For their part, the locals would be more than happy to stay here. Wayns was born here and went to Roman Catholic, while Rosen has become a Philly guy after growing up in northern New Jersey.
He has been a regular at Sixers games.
"Now that my Nets are in Brooklyn, this is like my home away from home, " Rosen said.
Aren't the Penn guys who own the Sixers supposed to take Penn guys?
" Supposed to is a difficult phrase in sports as in life, as it should be," Rosen said.
Over the last few months, the only person who has gotten the Jeremy Lin question more often than Harvard grad Lin himself is Rosen, the Ivy League and Big Five player of the year last season.
"It doesn't get any better than [Lin], for me, for him, for the league, just the overall perception of the type of basketball that's played in the Ivy League," Rosen said.
If Rosen gets with the right team, like last year's Big Five player of the year, he could certainly succeed. Temple's Lavoy Allen is Exhibit A for what can happen with opportunity.
Wayns, Rosen and 42 others players were at the Nets' practice facility in New Jersey over the weekend to audition for all 30 NBA teams. It looked, Rosen said, "like an AAU event."
Rosen ended up as his school's all-time assist leader and was third in career scoring. This season, he had one of the great seasons in city history, scoring big because his team needed him to. Passing is actually the best part of his game, and he may have led the nation in "if" assists, as in "if" the shooters had made shots.
The best part of Wayns' game is his penetration. That the Wildcats could not shoot straight last season did not help his assist numbers, either. Put him on a court with shooters and that speed with the ball becomes a major asset. Wayns declared for the draft after his junior season and has had no second thoughts.
He was scheduled to fly later Monday to visit the Clippers. Then, it's on to Golden State and, he thinks, 15 more teams. He has no idea where he might be drafted, but Allen's tale is an inspiration.
"He was the 50th pick in the draft and he's playing better than guys who went in the top 20, top 30," Wayns said. "It's not about where you start. It's about how you progress and where you finish."
Contact Dick Jerardi at jerardd@phillynews.com.
