jimmermania

Jim Eichenhofer

From Opening Night through Dec. 29, New Orleans guard Jimmer Fredette scored a total of 30 points. Over the past three games – including wins over Phoenix and Houston – he’s tallied 33. In the Pelicans’ first 30 games of the regular season, Fredette shot just 12-for-45 from the field (26.7 percent), but since Dec. 30 he’s made 12 of 23 attempts. There’s an array of statistics one can use to demonstrate Fredette’s recent transformation, but the bottom line is the 6-foot-2, fourth-year pro proved instrumental in what was a fairly impressive week for the Pelicans (17-16). New Orleans picked up key Western Conference wins over the Suns and Rockets, and came within a fingernail of prevailing in San Antonio.

Fredette played a key role in each victory, starting with a nine-point game vs. Phoenix. The career 86.6 percent free-throw shooter closed out the Suns by sinking two foul shots to cap a 110-106 win. Twenty-four hours later, Fredette brought the Pelicans back from the dead on New Year’s Eve, scoring a season-high 14 points against the Spurs in a heartbreaking, two-point overtime defeat. In Friday’s rout of Houston, the BYU product notched 10 points.

A common thread in all three games for the 25-year-old has been playing time. In and out of the rotation for much of the season – he has yet to appear in more than five consecutive games – Fredette logged 20-plus minutes vs. Phoenix, San Antonio and Houston. Prior to that, he hadn’t played over 15 minutes in any game since Nov. 28.

“He’s done well. He’s just sticking to what he does, not trying to do too much,” Pelicans forward Luke Babbitt said. “He’s a good offensive player who can really score and is a good passer. He’s playing well. That’s been big for us.”

Fredette’s long-distance shooting at BYU was partly behind the well-documented “Jimmermania” craze, but he’s also proven to be a better passer than advertised. He handed out four assists vs. Phoenix and had two more against Houston. He’s also been more effective defensively, according to Monty Williams.

“The thing I’ve asked Jimmer to do is compete on the defensive end,” Williams said. “We know he can knock down shots. He hadn’t knocked down as many as he’d like to (early in the season), but he’s starting to get a rhythm. He’s just competing on the defensive end.”

“There is a lot to his game that is underrated,” Babbitt said. “Passing, making plays for other people and he’s quick with the ball. He can draw two (defenders) and make plays.”

“They just want me to be aggressive, whether it’s scoring or getting others involved,” said Fredette, who averaged 11.0 points in the last three games. “Just being a threat out there is something that helps our team. It’s a conscious effort for me to be aggressive and take what the defense gives you.”

Fredette has also pleased Williams this season with his consistency in arriving early at the Pelicans’ practice facility in Metairie, continuing to work on his game despite what had been scarce playing time.

“I like guys who work their tails off in practice,” Williams said. “The thing I’ve been impressed with with Jimmer is even in the games where he didn’t play, he’d be the first guy in the gym. He gets there right after I get there, which is pretty early. He’s on the floor working.”

“I’ve been doing that most of my career, even in Sacramento,” Fredette said. “I like to get in early. I’m an early riser. I like to get my (work) done a lot of times before practice. You just have to stay ready.

“(Williams is) depending on guys being ready when their names are called. That’s part of being a pro: You’ve got to stay in shape, stay engaged and know what’s going on out there (on the court). You can go out and produce and make a name for yourself. If you play well, hopefully you’ll continue to have opportunities and have your minutes grow.”

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Jimmer Fredette makes big contributions over three-game span

Since the July day he signed a free-agent contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, the message to guard Jimmer Fredette from the team’s coaching staff has been exceedingly simple: When you get a good look at the basket, don’t hesitate. For an elite perimeter shooter such as Fredette, who has connected on 40.1 percent of his career three-point attempts in the NBA, those instructions should sound like music to the ears.

