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| | Monday, April 17 Rush to enter draft; Moiso may follow | |||||
| By Andy Katz ESPN.com UCLA sophomore JaRon Rush will announce Monday or Tuesday that he will make himself eligible for the NBA draft. Another UCLA sophomore, Jerome Moiso, still is debating whether to stay in school or turn pro. Underclassmen who declare for the draft can attend the Chicago pre-draft camp June 6-9 (if invited) but have to pull out by June 21 (a week before the June 28 draft) if they're going to return to college. Underclassmen cannot sign with an agent and still return. The Ohio State coaching staff expects junior Michael Redd to test the draft process. Missouri's coaches expect sophomore Keyon Dooling to do the same. Texas junior Chris Mihm, Florida sophomore Mike Miller, DePaul sophomore Quentin Richardson, Georgia Tech junior Alvin Jones, Tennessee junior Tony Harris and former Alabama sophomore Schea Cotton still have to make official announcements on their plans. All are investigating their draft potential before the May 14 early-entry deadline. Ten underclassmen have announced that they will declare for the draft: Minnesota sophomore Joel Przybilla, Connecticut junior Khalid El-Amin, St. John's sophomore Erick Barkley, DePaul junior Paul McPherson, Iowa State junior Marcus Fizer, Cincinnati freshman DerMarr Johnson, Temple junior Mark Karcher and Indian Hills (Iowa) CC sophomores Ernest Brown and Cory Hightower and Life University sophomore Jimmy Hunter. High school seniors Jerome Harper (former Cincinnati signee from South Carolina), Mario Austin (Mississippi State signee from Alabama), DeShawn Stevenson (Kansas signee from California), Darius Miles (St. John's signee from Illinois) and Alton Ford (Houston signee from Houston) are all mulling the draft if they're not eligible for college. If they declare for the draft, they immediately forfeit their college eligibility. High school seniors and junior college players don't fall under the same rule as NCAA student-athletes, who can remove their name up until one week before the draft. Alabama signee Gerald Wallace and Seton Hall signee Eddie Griffin have both committed to attending their schools instead of declaring for the draft. Both players have said they are eligible to play next fall. In limbo A number of high-profile players seem to be caught between first-round lock status and sliding down to the second round, according to scouts. The following players need to play themselves into the first round during the Desert Classic this week in Phoenix, the Chicago pre-draft camp in June or during private workouts leading up to the NBA draft: Harold Arceneaux (Weber State), Ed Cota (North Carolina), Cory Hightower (Indian Hills CC), Mark Madsen (Stanford), Pete Mickeal (Cincinnati), Eduardo Najera (Oklahoma), Chris Porter (Auburn) and Michael Redd (Ohio State), if he declares for the draft. Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE NBA draft: Portsmouth review NBA draft: First-round projections Nike Desert Classic rosters Early-entry candidates for NBA draft  | |||||