In what comes as surprising news to many BYU basketball fans, center Trent Plaisted announced Friday that he has hired an agent, thus making himself ineligible for his senior season.
Plaisted signed a contract with agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports.
"I have decided to hire Mark Bartelstein with Priority Sports as my agent and begin a professional career at this time," Plaisted said in a news release. "Obviously, getting my degree is very important to me, and I've made plans to complete the few remaining requirements. I really enjoyed playing at BYU and appreciate all that Coach Rose and the coaching staff have done for me. I know they will continue to be very successful."
Plaisted first declared himself for the draft on April 10. At the time, he said that he would not hire an agent leaving open the option of returning to play for BYU. Now, however, he is fully invested in the upcoming NBA draft.
While it is certain Plaisted will not be at BYU next season, his future is anything but clear. Projections of where he will go in the draft vary greatly.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com projects Plaisted could be taken as high as the mid-20s, while NBADraft.com doesn't have him being drafted at all.
"I don't like to make projections on the draft," Bartelstein told the Deseret News. "But there is no doubt in my mind Trent is a first-round talent."
In the draft, Plaisted will be competing with a class rich in big-man talent. He will be vying for a spot in the NBA against such players as Kevin Love of UCLA, and the Lopez twins, Brook and Robin, of Stanford.
Former BYU teammate and co-MWC Player of the Year Lee Cummard has also declared for the draft, but has not hired an agent.
During his career at BYU, Plaisted climbed to number 14 on the all-time Cougar scoring list with 1,372 points.
This last season for the Cougars, he averaged 15.6 points per game and led the team with 7.7 rebounds per game.
patrick_perkins@byu.net
BYU Athletic Communications contributed to this report
Copyright Brigham Young University 19 May 2008