Fredette: “Every single day, (Monty Williams) and the coaches say ‘Hey, if you have an open shot, make sure to shoot it. Don’t pass it up – shoot it. That’s what we brought you here for, to shoot the basketball and score for us.’ ”

After a standout college career at Brigham Young University that sparked rampant fandom known as “JimmerMania” – partly due to Fredette’s accuracy from well beyond the NCAA three-point arc  – he was picked 10th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. However, over the past three seasons, his opportunities to play have been sporadic, with his role fluctuating between backup minutes and being left entirely out of the rotation. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder has also already had four different head coaches in his brief NBA tenure (Williams will be his fifth). Fredette’s entrance to the pros could not have been more tumultuous – his rookie year coincided with the ’11 lockout; his first NBA head coach, Paul Westphal, was fired by the Sacramento Kings a mere seven games into the ’11-12 season.

Fredette has received double-digit DNPs due to coach’s decision in each of the past two seasons, after he intermittently started a total of seven games as a Sacramento rookie. Despite the constant questions related to his role, he’s been a progressively improved three-point shooter each season, including making a career-best 47.6 percent in ’13-14. As a result of averaging just 14.6 minutes in his total of 179 NBA appearances, Fredette does not have enough three-pointers to qualify for the statistical category, but according to Basketball-Reference.com, his 40.1 career percentage would rank him 35th all-time and 16th among active players.

“I’ve had opportunities to go out and play, but sometimes I haven’t,” the 25-year-old said of his NBA career. “It’s been a mixture of both. I haven’t been able to get consistent minutes at any place yet, so I’m excited to hopefully be able to do that here. It’s all about working hard, keeping your head down and just pushing forward and not worrying about what happened in the past. So I’m excited to get a fresh start, and hopefully I’ll be able to get some good minutes here and be able to help this team.”

Prior to last season, Sacramento chose not to pick up Fredette’s fourth-year option, which meant he would become a free agent for the first time in the summer of 2014. The Kings waived him midway through '13-14; Chicago promptly signed him, but Fredette played even less on a Bulls team that already had a consistent player rotation and was headed to another Eastern Conference playoff berth. Although Fredette was on the roster, he did not appear in a postseason game, which would have marked his playoff debut.

Given the chance in 2014 unrestricted free agency to choose his NBA destination for the first time, Fredette opted for the Pelicans at least partly due to their need for his skill set. Earlier in free agency, New Orleans lost one of the NBA’s premier three-point shooters, Anthony Morrow (42.8 percent career on three-pointers, third among all active players).

“It’s nice that they wanted (me) here,” Fredette said of the Pelicans’ interest in signing him. “They reached out to want me to be on the team. Obviously they definitely had interest and think that I can help them. That’s great to feel for me… I’m excited to be able to come in to this organization and be able to help out in whatever way that I can. I’m just excited to get the season started, and it’s almost here now. We’re revving up and getting ready to go. Everybody’s back. I’m very excited for this new start.”

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Jimmer Fredette has green light from Pelicans coaches

1)      The free-agent Pelicans signee is a combo guard who has spent time at both backcourt positions during his three-year NBA career. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Fredette has played 64 percent of his pro minutes as a point guard, with 36 percent at shooting guard. During his brief cameo with the Chicago Bulls last season, his time at the positions was an even 50-50 split.

2)      Fredette was a sensation during his college career at Brigham Young University. His high-scoring exploits spawned the term “Jimmer Mania,” which partly described the immense amount of fanfare he received while becoming one of the nation’s best offensive players.

3)      His final college game as a senior at BYU took place in the city of New Orleans. On March 19, 2011, the Cougars lost in the Sweet 16 to Florida, in a game played at Smoothie King Center. Florida went on to lose to Butler two days later with a Final Four berth at stake.

4)      He was the 10th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, but has been seeking an optimum opportunity to contribute since arriving in the league. He played a career-high 1,135 minutes as a rookie, but his playing time has decreased in the ensuing two seasons, to 967 minutes in 2012-13 and just 519 last season. He only played 20-plus minutes in a game three times in 2013-14. All seven of his NBA starts came as a Sacramento rookie.

5)      Fredette, whose given first name is “James,” is a native of Glens Falls, N.Y. He will wear jersey No. 32 for the Pelicans. It’s the same number he wore in college and with Chicago. He couldn’t wear 32 as a Sacramento rookie, because Kings veteran Francisco Garcia already had that uniform number.

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Five things to know about Jimmer Fredette

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