Chicago Wonderboy Garnett Decides To Join Nba Ranks

Kevin Garnett is making himself available for the NBA draft, hoping to become the first player to go directly from high school to the pros in the last 20 years, a Chicago newspapers reported Thursday.

Another former local standout, Rashard Griffith, has scheduled a news conference today, apparently to announce he is skipping his junior and senior years at Wisconsin to participate in the June 28 pro draft.

The 6-foot-11, 217-pound Garnett, who led Farragut High to city title in March, was expected to go among the top 20 draftees, his high school coach William Nelson told the Chicago Tribune.

“I helped him with the letter that will be sent to the NBA office. There will be a press conference Monday where Kevin will explain everything,” Nelson was quoted as saying. The coach did not immediately return a telephone call.

In New York, NBA spokesman Evan Silverman said the league had not received a notification from either Garnett or Griffith in Thursday’s mail, but that they had until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday to file for the draft.

Garnett has been unable to attain the minimum test scores required to be eligible to play for a Division I school his freshman year. Nelson said, however, that Garnett’s score “is very, very close” to what he needs for eligibility and that he will retake the test.

“He wants to keep all his options open,” Nelson said.

Once drafted, Garnett has 30 days to change his mind and notify the NBA that he wants to go to college. He has already indicated that if he does go to college he has narrowed his choices to Michigan, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

Garnett averaged 26 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks his senior year after transferring from Mauldin, S.C., last summer.

Moses Malone in 1974 and Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby in 1975 previously made the jump from high school to the NBA.