Hawaii junior forward Roderick Flemings said yesterday he intends to declare himself for early entry in the 2009 NBA Draft field.

As long as Flemings doesn't hire an agent—and the 6-foot-7 swingman said he had no plans to—he is eligible to return for his senior year in Manoa if he withdraws his name before the June 25 draft.

“;If I'm not (rated high enough) I can just come back and work on my game some more at Hawaii,”; Flemings said. “;So just put my name in there and see where I'm at. Trying to keep my options open.”;

In his debut year at UH, Flemings averaged 16.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 36 minutes per game for the 13-17 Rainbow Warriors.

Flemings said he plans to put his name in on April 13. He has until April 26—the early-entry eligibility deadline—to do so, and until June 15 to remove his name from consideration.

Hawaii coach Bob Nash, in Detroit for the Final Four, said he had no comment yesterday. But in early March the coach said he thought Flemings would be better served by returning for his senior year to hone his game, then take his best shot at the league.

“;The thing that he needs to continue to work and improve upon to reach the next level is his ability to handle the ball, to create his own shot,”; Nash said then. “;I don't see him as being a spot-up shooter. I see him as being more of an athletic kid, so he's gonna have to improve his ability to create his own shot.

“;He's going to have to really improve his defensive intensity,”; the coach added. “;He's very capable, but he's gotta be intense. Gotta work on that every single day to get better at that. And just compete every single day, can't take minutes or seconds off. He's gotta compete every time he's on the floor.”;

In 2003, UH guard Carl English declared for the draft after averaging 19.6 points per game his junior year. He hired an agent—meaning he couldn't return to school—and wasn't picked in either of the draft's two rounds.

Denver Nuggets point guard Anthony Carter is the only former UH player currently in the NBA.