Good point. I think in the current NBA the PG and the SG can almost always be interchangeable in size. You really just need someone to facilitate the offense. The SF/PF/C spots are more reliant on size and athleticism... that is unless you are Chuck Hayes(who is a much better athlete than people give him, other than height). His ability to facilitate the offense will ultimately be judged at the NBA Draft Combine where they can more accurately measure his vision/passing skills/ ball-handling etc. which will measure whether scouts think he could succeed as a point guard "scientifically." or whatever you want to call it. It will be interesting to see whether he is projected after the combine.
one of the related video's to the above is his "domination" of SDSU. I watched it. First, BYU fans...this is kind of pathetic. You don't rush the court after beating SDSU. Even if your star player had an awesome game. Second, though he is also white and that falls into the comparing white kid to white kid comparison... I think an easy comparison is JJ Redick. So ask yourself, is this kid playing better than JJ was when he was dominating the ACC? Not really. His stats this year are a hair better than JJ's senior year stats. But just a hair. Difference being, he's doing it against Mountain West competition. Check out their schedule this year. They've played nobody, absent UCLA and maybe Arizona. And he had decent games against them. But JJ was playing the grind of the ACC schedule and Duke scheduled some tough out of conference games, including Texas and Memphis. Not saying Jimmer isn't an NBA prospect. I think he is, and as Clutch notes, does he have the handles and vision and speed to play NBA point? Because at 6'2, he's 2 inches shorter than JJ. I don't really see it. Not off the game / video I've seen. He's beating bad some people off the dribble, but primarily because he's so dangerous as a shooter. But the better athletes of the NBA will have a much easier time closing out on him, or over closing out on him and recovering. So he's a late first round pick or a second round pick who maybe sticks on a roster to play spot minutes when you need a shooter - cause, yes the kid can shoot.
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Won't disagree with you here. In fact, one of my classes turned into a discussion about the game last night, and I announced to everyone that "storming the court" (it was barely a storm..) comes off really bad when you're essentially the favorite to win (then again I was the lone Rocket fan in the midst of a lot of Jazz fans - might tell you something about the sports culture). As far as the rest of your post, that's exactly why I said I'm interested to see how he'll perform down the stretch and in the tournament. At this point I think if he goes in the first round, it will be due to hype. I fully expect him to go in the 2nd round of an NBA draft. Also, I hate anti-"small" conference mindsets. Over the last 5 years, the MWC is a mediocre basketball conference at worst. You must be a joy to talk football with.
I'm not anti small conference as a rule... But the stats are what they are. Small conferences tournament winners? Extremely rare. While less rare, a very low percentage of small conf teams even make final four, elite eight, sweet sixteen. And the number of NBA players out of small conferences is also a much lower percentage. The guy is torching generally inferior talent. Not bad talent, but definitely a notch below the ACC, itself many notches below the NBA.
As a Mormon that has been to 4 years of jimmer games, this kid has tapped into God mode this year. Last year he developed consistancy with scoring. His passing ability is average to good. He took ill-advised shots that seemed out of rythm, but he made the team better. This year he is the team. We have other scorers like emery and davies, but Jimmer is lights out. He constantly takes shots that I used to yell at the screen telling him not to, but now i expect him to hit shots from 30 ft out. He has hit so many that I dont question him. This opens up his game. If he gets double-teamed, he pulls up off of a pick and roll from deep, in clutch situations. If the other team plays up on him he drives to the lane and finishes with either hand around the basket. His midrange game is underrated because everyone talks about the three ball rediculus range. He is strong, so he has control with contact. I've heard him as Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry amalgamated into one player, and that doesn't seem too far fetched. Crazy range. Finishing while creating contact. Shoots 90% from the line. Shoots 40+% from 3 (at that range). His field goal percentage is around 46-48%. I should ask Bimathug what his true shooting percentage would be. I think he is a special player. I hope people underrate him because I would take a chance on him. Let's hope the Jazz dont finish behind us in the polls because i forgot to mention he's white. Stupid mormons.
I love this kid, and he's got ridiculous range. He's NBA calibre. He's not a PG, thats for sure. PG's won't get to shoot as much anyways and I can't see how a 6'2 PG who weighs 90 kilograms are going to beat anyone off the dribble or see over the defense like T-Mac does. What this kid is is a shooting guard. He'll do well. If Gary Neal can cut it in the NBA, I don't see how this kid can't. Go J
By the way when I get a son I'm naming him JJ, or something starting with J. Because these guys, man, JJ, Jimmer, Jason (Kapono), Jodie, whoa whoa whoa, they've got a killer J and their name says it all If only my father named me J-something...
Anyone around needs to turn their tv on to VS right now. Fredette just single handily took over the game against UNM. This kid will be really affective in the NBA despite his size. Even if the Rockets are looking to draft in the 10 -15 range this kid would be a steal at that pick. You can see game by game him becoming a much better PG rather than just a scorer/shooter. I know the Rockets have three good PG's right now, but you cant pass up on a kid like this if he's available.
His range reminds me a little of Dwight "Bo Peep" Lamar, who led the NCAA in scoring two years in a row back in the early 70s. From Wiki: Dwight "Bo" Lamar (born April 7, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio) is a former professional American basketball player.[1] He attended high school in Columbus and graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a Ragin' Cajun at Southwestern Louisiana, he was a three time collegiate All-American between 1969–1973. During his college career he averaged 31.2 points a game, a point total of 3,493 points, which remains among the top ranks of NCAA basketball records. He is known for his extremely high long-range shot that some coaches say dusted the rafters. Lamar was a third-round pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 1973 NBA Draft.[1] He played for three American Basketball Association teams: the San Diego Conquistadors from 1974–1975, then the Indiana Pacers and San Diego Sails in 1976, before moving to the NBA. In 1977 he played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bear in mind, Bo Peep was playing before the three-point line. I personally saw him torch the Lamar Cardinals for 50+ in the old McDonald Gym. He had a clear-path fast break off a steal one time, but pulled up about ten feet before he'd even crossed half court and drained a smooth J-- and didn't even look like he was straining from that sixty-foot range. He was quoted in the newspaper saying, "Oh, that's like a layup for me." So, this evaluation from someone who has seen some basketball: Fredette has very deep, almost Bo Peep, range. His form is not pure, but it works. He's a great shooter, but will have to improve his handles and D to play much in the NBA. Right now his game is quite similar to AB's.
So this guy you're comparing Fredette to played pro ball for 4 years and only 1 in the NBA. I see the the same thing happening to Fredette, too many negatives, lack of height, athleticism and defense to become a star in the NBA. Not saying he can't have a long career in the NBA, Money has been in the league a long time as a 2 in a PG body