Oden To Declare

According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch Ohio St freshman Greg Oden will officially declare for the NBA Draft on Friday and is expected to sign with an agent. It has been expected almost since he first stepped foot on campus at Ohio St that Oden would be gone after one season. The 7-footer lived up to expectations, finishing as the runner-up in voting for the Wooden Award behind Kevin Durant. Oden is expected to be the number one pick, but will not fall any farther than second.
Fellow freshman Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook are also expected to announce that they will be declaring for the draft. At this time neither Conley nor Cook is expected to sign with an agent, leaving both players the option to return to school. Conley is considered to be the top point guard prospect and would most likely be a top-10 pick. Cook is the biggest question mark, and stands a chance to go undrafted should he keep his name in the draft.
A source close to all three players said that the players will be releasing a statement through Ohio St in which they declare their intentions. Though this will hurt the Buckeyes if all three players in fact leave school, they still have a very solid recruiting class coming in and plenty of young talent still on the roster.

According to an AP report on ESPN.com Nevada junior guards Marcelus Kemp and Ramon Sessions will enter the NBA Draft. Neither player will be signing with an agent, giving them the option to return to school. Kemp was a first-team all-Western Athletic Conference selection who averaged 13.5 points, while shooting a very strong 40.6% from beyond the arc. Sessions was a second-team all-Western Athletic Conference selection, averaging 12.3 points and 4.7 assists.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Memphis's Chris Douglas-Roberts would be returning for his junior year with the Tigers. "I'm not even going to test it," Douglas-Roberts said. The 6'6" sophomore averaged 15.4 points on 54.3% shooting on his way to earning first-team All-C-USA honors. With the return of the Tiger's core, and a very good recruiting class that includes top-5 prospect Derrick Rose arriving in the fall, Memphis will be a very good team next year.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times Big Ten conference officials have approved a new 18-game schedule for next season. Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson weighed in on the possibility of the change: ''There would be a big difference if we played 18 conference games this year,'' Sampson said. ''We already play Kentucky, Connecticut and Georgia Tech, so that's really like 21, and then we go to Southern Illinois, too, so that's like 22.''
The Sun-Times also reported that Illinois junior center Shaun Pruitt will enter the NBA Draft. Pruitt who averaged 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds (third in the Big Ten) is not expected to sign with an agent.

Signings of Note From Wednesday and Thursday
Iowa: Jeff Peterson - 5'11" PG - Hyattsville, MD - 2-star recruit according to Scout.com
Illinois: Rodney Alexander - 6'7" SF - Redlands CC (Juco Soph) - 13.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 58.7% FG - Ranked #14 among Juco players by Rivals.com
Oklahoma St: Brad Garrett - 6'5" SG - College of Southern Idaho (Juco) - 15.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 41.3% 3P - 3-star recruit according to Scout.com
Auburn: Boubacar Sylla - 7'1" C - Tarzana, CA - 2.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg - Ranked #27 Center in class of 2007 by Scout.com

Barnes Gets Raise; White Staying At Indiana

The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas head coach Rick Barners has received a $200,000, now making his annual salary $2 million. This raise comes less than two weeks after Barnes had turned down the offer to take over as head coach at Kentucky. In addition to the raise, Barnes was given a two-year extension on his contract which will not keep him in Austin until 2017.
"This is a good thing for Rick (Barnes) and a good thing for the University of Texas," athletic director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement. "Coach Barnes has been terrific for the university. His record on the court and our players' success in the classroom speak for themselves, and we're also a top-five program in the nation financially under his leadership."
In his nine years at Texas Barnes has led the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament each year, and the Sweet 16 in four out of the last six seasons.

According to the Indianapolis Star Indiana forward D.J. White will be returning for his senior year. White averaged 13.8 points and 7.3 rebounds last season, both of which were tops for the Hoosiers.
"We talked about it (Monday) and he told me that he really wanted to be a part of this program again next season,'' head coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He had fun this year, and he really enjoyed being on this team. And I think he looked ahead to next year and realized we have a chance to be pretty good and I just think he wanted to be part of that.''
With White returning and McDonald's All-American Eric Gordon joining the team in the fall, Indiana will be very tough in the Big 10 next season.

