His former teammate, a guy who happened to witness the scene first hand, told Lee Cummard that he definitely should have been in Orlando, Fla.

He said Cummard would have "done just fine" had he been among the 64 most prime collegiate pieces of basketball beef to show off their marbling.

Cummard, BYU's 6-foot-7 forward, is deciding between a professional career and cementing his college legacy next winter as a senior. He'll get his chance to prove he belonged with that big group in Florida this week with four cross-country workouts at NBA sites.

His future will become a lot clearer.

"It's a big week for Lee," Rose said.

Take a straw poll, and most straws believe Cummard will be a Cougar again. Not getting invited to DisneyWorld cemented that thought in some pundits' minds.

But, hey, there's always a new day to prove yourself. And Cummard will get four this week.

It starts in Houston on Monday, then Sacramento, Calif., the following day. He'll go Thursday to Phoenix -- close to his home of Mesa, Ariz. -- and Chicago the next day.

Rose and his office assistant, Zeffie Nelson, spent last week contacting all 30 NBA teams. These were four that showed some of the most interest in Cummard, who shared the Mountain West Conference player of the year award with New Mexico's J.R. GIddens.

Rose said the teams work together to create Cummard's itinerary. The toughest part is finding a balance of fair travel and good opportunity, while finding times when Cummard could also fit into various teams' schedules.

"It'll be a great experience no matter what," Cummard said. "Hopefully I can improve my stock status."

Plaisted, a 6-11 center, was the first to announce his intentions of checking out the NBA in mid-April. It was no surprise to Rose then, and it wasn't a shocker as the following month unfolded that he would ultimately squash a chance of returning to college by hiring highly regarded Mark Bartelstein and his Priority Sports agency for representation.

Rose points out that his players approach the NBA under two completely different situations. At BYU a year longer -- remember: Plaisted redshirted the 2004-05 season after being hurt early during it -- Plaisted nearly has a degree in hand.

Cummard has a year's worth of courses left. He's taking a few important ones this summer toward his business degree, including the legendarily difficult Accounting 210. Rose says his player isn't just going to leave the Marriott School of Business, or the Marriott Center, without a pretty sure thing.

Right now there's talk of Plaisted being a first-round pick, though published reviews of his performance in Florida were mixed. Cummard, who declared he'd look at the NBA on April 25 (about 10 days after Plaisted) totally understands why his good friend had to go all-in.

Now, they talk all the time. Plaisted's been on the road, already working out at Cleveland and Boston. He returned to Utah briefly over the weekend, but will be back at it this week.

The NBA draft is June 26, and Plaisted will work out for every team that has a pick from Nos. 15-30 -- the second half of the first round.

Cummard, however, will probably figure out his future much sooner. He must ultimately decided whether to stay or go by June 16. Under NCAA rules, he cannot hire an agent unless he chooses to forgo playing in college.

"People are asking Lee what he'll do," Rose said. "But, really, no one has any idea until he does some of these workouts."

Cummard also has his eyes on his the rewards of returning. BYU hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 1993 and has won the last two MWC regular-season championships. Also, he could win consecutive player of the year awards.

"I've got a chance to leave a mark on BYU basketball and NCAA basketball, which is kind of neat," Cummard said.

Cummard is revered in the program for being a "team player." Well, he has help on this journey. Rose and staff have fielded phone calls and found him places to play. Most intriguing should be the workout at Houston, as the Rockets are expected to be joined by a few other teams for evaluation.

Training staff has helped him put on nearly 25 pounds.

Plaisted has let him know that he belonged alongside him, and also advised him on what to expect during these workouts: what teams want to see, what he'll be expected to do.

He's talked to former BYU teammate Austin Ainge. Ainge, whose father Danny is the general manager of the NBA Finals participant Boston Celtics, used to watch these workouts as a kid and even sometimes play some one-on-one with the visitors.

Cummard said he hasn't asked Ainge to gauge his chances, just to give him ideas of what will be involved as he travels the country.

Cummard's also been practicing in Provo with Keena Young, who preceded him as the MWC's best player and is also trying to get the NBA to notice him. His agent told Rose that he's looking to get Young a shot in an NBA camp after a successful year in Korea.

"We'll see how it plays out," Cummard said. "But one great thing is I've been able to talk to a lot of people. I don't think I'll be surprised."