Trent Plaisted

[Colonel_Reb]

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<H3 style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 8px">Plaisted recalls his whirlwind of a year</H3>By Christian Carlson</A> - 2 Feb 2009
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<DIV style="FONT-STYLE: italic; TEXT-ALIGN: right">Photo by Andrew Van WagenenTrent Plaisted shoots over Utah's Luke Neville during a game last year. Plaisted is back in Provo to recover from back surgery and finish his degree.
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A recurring back-injury has brought a familiar face back to Provo.


In a year that has sent him from Provo to Detroit, from Detroit to Italy, and from Italy back to Provo, former BYU center Trent Plaisted has had an exciting start to his professional basketball career.


After all his travels, Plaisted ended up back in Provo finishing his rehabilitation from a recent back surgery. His greatest goal is to get back on the court and show he can contribute in the NBA like he did when he sparked the Cougars for three seasons.


"He just came and played hard," BYU center Gavin MacGregor said. "He knew what he could do and he knew what he was capable of doing. ... He came and played hard and that's why he was as successful as he was."


Plaisted averaged 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in his final season at BYU. He helped lead the Cougars to two regular-season Mountain West Conference championships and two trips to the NCAA tournament, then left after his junior season and entered the NBA draft.


"I will love BYU, my teammates and my coaches until the day I die," Plaisted said. "Playing in the Marriott Center is one of the most electric places you'll ever get to be in. I remember playing so many games and going up and ringing the victory bell with all my teammates after we won a conference championship two years in a row. "


Plaisted began training in Los Angeles after school ended to increase his stock for the NBA draft. He then participated in the Orlando pre-draft camp, where most NBA teams send scouts to watch the draft prospects, and participated in 12-13 individual workouts for various teams. All of this took place within a two-month span.


"The whole process is a pretty grind-it-out deal," Plaisted said.


After a so-so performance in his workouts, according to several draft experts, most mock draft boards put Plaisted being drafted somewhere in the second round. The speculation came to an end on June 25 of last year when the Seattle Supersonics drafted Plaisted with the 46th pick then traded him to the Detroit Pistons later that night.


"I was excited about it," Plaisted said. "I got on the phone with Joe Dumars from the Pistons. He called me and said 'Hey we're happy to have you aboard.' I was happy to be there."


Following the draft, Plaisted was selected to be on the Pistons summer-league team that played in Las Vegas. Plaisted averaged four points and 2.2 rebounds in five summer-league games for Detroit.


"I'm a 6-foot-11 guy, and I don't want to say that I'm a dime a dozen, but close to it," Plaisted said. "In the NBA there's so much size, so much athleticism and so much talent that you really have to fight your way in."


The team sent Plaisted to play Italy for the season to improve some of his skills, including his jump shot. Plaisted averaged five points and two assists in two games in Italy before returning to the states after re-aggravating a herniated disc in his back.


"In Italy, there's a ton of talent as well, but it's just a completely different style of play," he said. "There's guys one through five who can shoot the ball and are just lights out."


Plaisted tried avoiding surgery by getting cortisone shots in southern California, but with the pain persisting he had no choice but to get the surgery.


"It gradually progressed to the point where it got worse and worse and worse," Plaisted said, "and eventually that it just wasn't bearable anymore and I had to get it taken care of."


During his recuperation, Plaisted finished his last two economic classes to graduate. The current timeline for his recovery is about another month, after which he plans on flying back to Italy and getting back on the court.


"It's been kind of a whirlwind of a year," Plaisted said. "It's been pretty interesting."
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http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/70990

 

[whiteathlete33]

This kid is a breathtaking athlete. I remember reading he ran a 4.4 40 or something like that. He also has a great vertical.

 

[j41181]

Best of luck to Trent, pray he can have another at the NBA. But with the way things are now, I'd say there is overwhelming odds stacked against him:

NBA - players are "too" athletic.

Europe - players are very good "shooters."

Trent has that athleticism, but is not that good of a shooter. But he does have the skill and talent. All he needs is a chance, like every blacks I've seen in sports. Every black I see in sports seem to always have 9 lives. But if a white slips up, (injury of scandal) it's pretty much the end of that player. I feel very bad for Michael Phelps, for the unfair treatment he is being portrayed by the liberal media.Edited by: j41181

 

[jaxvid]

A white guy, property of the Pistons!!! He better study his Italian if he wants to get paid to play basketball. Detroit is a NO-WHITES ALLOWED team.

 

[Fightingtowin]

A white guy, property of the Pistons!!! He better study his Italian if he wants to get paid to play basketball. Detroit is a NO-WHITES ALLOWED team.

I'm from Michigan so saw him play in the Pistons summer league. He moves like he is 6'5, not 6'11. This guy is a "breathtaking athlete" as one person posted. He flies up the court and explodes at the rim like no player I've seen at his size. The one flaw in his game, is that he often seems very lost out there, as if he has ADD. That was his problem in college; he had monster games against NC and Louisville when he was pumped up, but would disappear in average games. I hope he can stay focused and develop a go-to move because he has the natural ability to become a showcase of white athletic talent in the NBA. He'll have many sportcenter type dunks if he gets PT (not that they will actually show them).

