Jimmer on holding grudges

If Jimmer Fredette does become a great NBA player, it will be due to his attitude as much as his talent.

He’s great in some areas of his game, but weak in others. But in terms of maturity, he’s already ahead of the pack.

In a media interview session on Thursday, prior to the American Century Championship at Stateline, NV, he was asked about those who doubt his ability to succeed in the NBA. Said Fredette: “Yeah, I use it as motivation, just internally. I don’t show it. I never hold grudges against people. Everybody should have their own opinion, and that’s completely fine. So I don’t get mad at them or anything, I just use it to try to use it internally to go out and play as hard as I possibly can and show them that I can do it, be a good basketball player, whatever it is that they want me to show. So it’s more about just myself trying to prove myself that I can do it.”

The interesting part is that he doesn’t hold grudges. We should all be so smart. But a lot of pro athletes do hold grudges. Maybe it motivates them. Most of the time, though, it distracts them. Fredette is wisely just going to do his thing and let the critics have their say. He has already realized something many athletes never figure out: If you do well enough, the critics go away.

Brian Johnson, the former Ute football quarterback, once told me he didn’t worry about media and fan criticism when he had a bad game. He knew if he scored the winning touchdown the next week, he’d get all the good publicity he could handle. It’s a simple formula. If you do well enough, the critics won’t have much choice but to get on board.

For the full transcript go to asapsports.com