BYU Basketball: Trent Plaisted to the NBA

BYU fans got a potentially bad piece of news today. Center Trent Plaisted announced his intention to go in to the NBA Draft this upcoming June. Plaisted is a good player. He certainly has great potential to go in to the pros and become someone who can change a game. He has that potential, but I question if he has lived up to it on a regular basis.

Plaisted has a good skill set. He led BYU in rebounds with 7.7 per game and was second in points per game with 15.6, only trailing Co-MWC Player of the Year Lee Cummard. His biggest issue is his consistency. He had nights when he was the boss this past season. He put up 9 double-doubles and had stellar numbers against teams like Louisville and North Carolina.

However, along to go with those incredible, shinning moments came times when he looked lost and flustered. In post-season play (MWC Tournament and the Big Dance) Trent never hit his rebounding stride, and really didn’t come around until after halftime in some cases. His most dismal numbers came from the charity stripe this season; .542 FT %.

One thing that I have liked about Trent is that his numbers and his game improve year in and year out. For that reason, I think he should forgo the NBA for one more year simply because we have yet to see the best in him. There have been movie trailers of what he can be, but he still has yet to show the full-length blockbuster.

Trent will not go high in the draft this year, but if he shows more with another season as a Cougar, he will prove that he belongs as a second round choice at the very least. It’s a good thing he hasn’t hired that agent yet because he still has a shot at coming back for his final season. Here’s to hoping that the NCAA hasn’t seen the last of him.