| | 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.
|  | | Michael Redd may have played his last game in the scarlet and gray. |
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.
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