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Villanova head coach Jay Wright calls out instructions on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, to Jimmer Fredette and the rest of the college players selected to work our with Team USA as members of the USA Select team.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 2:20 a.m.
Also heard in the gym...
- Fredette on who he would pick right now to win the MWC next season if he couldn't pick BYU: "It's hard not to pick San Diego State, just because they have so many guys returning. Pretty much the whole team is returning. They were very good last year, got some momentum going into the NCAA tournament by winning a conference championship, so I think they'll be a team that's playing really well."
- Fredette on whether he's heard the comparison between him and a European guard before: "A couple of times. Not a whole lot, but obviously Europeans can shoot the ball, they're crafty, they're tricky, they know what they're doing. I try to do that, because obviously I'm not the most athletic kid. I'm able to get my shot up, and that's how they play. It's a good thing for me to be out there and just help Team USA for what they're going to see at the World Championships."
- Kansas State guard and Select team member Jacob Pullen on Fredette: "He's a unique scorer. He really finds a way to put the ball in the basket. And a lot of scorers have something special that they do, but he finds a way to do a variety of things. He shoots it from deep, he gets in the lane, he gets to the free throw line and that was the thing we really had to focus on was not fouling him and trying to keep him contained (in the NCAA tournament meeting with BYU). The good players will find ways to score and get points, but you try to keep them contained. That's what I thought we did."
When BYU guard Jimmer Fredette worked out for NBA team after NBA team in selling himself as a potential draft pick this summer, he constantly was left guessing.
Rarely — if ever — did any of those doing the evaluating give him open critiques or pointers on what he needed to improve if he went back to school.
Now, he'll learn firsthand this week what those within several NBA franchises wouldn't tell him.
Fredette, who withdrew his name from the prospect pool late in the pre-draft process, is one of 20 top college talents in Las Vegas this week with the USA Basketball Select team. The Select squad is serving as a scout team of sorts for the 20 prospective members of Team USA this week on the UNLV campus. The Team USA roster will be chopped down in preparations for the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, which begin Aug. 28.
"This is some of the best basketball that you could ever play, against the NBA's best and with 20 of the best kids playing the college game right now," he said before Tuesday's afternoon session. "It's a great time to learn, pick some people's brains and see if I can get a little better."
Getting a little better probably will help Fredette's draft résumé next spring, which should be a scary thought for those collegiate opponents who have experienced his abilities up close.
In 34 games last season, the first team All-Mountain West Conference performer averaged 22.1 points, 4.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds a game while shooting eye-popping percentages from 3-point range (44.0) and the foul line (89.2).
Fredette truly burst onto the national stage, though, in leading the Cougars to their first NCAA tourney win since 1990 — a 99-92 double overtime triumph over Florida in Oklahoma City on March 18. He scored his 37 points in a variety of ways, and his popularity hit a new peak.
Despite losing in the second round two days later to Kansas State, Fredette rode that wave of momentum and declared himself eligible for the 2010 NBA draft. He did not hire an agent, though, leaving the door open for a potential return to Provo.
That's the route he ultimately chose.
"It was just the fact that I couldn't get any guarantees from teams to pick me," he said. "That's something that you have to deal with now. It was tough, but they all seemed interested and I was a possibility for all of them. It was a tough decision, it really was, but at the last second I decided it would be best to come back."
Before a final decision, though, he worked out for several NBA teams, and despite the road ending with a quad injury in his final display — a workout for the New York Knicks — he learned plenty of lessons.
From those brief workouts alone, Fredette said, he could tell that he needed to fine-tune some things within his offensive arsenal and become an even sharper defender. The kicker was a clear need to improve his conditioning before being ready to bump shoulders on a nightly basis with the world's best.
Now fully healed, he's ready to soak in some more.
"Obviously, Derrick Rose is over there (with Team USA), Rajon Rondo and Chauncey Billups and all of those guys," he said. "I'm going to be trying to gauge myself against all of them. They're all different players, but they're all at the top level in the NBA, so I'll see what I need to work on and improve on. I'm excited for it."
The skill set that Fredette already possesses is pretty unique in its own right.
That is what Villanova coach Jay Wright, who is coaching the Select Team alongside Washington's Lorenzo Romar, said largely helped him make the cut at tryouts and earned him a trip to Las Vegas.
"We're trying to simulate for the NBA guys what the European players will play like, and he's like a European guard," Wright said. "He's very physical and tough with the ball. You can't knock him off his spot, he really showed that (on Monday) in our scrimmages here.
"He's got the intelligence of an international player, and his strength — he's a strong guard who's got good size and he really knows how to play. That's one of the things the NBA guys here will really have to work against is crafty, smart guards. Jimmer is that kind of guard."
