Jimmer Fredette shoots against Arizona's Jesse Perry last month.
Photo by Douglas C. Pizac-US PRESSWIRE
You might have seen that BYU senior guard Jimmer Fredette poured in 47 points against Utah on Tuesday night.
Slacker.
He scored a BYU and McKale Center record 49 points against the Arizona Wildcats last season, and then, in an act of kindness, toyed with UA for only 33 points earlier this season in a game in Salt Lake City.
I playfully asked Arizona coach Sean Miller on Tuesday if he had seen Fredette’s output against Utah … and he gave a playful response.
“Jimmer Fredette, he doesn’t need me to say anything more than I already have,” Miller said with a smile, drawing laughs from the media at his news conference.
“Sometimes, I feel really good when he scores a lot against someone else. So, it’s kind of like, ‘Yeah, we got some company here.’ But he’s really a great, great offensive player.”
Fredette had a school-record 32 points at halftime against Utah. He is averaging 26.1 points per game.
Yet, there is some debate about how his size (6-2, 195) and skills will translate to the NBA.
Not for the first time, Miller on Tuesday compared Fredette to Mark Price, the former Georgia Tech star who had a successful 12-year NBA career.
“Mark Price is the person that I think of the most when I watch him,” Miller said.
“I know that Mark Price had a really special and long NBA career. I just have a hard time believing that someone who’s that prolific of a scorer, and the way he scores with the ball, that that won’t translate into some way playing in the NBA and being really successful.
“Because there’s no one else doing what he does.”