Watching the Pistons closely, I don't think they are anti-white, relatively of course. They've brought in plenty of non-black players (Darko, Okur, Delfino, Herman, Arroyo), but the Pistons have had too many good veterans in front of them who fit the Pistons slower style better (or with Okur he left to Utah). Delfino, Herman and Arroyo could be top contributors off the bench or solid starters in the right system, just not with the slower Pistons (ironically to a DWF). Joe Dumars even tried to trade Billups for Biedrins, which would have been another surprise steal by the Pistons.

However, Larry Brown and Flip were anti-white and never gave those guys the chance they deserved. Nevertheless, they did very little to help their case and looking where those players have ended up, they probably were going to contribute little no matter what. Ironically, the black players often tried to get the coach to play Darko and Delfino more, even complaining about their lack of playing time in the media.
Edited by: Fightingtowin

 

[j41181]

A white guy, property of the Pistons!!! He better study his Italian if he wants to get paid to play basketball. Detroit is a NO-WHITES ALLOWED team.

I'm from Michigan so saw him play in the Pistons summer league.  He moves like he is 6'5, not 6'11.  This guy is a "breathtaking athlete" as one person posted.  He flies up the court and explodes at the rim like no player I've seen at his size.  The one flaw in his game, is that he often seems very lost out there, as if he has ADD.  That was his problem in college; he had monster games against NC and Louisville, but would disappear in average games.  I hope he can stay focused and develop a go-to move because he has the natural ability to become a showcase of white athletic talent in the NBA.  He'll have many sportcenter type dunks if he gets PT (not that they will actually show them).Watching the Pistons closely, I don't think they are anti-white, relatively of course.  They've brought in plenty of non-black players (Darko, Okur, Delfino, Herman, Arroyo), but the Pistons have simply had too many good veterans in front of them who fit the Pistons slower style better (or with Okur he left to Utah).  Delfino, Herman and  Arroyo could be top contributors off the bench or solid starters in the right system, just not with the slower Pistons (ironically).  Joe Dumars even tried to trade Billups for Biedrins, which would have been another surprise steal by the Pistons.              

Now that you mention it, they are getting old!!!! Rasheed is old, Iverson is old, Hamilton is in his prime, McDyss (is he still a Piston?) is old. It will only be a matter of time before they start getting some new faces (whites I hope) to retool their team. I can see some white faces making the team in the near future.Edited by: j41181

 

[Fightingtowin]

A white guy, property of the Pistons!!! He better study his Italian if he wants to get paid to play basketball. Detroit is a NO-WHITES ALLOWED team.

I'm from Michigan so saw him play in the Pistons summer league. He moves like he is 6'5, not 6'11. This guy is a "breathtaking athlete" as one person posted. He flies up the court and explodes at the rim like no player I've seen at his size. The one flaw in his game, is that he often seems very lost out there, as if he has ADD. That was his problem in college; he had monster games against NC and Louisville, but would disappear in average games. I hope he can stay focused and develop a go-to move because he has the natural ability to become a showcase of white athletic talent in the NBA. He'll have many sportcenter type dunks if he gets PT (not that they will actually show them).Watching the Pistons closely, I don't think they are anti-white, relatively of course. They've brought in plenty of non-black players (Darko, Okur, Delfino, Herman, Arroyo), but the Pistons have simply had too many good veterans in front of them who fit the Pistons slower style better (or with Okur he left to Utah). Delfino, Herman and Arroyo could be top contributors off the bench or solid starters in the right system, just not with the slower Pistons (ironically). Joe Dumars even tried to trade Billups for Biedrins, which would have been another surprise steal by the Pistons.

Now that you mention it, they are getting old!!!! Rasheed is old, Iverson is old, Hamilton is in his prime, McDyss (is he still a Piston?) is old. It will only be a matter of time before they start getting some new faces (whites I hope) to retool their team. I can see some white faces making the team in the near future.

They'll drop old man Sheed and his "practice" buddy Iverson this year. They are set for several years on the perimeter with Stuckey, Rip Hamilton and Prince. They will likely go after Okur or Boozer this off season with their nearly 30+ million in cap space by dumping the two knuckleheads. Or they will try to trade for somebody like Bosh this year or sit on it for the summer of 2010. I hope Trent Plaisted can become a regular. They've shown a lot of patience with young guys and I hope they show the same with him. He is a freakish athlete.

And yes, McDyess is still on the team. He only has one year left, but really isn't slowing down, so could re-sign. He made it clear, he will only play in Detroit because he doesn't want to move his family, so he'll probably re-sign for a small amount as his skills decline. Hopefully Plaisted passes him soon. I was so pumped up when I first saw him play.
Edited by: Fightingtowin