We’re down to about 42 and a half hours before Monday’s 5 pm deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft, and the prevailing thought seems to be that Kentucky will get its leading scorer from last season, Jodie Meeks, back for his senior year.

A Facebook hoax fooled a couple people into thinking it would be official today, but it was quickly discovered that the John Calipari Facebook status update announcing Jodie Meeks withdrawal from the Draft was an impostor.

However, two separate ESPN reporters, Chad Ford and Andy Katz, expect Jodie Meeks to withdraw his name soon:

-Chad Ford: Meeks was a scoring machine at Kentucky this season. His speed and shooting ability really stood out. So did that 54-point performance against Tennessee. However, his lack of great size or explosive athleticism hurts his stock a bit.

He really hasn’t done anything to separate himself from the pack in the draft, and most likely will return for his senior season at Kentucky, where he could be playing for a team with national championship aspirations.

-Andy Katz: Throughout the last month, potential all-SEC players Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Tasmin Mitchell (LSU), Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State), Tyler Smith (Tennessee) and Michael Washington (Arkansas) have all withdrawn from the draft. Kentucky junior guard Jodie Meeks is expected to do the same.

That is quite a glut of talent returning to the SEC. When you factor in the incoming talent infusion with this years recruiting class, the SEC could quickly go from whipping boy to feared.

At this point, if I had to guess, I would predict that a Jodie Meeks announcement will come tomorrow. All news from the Meeks camp has said he would take this weekend to talk things over with his family. Mix that with his statement from a couple weeks ago saying a decision would come before the deadline and the fact that he reportedly cancelled a Sunday workout with the Portland Trailblazers, and a Sunday evening announcement makes sense.

Stay tuned!