Should Trent stay or test NBA waters?

So, should Trent Plaisted return for his senior year at BYU? Or should he test the waters with the NBA?

That issue has to be at the forefront of Plaisted's mind as he unpacks his bags from Anaheim, finishes his winter semester at BYU and starts his off-season workouts.

Plaisted has not let on what he will do.

That's probably because a guy in this situation cannot know the path he should take unless he finds some answers.

He's got an army of people giving him advice. And there are agents who'd love to enter the picture and give him a piece of their minds for a piece of the pie.

Here's the deal.

If Plaisted decides to put his name in for the NBA draft, he'll immediately become eligible for the pre-draft NBA camp in Orlando. This camp is by invitation only and is the only pre-draft camp run by the league that he can attend and accept expenses for travel and lodging.

Once he learns more about his NBA draft stock, he can either keep his name in the draft or withdraw without hurting his college eligibility. So he could return for his senior year for the Cougars.

There are other things he can do. He can stage his own workouts and invite NBA teams to watch him go through drills, and they can put him through the paces. He can also accept invitations to work out for NBA teams, but he'd have to pay his own way if he wants to keep open the choice to return to BYU.

Things he cannot do? He cannot sign with an agent, have any agreement for representation or receive any money. If an agent advances him any money at all, it would kill his college eligibility.

All this is assuming the NBA will invite him to that Orlando camp — that he's even a legitimate NBA draft prospect.

A year ago, Utah State's Jaycee Carroll, the WAC player of the year, was faced with this same dilemma. He was not invited to the Orlando camp. He did not have the money to travel to workouts, didn't host any workouts and only attended a Jazz workout before withdrawing his name from the draft.

The fear around campus is that unscrupulous, lower-tier agents will get through to Plaisted, persuade him to sign something and give him money. That they will sell Plaisted on the pitch that he can make millions of dollars as a first-round pick.

Plaisted doesn't need people tickling his ears. He needs to hear honest evaluations.