According to the Rocky Mountain News Air Force will name Jeff Reynolds as their new head coach. Reynolds has been an assistant with the Falcons for the last two seasons, and has also served as an assistan with Tulane, UNC-Greensboro, and UNC-Wilmington. Reynolds will be the fourth Air Force coach in five seasons and will look to continue the success of the program. The Falcons have gone 90-35 over the last four years.

According to the Detroit News the University of Michigan has agreed to honor request of Alex Legion to be released from his signed letter-of-intent. Legion, a 6'4" wing player out of Oak Hill Academy, was one of three players that the Wolverines signed during the early signing period. The other two players, Corperryale Harris and Kelvin Grady will both be staying at Michigan to play under new head coach John Beilein next season.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that twin guards Reginald and Richard Delk will be leaving the Mississippi State basketball team.
"It's probably their sophomore year that had a lot to do with it," said their father, Rickie Delk. "In Richard's place, he'd like to play a little bit more point. And Reginald wanted more up-tempo ball. Both of them are used to playing up-tempo ball."
Mississippi State will now have to rely on Jamont Gordon, Barry Stewart and Ben Hansbrough for their backcourt play next season.

Signings of Note Today
Michigan State - Devin Roe: 6'8" PF - Lakewood, OH - 21 ppg, 10 rpg - Ranked #5 in class of 2008 by Scout.com
Oklahoma State - Anthony Brown: 6'8 F - Carl Albert State College (Juco) - 21.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg
Providence - Jamine Peterson: 6'5" SF - Fitchburg, MA - 12 ppg, 9 rpg - Three-star recruit according to Scout.com
Temple - Craig Williams: 6'8" F - St. Croix, Virgin Islands - 25 ppg, 10 rpg - MVP of All-Virgin Island Hoop Classic

Weekend Review: Young Leaving USC; No Decision Yet From Oden

According to the LA Times USC's Nick Young is expected to declare for the NBA Draft on Tuesday afternoon. The junior swingman led the Trojans in scoring at 17.5 points, shooting a stellar 52.5% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. Young has flipped flopped back and forth on the issue of leaving school early. Early in the year he stated he would be back for his senior year and was looking forward to playing with the fantastic recruiting class of O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson. Since that time though many scouts have stated that Young is likely to be a mid-first round pick and that played a major role in his decision to leave.
Junior guard Gabe Pruitt has stated that he does not yet know if he will enter the Draft or return for his senior year.

According to the Indianapolis Star Ohio State freshman Greg Oden has yet to make a decision in regards to leaving school for the NBA Draft. On Friday in a report Oden's father stated his son would be declaring, but that statement was made with no information coming from Oden himself. According to the latest report, Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook will all meet today with Mike Conley Sr. to discuss plans for the future. No decisions are expected to be made today.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz turned down an offer to coach at South Alabama. Lutz passed on a six year deal worth $300,000 per season to finish out the remaining years on his contract with the 49ers. Lutz has compiled a 168-112 record in his time at Charlotte and is coming off a 14-16 2006-07 season.

Signings of Note
USC - Angelo Johnson: 5'10" PG - Tarzana, CA - 13.6 ppg, 4.0 apg - Ranked #79 overall and #12 among point guards by Rivals.com
USC - Demar DeRozan: 6'5" SF - Compton, CA - Ranked #55 overall by Rivals.com
Cincinnati - Yancy Gates: 6'8" PF - Cincinnati, OH - 19.4 ppg, 7 rpg (junior numbers) - Ranked #17 overall in class of 2008 by Rivals.com
Texas A&M - DeAndre Jordan: 7'0" C - Houston, TX - 26 ppg, 15 rpg, 8 bpg - Ranked #8 overall by Rivals.com