As a freshman Trent Plaisted wanted to make it to the NBA, he joked, if for no other reason than the leg room on cushy chartered flights.

His future has been speculated more heavily since the beginning of the week, including on the Daily Herald-operated Cougarblue.com, where an anonymous Internet poster claimed to have inside knowledge.

Plaisted did not respond to various interview requests Thursday from California, where he is training. Head coach Dave Rose is out of town as well. It's unclear if his player told him the news, though multiple sources indicated that Plaisted had notified at least one person in the program of his intentions and they figured Rose was also privy.

Plaisted entered his name into the pool of underclassmen candidates April 10, holding a short media conference at the Marriott Center. At that time, he said the future was "a long way" from happening and that he would not seek representation.

He averaged 15.6 points, 7.7 rebounds last season, was a first-team Mountain West Conference selection and helped lead the Cougars to consecutive league championships and NCAA bids. He felt like the time was right to get a look at his professional worth.

It was a common theme for juniors this year, who could go through the meat market once without losing the option to return to school.

It's not surprising folks within the program, however, if Plaisted has sped up the process.

His hope is to get invited to the Orlando (Fla.) pre-draft camp later this month, then he could start working out for teams.

There appeared to be minimal benefit to hiring an agent at this point, unless Plaisted felt that Mark Bartelstein and Priority Sports, with offices in Chicago and the Los Angeles area, could be a helpful influence. It appears to be his agent of choice.

The NCAA rule changed as Plaisted made his decision to test the NBA waters; prospective candidates would be allowed to have all of their expenses paid for -- not just to Orlando, but anywhere that teams requested a workout.

Plaisted's reps have on their website: "Priority Sports & Entertainment has an outstanding history of providing the leadership necessary to improve and secure our clients' position in the Draft. We achieve this by guiding them through a comprehensive pre-draft program, which includes both on and off-court preparation. These personalized programs include intensive training for pre-draft camps and individual team workouts."

Calls from the Daily Herald to Priority Sports were not returned.

Where Plaisted might be picked is a crapshoot. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has predicted first round (No. 20 or later). On a segment discussing 90 underclassmen, he says Plaisted "... has the size and athleticism to succeed in the NBA, but he still battles inconsistency -- he had a promising freshman season, a disappointing sophomore season and an up-and-down junior season. Right now, he's on the first-round bubble, but with strong workouts he could be a mid-to-late first-round pick."

Ford's list, updated May 2, includes asterisks for players who have not hired agents. Plaisted does not have an asterisk next to his name.

NBAdraft.net, a popular website, does not mention him at all through either round (60 picks), though it had about a month ago. There should be a glut of prospects, from college and overseas, which will make Plaisted's future intriguing.

Plaisted is actually in his fifth year of school, as he played briefly in the winter of 2004 as a true freshman before sitting out the rest of the 9-21 season with an injury. So he's quite near his undergraduate degree.

Married and 21 years old, Plaisted may just be ready to start making a living. He is friends with former foe Jason Smith, formerly of Colorado State, who was a first-round draft pick this year. Suffice to say Plaisted has heard the paychecks and spoils that go with them are good.

It's also no secret that he and his family have been upset at the scrutiny that came with his wife Lacey's mid-December arrest for driving under the influence. She had been taking pain medication following knee surgery.

While not reported by all media outlets, her incident became a source of fodder even on BYU fan-oriented Internet chatrooms. Opposing fans also ran with the DUI material, and some students at rival Utah held up her infamous smiling Utah County Jail mugshot during the game at the Huntsman Center.

The agile big man's choice leaves a scholarship open for the Cougars, though sources speculated there's a better chance they'll hold it rather than go for a quick junior-college fix.

BYU has a couple of returning centers. First on the depth chart is junior Chris Miles, who played admirably if inconsistently after returning from a two-year LDS mission just before the team's summer trip to France.

He's joined by Gavin MacGregor, who was awarded a scholarship by Rose for next year even though he sat out all of last season injured.

Plaisted's teammate, Lee Cummard, has also put his name into the NBA ring. The junior told the Daily Herald last month that Plaisted's decision would not have any bearing on his own. He has until June 16 to pull out, as the draft is 10 days later.

It also remains to be seen how much Plaisted will consider, or require, overseas opportunities. But Bartelstein's company, whose clients include (according to hoopshype.com) Brad Miller, James Posey and the former CSU standout Smith, prides itself on "the past 3 years alone, we have negotiated more than $1 Billion in contracts on behalf of our clients."