT scores -- he chose instead to become the first American prep player to make the plunge in Europe.

"It was the best decision I made so far in my life," Jennings said Friday at a press conference. "Even though it was an up-and-down situation, it was challenging. A lot of people said I couldn't do it or I'd be back in a couple months.

"I got to play in the Euroleague, which is the second-best league to the NBA. A lot of things I've seen, pick-and-roll game, how physical it is, playing with grown men, even though I'm quicker than them, they can do types of things to get you off-balance. I think it was a great thing overall."

It was a learning experience, to say the very least.

Jennings, accustomed to running the point and being the go-to guy on the floor at Oak Hill, saw sparse playing time. He appeared in just 27 games with Lottomatica Virtus Roma of Italy's Serie A. In those games, he averaged just 17 minutes of action.

Making things more difficult, Jennings wasn't playing his natural position. Instead of running the point, he was used more as a shooting guard or small forward. That played a factor in the dramatic drop in his scoring average (5.5 ppg).

His mother and brother joined him for the year in Italy, but it was still an adjustment process for the young man, who is a native of Compton, Calif.

To combat his frustrations, Jennings did the one thing he knew he could: he hit the gym and worked on his game. That dedication, as much as his ability to distribute the ball and create opportunities for himself and his teammates, wasn't lost on Bucks head coach Scott Skiles.

"By all accounts, his default mechanism was to work harder," Skiles said. "That kind of attitude is very appealing."

A point guard himself -- as well as somebody that also played and coached in Europe -- Skiles recognized Jennings' maturity, on and off the court. He's especially impressed by Jennings' ability to make decisions on the court, as well as his speed.

"The speed and quickness he has is unique," Skiles said. "It's explosive quickness. But that isn't any good if you can't make decisions.

"He can do that. In the NBA, you live-and-die by the split-second decisions players make. If your point guard is making those decisions, everybody benefits and I think he'll be able to do that."

General manager John Hammond was looking at a number of point guards as he approached the draft process, but from the outset, he kept one eye fixed on Jennings, whom he thinks has the potential to be a "special" player.

"You don't want to get to cliché from the get-go," Hammonds said. "But when you talk about upside in the game of basketball, I think the sky's the limit for a guy like this."

In Jennings, the Bucks think they have found a true point guard, capable of running the offense and setting up the main scoring threats, notably Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut.

To get to that point, though, Jennings has some work cut out for him. At 195 pounds, he's still got small frame, much like former Bucks point guard T.J. Ford, but not nearly as fragile. He'll have to hit the weight room and has some work to do with his jumper.

And, having played in the very physical Euroleague, Jennings admits he has to work on adjust his defense to the NBA standard.

"I picked up a lot of bad habits overseas on defense," Jennings said. "We could hand-check, we could push... we could choke a guy, everything. Over here, you can't do that. I have to learn how to ease up on the defensive end."

Some have called Jennings arrogant. Skiles says he's got "flair." Hammond calls it self-confidence. Jennings knows the reputation but insists the only the he's concerned with now is helping the Bucks win.

"Overseas, I learned it's not about money or one player, it's more of a team game," Jennings said. "It's life-or-death over there. If you're winning, everybody's happy. If you're losing, you might have a riot out there. You're going to have some angry people.

"I'm just competitive. I like to compete. If somebody's better than me, I want to go against that person. At the end of the day, we all have to play each other and everybody's going to see who's the best."

Hammond and the Bucks were expected to use the 10th pick to select a point guard and on Monday, a number of guards -- including Jennings -- were in town for a workout. Syracuse's Johnny Flynn and UCLA's Jrue Holiday (still available when the Bucks picked), were among the players thought to be coveted by the Bucks, but Hammond made it clear Friday that the franchise was hoping to grab Jennings when their turn came.

"The last couple weeks, we've been stewing over this," Hammonds said. "(The coaching staff) can verify this. We had a real fear on this guy and the fear was that we don't take him. We really thought in watching him, he had the chance to maybe be the most special of all of them.

"It just scared us to death, every time we mentioned his name and the thought of not taking him. We can't pass something this special. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Why he's sitting right here, I can't say for sure, but I know this is the right place for him and I know he's the right player for us."