NEW YORK (SI.com) -- The Indianapolis Star reported in Friday's edition that highly sought after center Greg Oden and his high school teammate, Mike Conley, will give oral commitments to play at Ohio State beginning during the 2006 school year.

The talented duo had held that they would wait until the NBA reached a collective bargaining agreement to announce their intentions. That agreement was struck on Tuesday, requiring players to be one-year removed from high school in order to enter the NBA Draft. Prior to the CBA, Oden was widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.

Oden is a 7-foot, 245-pound center who averaged 20 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots during his junior season at Lawrence North High School. Conley, a top point-guard prospect, added five assists and 10.7 points.

Oral commitments are not binding and the players can't sign letters of intent until Nov. 9, but should the duo head to Columbus, they would join AAU teammate Daequan Cook, of Dayton, Ohio, who committed to the Buckeyes this spring and give OSU a top recruiting class.

In addition to OSU, Oden considered Indiana, Wake Forest and Michigan state, while Conley had narrowed his choice to the Buckeyes and Wake.