Prospect Profile

** Traded to Sacramento on Draft night

Strengths:

  * Deep, deep range on jump shot
  * Crafty moves and crossover dribble to create separation from defenders
  * Excellent free-throw shooter
  * High basketball IQ
  * Competes
  * Creates shots for teammates

Weaknesses:

  * Can he defend NBA point guards?
 

NBA projection:
Could go from lottery to middle first round. Will his game translate to the highest level? We say it will. NBA fans are in for a treat.

2010-11 Season:
Fredette, who led the nation in scoring, has already collected several national player-of-the-year awards—from The Sporting News, CBSsports.com and SI.com—and he's in the running for several others.

Key statistics:
28.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 3.4 tpg, 1.3 spg, 35.5 mpg, .455 FG, .406 3PT, .891 FT

Cool statistic:
Fredette set BYU's single-game and career scoring record on the same night. His 52 points against New Mexico, which also set a Mountain West Tournament record, propelled him past former BYU star Danny Ainge's 30-year-old record of 2,467 points. Fredette has scored 2,567 points heading into BYU's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against Florida.

Reminds me of:
Stephen Curry, not because of a physical resemblance but how they play the game. At Davidson, Curry could shoot the ball with deep range, but he also had a great knack for looking up the floor or around the floor to find teammates with better scoring opportunities. Fredette plays a similar game. Both players, when their teams played on the road, drew many more fans to their games than would have showed up any other time.

What Insiders Say:
Gary Rose, BYU coach
"His consistency throughout the year in leading our team has been unmatched. His ability to score the ball is pretty well documented, but his ability to get his team to win games is what I think is the most important part of a point guard's responsibility."

"We're 19-3 in neutral sites or on the road. His ability to help us win in any setting has been terrific. The improvement he's made from his freshman year to his sophomore year to his junior year to now has been just about unmatched by any player we've had here."

What Outsiders Say:
Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics head coach
"I love him. He's terrific. I've seen the ESPN clips and going by the clips, he's a superstar. The kid's going to be a good NBA player."

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
"I've tuned in just like everybody else. You get on the Fredette bandwagon and you want to see how the guy is. He's a great scorer. I think he's now put himself in position where he's got a good opportunity to play [in the NBA]. He can put the ball in the basket and is a very good competitor."

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
"I love Jimmer Fredette; he's the best player in college. I think he can be a solid pro. He's a really good scorer. I don't know how that translates in the NBA with so many great point guards and athletes, but I think he has a high basketball IQ, and I think he'll have success."

Chris Dortch is the editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.