Fredette could even use that rare style of play to garner a bit of preseason national Player of the Year buzz, as he got a small taste of it at the end of the 2009-10 campaign thanks to several late-season scoring outbursts.
BYU's potential success surely won't hurt that effort, either, as the Cougars return the top three scorers from a 30-6 team and again will be deep.
Plus, he'll hardly be a secret any more when the season begins. That's a role that Fredette said he's ready and willing to fill.
"That's the position you want to be in if you want to be a good player and get to the next level. That's where you have to be," he said. "It just comes with the territory.
"But I'm really excited to go out there, not think about it and just play my game. I know that if my team's winning, we'll get some good press and good notoriety."
Ryan - you forgot to mention he travels just like a Euro player. The Jimmer is a world-class too many steps guy....
Fredette--If you played at UNLV, you'd be player of the year material. Since you don't, you suck.
Other UNLV players on the UAS Select team are much better. Oh, forgot that there are no UNLV players of the USA Select team. They must be on a better team....somewhere.....right??
He'll likely torch the Rebels a time or two this spring, but Fredette's a fun player to watch. He's definitely among the handful of players in the conference that you look forward to seeing live.
I wish him well at the select camp.
i wouldn't want Fredette. I agree with TomKingsley
Can we get some UNLV news, like a 10 min. interview. The title of the entire section says UNLV sports, I really ESPECIALLY don't care to hear a thing about BYU players.
I'll entertain the topic though, and say Fredette is like a soccer player. He works for the foul driving to the hoop, and usually gets it. When teams just let him shoot, he missed the shots though. He's not fast enough to be a PG, and too small to be a Forward. Sure, he can lob the 3-pt shot, but his ability to go to the next level and bang is suspect.
When I attended the MWC Tournament two seasons ago (I also went this past year), I sat next to an NBA scout from the Sacramento Kings. When I asked him which players he was looking at with NBA potential (hoping he might say Wink Adams or some other UNLV players), he immediately responded that Jimmer Fredette was the real deal (as a sophomore) and that he'd probably play at the next level.
Eighteen months later, it seems Jimmer is the real deal. Although he's not playing for our Rebels, give the guy credit for being a standout guard that brings attention and recognition to the MWC and who is exciting to watch. To be considered one of the top 20 college players in the game right now is a big deal. I, for one, wish him luck and hope he brings some more positive attention to basketball in the MWC.
Jimmer Fredette is a fine player and I'm glad he's returning to school
Fredette is very good. His talent is legit. He does take 3 steps through the lane and gets more bailout calls from officials than any other player. Combine Fredette's talent with the Christmas gifts he routinely gets and he can become lethal at times.
On a side note, the few times refs do not give him his bailout calls he whines like a baby. He's come to expect them in the MWC, but won't get them in the NBA. He'll make a solid D-League player.
Over rated ball hog. He would get eaten alive in the nba.
Fredette will do well in the NBA. He won't have teams double-teaming him and game-planning for him alone. He also won't have to carry a team like he does now (who else penetrates for them and makes plays?)
He might whine a bit, but he's a class act. He isn't a showboating prick like Hobson and doesn't have brushes with the law like so many others. I look forward to him proving all the ignorant haters wrong at the next level.
Jimmer is the Tim Tebow of the Mtn West. When you watch him on TV all the announcers "LOVE HIM" just like Tebow. Its very annoying...
The last game we played BYU Massamba set a screen up at half court, and Jimmer ran into the brick wall nearly full speed. That was an awesome display.
To answer Carlos' question: Loyd, which they won't have this year. Loyd was under rated for the squad they had and was the slasher, but didn't get the minutes.
For the sake of correctness, BYU will return 3 of their top 5 leading scorers, but Tyler Haws (the number three leading scorer on the team) has already left on a LDS mission to the Philippines.
@logicshouldrule
Your absolutely right. Alas, UNLV has no players on the all-famous, very popular, all star laden, top talent USA Select Team, while BYU does. But to answer your question, there are UNLV players on better teams. Hard to believe I know. Try
Joel Anthony- Miami Heat
Shawn Marion- Dallas Mavericks
Marcus Banks- Toronto Raptors
Louis Amundson- Pheonix Suns
Any BYU players in the NBA?? Didnt think so.
@ young rebel, not just that, but BYU has had basketball since 1903, and has had 19 total players in the NBA. UNLV has only been a school since 1957 and has had 31 players in the NBA.
"I look forward to him proving all the ignorant haters wrong at the next level." He is not there yet. We will see if he makes the NBA first.