TUSCALOOSA | Richard Hendrix has made one decision about his basketball future, but the tougher ones still lie ahead.

Hendrix, the University of Alabama’s All-Southeastern Conference forward, announced Wednesday that he will enter his name into the 2008 National Basketball Association draft. He said he will not hire an agent, which will leave the door open for a possible return to the Crimson Tide for the 2008-09 season.

That leaves Hendrix with two more decisions. Ultimately, he will have to decide in June whether to remain in the draft or return for his senior season. As he makes that decision, he will have to decide which advisors he values most.

“After the season I had to come to a decision,” Hendrix said at a press conference at Coleman Coliseum. “I made the decision that I want to enter my name in the draft. I do not plan to sign with an agent right now.

“I go into this procedure with the highest hopes and best expectations.”

Hendrix, who is on pace to graduate in May after just three years at UA, will remain in Tuscaloosa through April, working out with UA strength coaches and finishing his final remaining classes.

His bid to become a first-round draft choice will begin May 27 when the NBA Pre-Draft camp begins in Orlando, where Hendrix is expected to compete against a large group of other draft hopefuls in an attempt to impress NBA coaches, scouts and executives.

“The top 15 or 20 guys in the draft probably won’t participate in that, because it is possible for your stock to drop,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said in explaining the recently-modified process in which Hendrix will participate. “What you have is about 75 or 80 guys who are fighting for about 10 spots [in the first round]. The rest of them will be second-rounders or will not be drafted.”

After the Orlando camp concludes June 3, Hendrix will be allowed to participate in other workouts. The deadline for withdrawing from the draft is June 16, 10 days before the draft is held in New York.

Hendrix said he “hoped” to be a first-round draft choice, but did not put an absolute condition on the possibility of his return.

“That’s a decision I’ll have to make as I get more feedback,” he said. “I’m just going to go about this as I have been going, working hard, going to school and getting the best advice. I had a lot of time over spring break to talk to my parents and coach [Gottfried] and felt this was the best way for me.

“I can’t say anything is 100 percent right now. I just want to gather the best information I can and make the decision that is right for me. You don’t want to make a decision you might end up regretting, but it’s all on me. I plan to work as hard as I can.”

Gottfried has had several players make early entry into the draft in his 10 years at Alabama, although only one – Gerald Wallace – was chosen in the first round. Mo Williams, who left after his sophomore season, was a second-round choice. Schea Cotton, Rod Grizzard and Kennedy Winston all left after their junior seasons – and all three went undrafted.

There is no unanimity of opinion on Hendrix’s current prospects. One NBA draft web site – nbadraft.net – rates Hendrix as a second-round choice, No. 40 overall. Another – draftexpress.com – has Hendrix in the late first round, as the No. 26 choice overall.

“I want to hear from the coaches and the general managers in the NBA,” Gottfried said. “They are the ones I will talk to. They will give you an honest evaluation of where a player stands. They don’t want to see someone like Richard make a mistake.”

Hendrix’s quest will leave the Tide program in limbo until June, but Gottfried said the process “is what it is” and affects most college coaches.

“We want what is best for Richard,” Gottfried said. “If it’s best for him to go then we support that. If the best thing is for him to come back for another year, we support that.

“This is part of the college game now, all over the country. I was talking with [Michigan State coach] Tom Izzo earlier this week. You just hope your players will stay level-headed and make a wise decision.”

“Coach [Gottfried] told me that he supports me in going through this procedure,” Hendrix said. “I feel like we have a great roup of guys here at Alabama. I have no problem with how the team is going to perform. I’m just looking forward to handling this whole process with confidence.”

Hendrix led Alabama in scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (10.1 rpg) in 2008. The former McDonald’s All-America performer from Athens High School has scored 1,327 points and grabbed 849 rebounds in his Alabama career.

Alabama has two other juniors, forward Alonzo Gee and guard Ronald Steele, who might give consideration to testing the NBA waters as well, although Gottfried did not indicate that either was close to a Hendrix-style announcement.

“Neither one of those guys are at that point yet,’ Gottfried said.

Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0225.