Hendrix Picks Bama over NBA Draft

Richard Hendrix will not put his name in the hat for the National Basketball Association amateur draft, clearing the way for him to come to Alabama for the 2005-06 season, the Athens High star's father said Wednesday.

Venard Hendrix, the father and high school coach of Richard Hendrix, told BamaMag.com his son will be in Tuscaloosa in June getting a head start on classes and preparing for the college basketball season.

Hendrix, Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama, committed to Alabama in October, picking the Crimson Tide over North Carolina, a finalist among the scores of schools who were also recruiting him.

But Hendrix had also left open the possibility of jumping into the NBA Draft.

“We look forward to being down there and trying to win a championship for the Crimson Tide,” Venard Hendrix said.

“We were just looking at all options to see if it would be possible (to go to the NBA). We were told that Richard would probably be drafted at end of first round or the start of the second round," Hendrix said. "He really needs to be in first round in the top 15 before he goes."

A recent report in the Birmingham News said Hendrix was projected by the NBA undergraduate advisory committee as "a middle-to-late second-round draft choice - if he's drafted at all."

Another factor in Hendrix's decision is an expected NBA rules-change that would require players be 20 years or older to be eligible for the draft.

“The age-limit rule would work in his favor to go now because this is the last year that high school players will be able to enter (if the proposed rule passes)," Hendrix said.

"Going to Alabama, he can improve his game and work try to get in that top 15."