Jimmer's changing world
It was only a minute or two after BYU’s win over Oregon, last month, when I saw Jimmer Fredette standing by himself in the hall beneath EnergySolutions Arena. He had a security guard nearby, but that was it.
I asked if he could talk for a minute for a newspaper story. He hesitated and then politely said he didn’t think he was supposed to talk to the media yet.
The lockout had ended a few days earlier and some players had already talked with the media. Still, I think that’s what happens when you’re a rookie — especially one as carefully watched as Fredette. He seemed to be worried that he’d make a mistake.
That could be the case on the court, too. Fredette is doing fair enough in the NBA, averaging 8.8 points. He’s shooting just 37 percent, but part of that is because he has taken 19 3-pointers, making just five. He hasn’t started any games.
Right now he’s adjusting to the speed of the game. But equally challenging is the fact he’s coming off the bench. That’s something he has never done. Coming in cold is a different deal entirely, especially after being the center of every single play when he was at BYU. Then when you do get in, everything is amazingly fast.
Looking at his five games in the NBA, I guess I can just say that he’s about where I expected. I never thought he’d be an All-Star, but I did think he’d have a nice career. He’s proven he can score baskets in the league. That was never the question. From here on it’s a matter of finding how to survive in a league filled with scorers, learning how to play defense and figuring out how to come off the bench. That bench deal might be the biggest adjustment of all.
After watching his results until now, I guess I’ll stick with (most of) the predictions I made last year at about this time. Here’s a look on how I viewed things 13 months ago. (I admit, I was a bit off on how high he’d be drafted; I didn’t expect him to be player of the year.)