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| | Monday, April 24 Redd expected to be borderline first-round pick | |||||
| By Andy Katz ESPN.com Ohio State teammates and coaches expect junior guard Michael Redd to announce that he will test the NBA draft process at a 10 a.m. Tuesday news conference. Redd wouldn't divulge his plans during the Buckeyes' private team banquet Monday night in Columbus, but outgoing senior point guard Scoonie Penn said his gut feeling is that Redd will declare for the draft. Associate head coach Rick Boyages said Redd hasn't told the coaching staff of his plans, but two weeks ago, he did say that he would declare. But both said they wouldn't be surprised if Redd returned after a weekend in which he was bombarded by fans requesting that he stay. An estimated 2,000 fans went to a Buckeye fan appreciation day Saturday, then school personnel swarmed him Monday night at the banquet. The coaches were hoping that Redd was affected by the outpouring of support the seniors received after their farewell speeches. Redd is in a precarious situation. He can't attend the Chicago pre-draft camp June 6-9 because Ohio State is on the quarter system and is still in school. But Redd could request private workouts from NBA teams at Ohio State. Redd has until May 14 to declare for the draft. He has until June 21 -- a week before the draft -- to pull his name out of consideration. Redd is considered a borderline first-round draft pick. The coaching staff said Redd did tell them that his decision would have nothing to do with the return of Ken Johnson. The nation's leading shot blocker was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA on Friday. Johnson was a non-qualifier out of high school, but earned a fourth season of eligibility based on an academic needs appeal. If Redd declares for the draft Tuesday, he'll become the 13th underclassman to declare for the draft. Official decisions are still due over the next two weeks from Texas' Chris Mihm, DePaul's Quentin Richardson, Georgia Tech's Alvin Jones, Florida's Donnell Harvey, UCLA's JaRon Rush and Jerome Moiso, former Alabama forward Schea Cotton and high school seniors Darius Miles (St. John's signee), Mario Austin (Mississippi State signee), DeShawn Stevenson (Kansas signee) and Gerald Wallace (Alabama signee). Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE NCAA grants Ohio St.'s Johnson another year of eligibility NBA draft: First-round projections NBA draft: Testing the waters Early-entry candidates for NBA draft AUDIO/VIDEO   Mike Miller declares himself eligible for the NBA draft.wav: 219 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6  | |||||