SYRACUSE - Syracuse freshman Donte Greene has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Greene said he made the decision after discussing the future with his family and coach Jim Boeheim.

“The Syracuse coaching staff is going to gather information on my behalf and help me begin that process,” Greene said in a posting Wednesday on the university's Web site.

Syracuse athletic communications director Pete Moore said Greene had not yet signed with an agent but intends to.

Boeheim was not surprised.

“He made his mind up last year in high school,” Boeheim said. “There's nothing new here. He had a solid year. He wants to take a look.”

Greene, a 6-foot-11 forward, led the Orange in scoring at 17.7 points per game, fourth-best in the Big East. He also averaged 7.2 rebounds and led the team with 57 blocks to earn All Big East rookie team honors.

Greene and guard Jonny Flynn ranked second nationally among rookie scoring duos with a combined 33.2 points per game. Greene also established a single-season school record by a freshman with 90 3-pointers, surpassing Gerry McNamara's mark of 85 in 2002-03. Greene figures to be a mid-first round pick, according to most analysts. He is the first Syracuse freshman to declare for the draft after one season since Carmelo Anthony, who was the third pick after leading the Orange to the 2003 NCAA title.

Boeheim said Greene can attend a pre-draft camp in May to get an idea of where he stands.

“It's very difficult to try to determine where a guy is going to fall,” Boeheim said in an interview on Syracuse radio station WNSS. “You just can't tell. It always makes sense for underclassmen that are not in the top five to go through the workouts and make an informed decision about what you should do. Putting your name in is fine. It's a question of whether you're going to keep your name in. That's something Donte will have to decide.”

Although the Orange will miss Greene's presence if he does leave, he did have a down side. He shot just 28.6 percent (40-for-140) from long range in 18 Big East games and often was criticized for his shot selection. He took the most shots (521) on the team, 105 more than Flynn, had 91 turnovers to go with just 71 assists in starting all of the team's 35 games, and often was a defensive liability despite his blocks.

The return of guards Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins from knee injuries should more than make up for Greene's perimeter game, and 6-9 forward Rick Jackson, a better defender, likely will get more playing time. As a freshman, Jackson averaged one rebound every 4.7 minutes in Big East play to one rebound every 5.3 minutes for Greene. Jackson also had 21 blocks in 225 minutes of conference play, while Greene had only three more blocks despite playing 420 more minutes.

Syracuse will have only one senior on the squad next season, Kristof Ongenaet, and will have seven players with starting experience if Greene does not return. Boeheim also has two top-50 freshmen coming in - Mookie Jones of Peekskill and Kris Joseph of Hyattsville, Md.

“I like our players coming back and our guys coming in,” Boeheim said. “We don't know for sure he's not coming back. If that happens, we're prepared to move forward. We're very happy with the progress all these guys have made. You can't replace a Donte Greene, but it's just part of college basketball. You have to go on.”