North Carolina junior Danny Green was not a part of coach Roy Williams' three-week process of contacting teams to determine where his underclassmen might be picked in this year's NBA's Draft.

But the junior forward is going to give it a try, anyway.

In a surprise move, the school announced Saturday that Green will enter his name into the NBA Draft but not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of a return to UNC. Williams was not available for comment, but said in a prepared statement that Green and his father, Danny Sr., had contacted him in the previous 24 hours to say they wanted to "test the waters" of the NBA. He will have until June 16 to withdraw.

"Playing in the NBA has been Danny's dream for a long, long time,'' Danny Green Sr. said in a phone interview. "Most of his class, the Class of 2005, is already playing in the NBA -- so why not see where he stands?"

Green joins sophomore teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington as the first players coached by Williams to "test the waters." Difference is, Williams contacted 18 NBA teams to gather information for the latter two.

Asked Wednesday by The News & Observer if Green was a part of that process, Williams said, "no." A team spokesman confirmed it again Saturday.

Green Sr. said that his son did mention the NBA to Williams during the coach's usual end-of-season one-on-one player meetings, when they also talked about the player's strengths, weaknesses and what he needed to improve for the next season. Green Sr. said he also talked to Williams within the last couple of days to discuss declaring for the draft.

But Green Sr. was not clear about why his son had not been part of the more comprehensive process that Williams had gone through with the two sophomores and junior Tyler Hansbrough (who chose to return for his senior season). Green Jr. was not available for comment.

"Roy was thinking it was a certainty that Danny was coming back," Green Sr. said. "But we felt it wasn't a bad decision for him to go through the process and not hire an agent. ... [Danny] was one of the top sixth men in the country this year, came up big in the end when the team needed him too ... let him compete [against other pro prospects] and see where he stands."

The trick, though, might be getting that competition. Only 64-66 players are usually invited to the NBA's predraft camp in Orlando, draft analyst Chris Monter said, and with roughly four dozen underclassmen already declared for the June 26 draft, some are going to be left off the list. Under a new NBA rule, teams are allowed to pay for individual, 48-hour workouts with players. But prospects must be invited.

Green averaged 11.5 points per game last season for a team that lost to Kansas in the national semifinals. The 6-foot-6 New York native came off the bench to play small forward and power forward -- and became a home-crowd favorite with his pregame "Jump Around" dance.

Still, "he's a second-round pick, at best," said Monter, publisher of College Basketball News. "And with so many other players in this draft, he might not get drafted at all."

Second-round draft picks are not guaranteed contracts, and Monter said that on average, only about half them end up playing in the NBA. Others end up in the NBDL or overseas.

"It might be good for him to get the experience, get some input ... but he'll probably be wise to come back [to school]," Monter said. "Next year's draft doesn't look nearly as deep as this one."

Indeed, some mock drafts for 2009 already have Green penciled in as a low first-round pick, where players are guaranteed two-year contracts worth millions.

Even so, Green's dad said his son's decision to declare has nothing to do with financial reasons, even though he was paroled from prison after serving 22 months on drug trafficking conspiracy charges (he has maintained his innocence), and he has three younger brothers.

"I've told him, 'I've still got to go to work and pay the bills, no matter what you do,' " Green Sr. said. "He's worked his behind off to play at Carolina, to play for Roy Williams ... and every player at Carolina has those dreams to play in the NBA. If he has a chance to realize his goals, why not? If it doesn't work out this summer, he can return to Carolina ... and that's not a bad scenario."

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