Maryland center Diamond Stone will declare for the NBA Draft, but he'll retain his eligibility to return to school for a sophomore season by not hiring an agent, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Chris Haynes reported Monday.
But a Maryland spokesman said the school couldn't confirm any reports, and Stone's father told Inside Maryland Sports' Jeff Ermann that no decision's been reached.
"I don't know anybody in Cleveland," Bob Stone said. "I don't know what they're talking about."
Projected to be a first-round pick, the 6-foot-11 Stone has been projected by most as a one-and-done college player after averaging 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds -- both second on the team -- during Maryland's Sweet 16 season. But his father has remained adamant that no final decision has been made on whether he'll make the jump.
"There's a lot of people out there who like to talk, but we haven't told anybody anything. We're still evaluating," the elder Stone said.
On another hand, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein is echoing Haynes' report and says Stone isn't likely to return.
Stone has until May 25 to decide whether to return to College Park for his sophomore season. In past seasons, declaring for the NBA Draft meant you were immediately done with college. Thanks to a new rule, this is no longer the case, as players can now declare for the draft and still elect to return to school, so long as they don't pay for representation.
He'll probably get a chance to prove himself against the rest of college basketball's top talent at the NBA Draft Combine in mid-May, and the ensuing evaluation could impact his ultimate decision.
Maryland's highest-profile recruit in years, Stone averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game on 56.8 percent shooting as a freshman.
Stone seemed to be a clear one-and-done player when he signed with Maryland last spring, but his decision isn't as cut-and-dried as many expected it to be at the beginning of the season.
DraftExpress has him going No. 23 overall, a stark difference from earlier in the season when the service had him at No. 9. He's the only Maryland player DraftExpress projects to go in the first round.
Melo Trimble and Robert Carter Jr. are facing the same decision as Stone.