Cummard is turning NBA heads

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 14, 2008 | by Dick Harmon Deseret News

Within 48 hours, Lee Cummard will decide if he'll play for BYU or hire an agent and take his chances in the NBA Draft or life as a professional basketball player in Europe or some other corner of the globe.

The deadline for withdrawing his name from the draft is Monday, so Father's Day on Sunday takes on a special meaning for the junior co-MVP of the Mountain West Conference.

Cummard told The Associated Press earlier this week he is toying with the idea of leaving his name in the draft. He's not thinking Europe.

But his coach, and chief advisor, BYU coach Dave Rose, says the two will meet sometime Sunday to finalize his decision. According to Rose, the game plan in recent weeks was for Cummard to test NBA interest and if he was not going to go in a decent spot in the draft, he would return to BYU for his senior year.

"Lee didn't get invited to the NBA pre-draft combine in Orlando," Rose said. "So he's had to gauge the NBA's interest by these workouts, from what he's been told and from the feedback I've received from many people in the league I've talked to."

Cummard's wife, Sarah, likes the married college life and the condo in south Provo, but she'd definitely move forward if the price is right. Ultimately, Sarah Cummard might have the biggest say in what happens come Monday.

Cummard worked out for the Phoenix Suns on Thursday near his hometown of Mesa. He will workout for the Chicago Bulls before returning home to finish the weekend.

"Every team I've talked to likes him," said Rose, who attended the Orlando combine and brushed shoulders with representatives of most

of the NBA clubs. "They like his ability to shoot the ball, his basketball IQ, his competitiveness, how he moves without the basketball and how he does with guys in front of him," Rose said.

Cummard has not taken this semester off. The workouts this week have been undertaken despite his final weeks of the spring semester juggling a class load and preparing for finals.

"I've communicated with Lee over the weeks and he really wants to be a first-round draft pick.

This is what the process is right now, to see if there is that kind of interest," Rose said.

Cummard does not appear in any mock draft as a first rounder.

Said Rose: "He's out to find what the likelihood of his going in the first round is. There are three to six teams that have a lot of interest in him, but if he's going to be a late second-round selection, I think he will decide to come back and finish his career at BYU."

Plaisted, on the other hand, could go anywhere from 25 to 40, is what Rose is hearing.

"His situation is really, really solid," Rose said. "I had a chance to meet with him in Orlando and have lunch with him one day and talk to a lot of NBA people about him.

He's continued to perform well in these individual workouts and we're really hoping for a late first round. He's had a lot of interest from a lot teams, when I talk to his agent and teams from around the league."

Plaisted had four workouts last week and two this week, most recently with Cleveland, Boston and Houston. He has 11 workouts with the possibility of 14.

"He texts me or e-mails me and tells me how he did against certain guys who are also working out. With both Lee and Trent, they've reported to me how they think they've done and when I've compared what they've said to what NBA personnel people are telling me, they're pretty right on in the two assessments."

Rose said his two players are "well grounded" in knowing how they stack up right now and what expectations are.

Good thing.

If Rafael Araujo busted in the NBA as a No. 8 pick to Toronto, with a much higher profile than these two, the tea leaves ought to be carefully read and weighed gram by gram. Plaisted has jumped in head deep. Cummard has only a toe in the water. So far.

"We're excited about next season and our program," Rose said. "Obviously the next two or three days are very important for us and for him."

Cummard goes and Rose has a battle to overcome the loss of two All-MWC juniors.

His next team could go from a legitimate three-peat MWC to a squad that pundits will tag as a long-shot to battle out of the middle of the pack in 2009.

Interesting, outwardly, Rose doesn't appear fazed one way or the other before it ends Monday.

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com