Plaisted Talks About His Decision

Trent Plaisted, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound power forward from Clark High School in San Antonio, Tex., planned on making a quick decision after making all of his official visits. However, during his last visit to BYU this past weekend, he couldn't wait and pulled the trigger on a verbal commitment to the Cougars within hours of landing in Provo.

"I committed to BYU on Saturday evening," said Plaisted. "I felt real comfortable there. My sister is there and I'm incredibly close to her. But it's not just my sister, I love the program and my family has a history with BYU. My parents might move up there to join us too."

Comfort and family were no doubt major factors in Plaisted's decision. But there were hoops-related reasons as well. "I like the coaches, and I like the players," said Plaisted. "Basketball-wise, if they get everybody they think they're going to get, they're going to have a great recruiting class. They're bringing in a lot of top talent."

Plaisted selected BYU over offers from Florida State and Stanford. It simply was a case of best fit where the Cougars won out. "I'm not going to take anything away from the other schools -- FSU was a great place," said Plaisted. "I have a lot of respect for those programs. But I just felt a lot more comfortable at BYU."

One item of interest is Plaisted's immediate future in regards to taking an LDS mission. The flexibility and understanding he has from the Cougars program in regards to a possible mission was definitely something that came into the equation.

"BYU will always support you if you go on a mission," said Plaisted. "So there's no pressure for me to stay or go. Not to say that the other places wouldn't understand, of course, but it makes it easier if I were decide to stay or go."

With that said, the plan for Plaisted is to play at least a year at BYU before making any decision about a mission -- if he goes on one at all. "I would have to play for at least a year before I go," said Plaisted. "But I'm not sure yet. That's yet to be decided. I still have time to think about it."

Plaisted plans to major in a Business-related field at BYU.