Billy Donovan: Jimmer Fredette one of college hoops’ best kept secrets

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 | 1:15 p.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY — If BYU's Jimmer Fredette actually was a secret to much of the nation before Wednesday morning, Florida coach Billy Donovan let the cat out of the bag with a bold statement.

As the first head coach to take the NCAA tournament podium in Oklahoma City the day before his No. 10 Gators take on the No. 7 Cougars at 9:20 a.m. Las Vegas time, Donovan was asked how Fredette compares to some of the elite point guards his team faced in the SEC this year.

The two he mentioned to start with were Kentucky's John Wall — the likely top pick in June's NBA Draft — and South Carolina's Devan Downey, who single-handedly gave Kentucky its first loss of the season with a memorable 30-point outburst Jan. 26.

Then he went a step further.

"I don't think either one of those two guys impact a college game like Fredette does," said Donovan, who led the Gators to national championships in both 2006 and 2007. "As much as I have great, great respect and admiration for Wall and Downey, a lot of great point guards, those guys can't get 50 (points) in a game. They can't get to the free throw line 24 times in a game.

"Fredette is one of the best kept secrets in college basketball, and as a coach and a basketball fan and someone that loves the game, to be able to watch him on film was really, really — great treat to watch."

If the so-called national experts are right, then Fredette certainly won't be a secret to anyone for much longer.

Many around the country not only think that he'll lead BYU to a victory over Florida on Thursday but also believe that the Cougars could very well pull off a potential upset Saturday against No. 2 Kansas State, who is essentially playing at home in Oklahoma City, just five hours south of home.

Still, for those who live west of the Rocky Mountains, Fredette is almost a household name by now.

The 6-foot-2 Glens Falls, N.Y., native was the Mountain West Conference's preseason Player of the Year, and though he didn't take home the postseason honors, his 21.7 points, 4.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game hardly were anything to scoff at.

Though illnesses hindered him during a couple of the season's biggest games — a Jan. 6 victory over UNLV and a Feb. 27 loss to New Mexico at home — he's made a couple of monster statements.

Two in particular were his 49-point, 9-assist, 7-rebound showing in a 99-69 blowout of Arizona on Dec. 28 in Tucson, then his 45 points in a 95-85 victory over TCU during last week's MWC tournament quarterfinals.

"49 points, 45 points, the kinds of games he had this year are not things that you see every day," said senior forward Jonathan Tavernari. "They think he's the best-kept secret, well hopefully he'll be able to come through for us, lead us through a few games and do what he does best."

The best-kept-secret tag, however, has no effect on Fredette, who by far was the darling of the BYU locker room during an open media session.

"No, it's great," he said. "I'm starting to get more recognition. But I like it. It's not a big deal to me. I just go out there and do my thing and play to the best of my ability and hopefully people will find out sooner or later."

They'll certainly find out if BYU does what many expect them to do in this year's tournament.

"We want to go out and advance in this tournament, and if I have to have big games in order to do that, I'll do that," he said. "Because we haven't been able to do that in a long time."

Since 1993, to be exact.

BYU Notes

• Freshman guard Tyler Haws, who is averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds this season for the Cougars, will be back in action against Florida. His left eye, which was swollen shut after a collision late in the victory over TCU on Thursday night, kept him from playing Saturday in a 70-66 semifinal loss to UNLV.

"It looks worse than it is just because there's a bit of blood," he said. "The swelling's gone down and I can see fine."

• The locker rooms for BYU and UNLV are adjoining in the depths of the Ford Center, and Tavernari said that though the two are rivals, they'll be pulling for the Rebels to advance tomorrow when they face Northern Iowa at 4:10 p.m.

He said any and all league rivalries are put aside for the time being, as it only helps the league if teams from the fledgling hoops conference advance.

"I like UNLV, with their match-up," he said. "I think New Mexico has a really good chance of making the Sweet Sixteen. I like San Diego State, who will give Tennessee a tough match-up with their size and physical presence. It's good match-ups for all of us."