Jason Franchuk

They became friends a few summers ago and would keep in touch on a periodic basis this winter, as Jason Smith inquired about the Mountain West Conference while Trent Plaisted received information on some of the perks of NBA life.

Calling it some form of "early" several times in a 20-minute conference Thursday with the media, the 6-foot-11 BYU center Plaisted tried to understate his announcement that he took the first step in joining the former CSU standout at the next level by declaring himself eligible for the pro ranks.

However, Plaisted has no plans at this point of signing with an agent. That leaves open the possibility of a return for a senior year.

"I'm not saying I'm a finished product yet," said Plaisted, whose statistics took a jump this year and who was also elevated to first-team all-conference. "There's still a lot of work to be done. But that being said, I think a lot of guys that go to the NBA aren't finished products. We'll see what happens. I've got a lot to work on, and I'll give it my all."

His plan of attack is what most within the program, and guessers on the outside, expected for some time. Put it this way: Much bigger news would have been if he ignored the dollar-sign sirens of the NBA totally or hired representation that would have concluded his college career.

Plaisted took the safe, seemingly worry-free middle ground -- something that caught coach Dave Rose by about as much surprise as a player informing him that he planned to serve a church mission.

"I've got total confidence Trent will make the right decision," Rose said.

Whatever that may be.

Plaisted redshirted his freshman year, the 9-21 season of 2004-05, after being injured a few games in. He stayed on track academically through four years and, after this semester, will need just two courses for an economics degree.

He'll have to withdraw his entry by June 16 if he wants to be a Cougar again. The draft is 10 days later.

That's why Plaisted pointed out seven times in about 20 minutes how "so early" and "very early" it was to pin him into the corner by expecting concrete answers.

Is there a spot in which he must be drafted to assure he'll stay in the draft pool? Would he consider bypassing BYU for a contract in Europe? What position does he see himself playing at the next level? He wants to use the two months to formulate a plan.

"Like I told you, it's very, very early right now," Plaisted said. "It's the beginning of April, and the draft doesn't happen until the end of June. There's lots of time to get those things all sorted out. I'm just trying to finish up school, keeping working hard ... and get prepared for the months ahead."

After finishing up classes, the married 21-year-old plans on going to California to work out. From there comes a hope of getting invited to the main pre-draft workout in Orlando, Fla., in late May. That would be serious exposure leading up to the NBA draft.

After that camp, workouts for teams will be paid for from his own wallet per NCAA rules. Plaisted said he has a supportive family that's helping; however, it remains unclear how many teams he's willing to visit or if he'll try other methods to minimize costs.

There's been talk of Plaisted being a pick late in the first round, which offers guaranteed money, or in the more unsure second round. Either way, "that's a situation I know most players would want to pursue," Rose said of his player's hopes to bolster his stock through workouts.

Plaisted did some of his best work this year against higher-profile opponents, including a Thanksgiving-weekend splash against North Carolina and its star big man, Tyler Hansbrough. Plaisted had 24 points and 17 rebounds in front of Dick Vitale, who expressed quite the man crush on BYU's center during an ESPN telecast, which the Tar Heels won by 10 points.

Smith, who's now averaging about four points a game, was selected 20th by Miami and promptly traded to Philadelphia. When he talked with Plaisted during the season, the general gist of his advice was to stay focused and win. That would show NBA teams the most value, he thought.

Plaisted averaged 15.6 points (behind Cummard's 15.8) and a team-best 7.7 rebounds for a team that went 27-8 and won its second consecutive outright MWC title.

It's almost amazing Plaisted could keep focused, considering some other tidbits Smith kept him apprised of -- like the insanely escalating paychecks, the nice cars and residence. The two became friends when they were working at a high-school summer camp in Georgia a few years ago.

Because Plaisted is not a senior, scouts and other NBA officials cannot comment about him at this time. The feeling about him from the pros is probably the same as many Cougar fans: intriguing upside, with athleticism and ability to run the floor. Plaisted points out that scouts and management tend to keep things close to the vest.

The concerns are that the lefthander appears to lack a true position. His outside shooting, at least to this point, does not seem to make him a fit at power forward. He may be undersized (245 pounds) to compete at center.

Two scouts contacted by the Daily Herald on Thursday said they weren't surprised Plaisted entered his name in the draft, and were eager to see if he would use the upcoming weeks to expand his game.

Rose pointed out on various occasions this year that he was pleased with Plaisted's progress. With scoring and rebounding up, he also became a better defensive player. His free-throw shooting (54.2 percent) is still a liability but was up five points from last year.

Plaisted was selected all-MWC after being a second-teamer the previous two seasons. Teammate and fellow junior Lee Cummard split player-of-the-year honors with New Mexico senior J.R. Giddens. Along with Jonathan Tavernari, plus some key young contributors off the bench, there's talk that next season could be even better than this year, which ended for the second consecutive season with a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament.

Plaisted had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field against Texas A&M on March 20.

He said that if in fact his college career is done, he's disappointed that he couldn't play a second-round tournament game. But he's pleased at how the program has come along since he arrived from San Antonio as a highly touted player who turned down offers from schools like Stanford and Kansas.

Rose has said many times how happy he was at Plaisted's ability to adjust to myriad defenses that were thrown at him this year.

One popular draft board, nbadraft.net, had Plaisted going in the second round (52nd overall) to Orlando.

Rose said he met with Plaisted about seven times during the season to discuss the future. The coach's advice? Don't sweat it at the present time. Just play.

Plaisted doesn't appear to feel any burden. He said teammates and coaches have been "100 percent supportive" of his decision to explore a path away from them.

"I have nothing but great options, nothing but positive things to look forward to either way," Plaisted said.