An adviser to Charlie Villanueva, a top-five high school player who had orally committed to Illinois, told ESPN.com on Monday that Villanueva will declare for the NBA draft by May 8.

The deadline for college underclassmen, junior-college players and high school seniors to declare is May 12.

The adviser said Villanueva, a 6-foot-9 small forward at Blair Academy in New Jersey, would have declared for the NBA even if coach Bill Self had stayed at Illinois instead of leaving for Kansas.

Villanueva would pull out of the draft only if he has disastrous workouts for NBA teams, the adviser said. As a high school player, Villanueva would have until June 19 to remove his name from the draft and go to college. Otherwise, the team that drafts him this year would retain his rights whenever he again decides to enter the NBA.

College underclassmen lose their remaining eligibility if they are drafted.

Villanueva is eligible to be recruited by any college because he never signed a national letter of intent with Illinois. Over the past two days, 14 schools have made contact with Villanueva's adviser, including Kansas and its new coach, Self; UConn; Syracuse; North Carolina; Wake Forest; Georgia Tech; Indiana; and UCLA.

The adviser said that if Villanueva decided to go to college, it would be an open race for his recruitment. Illinois would be in the running depending on who it hired as coach.

Villanueva, in the meantime, has told different reporters different things about his intentions. He has said that Illinois was his first choice, that the NBA is his first option and that he was still committed to the Illini.

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.