Jimmer and the draft

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According to the article he'll go anywhere from 15-40. If BYU makes the elite eight and he does well I can see 15, otherwise late first early second. I liked the part of the article that said he doesn't fit the prototype but has other attributes that scouts aren't typically looking for.



Solid article.

Yeah a decent article. You don't need to impress all the scouts to make it in the NBA - you only need to impress one. You don't need to be a good fit on all the teams - just one.

If Stefon Curry was a lottery pick, then Jimmer Fredette is a lottery pick.



Just saying.



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And if Jimmer were black he'd be a top 5 pick.

kitic77 wrote:
And if Jimmer were black he'd be a top 5 pick.

He pretty much is, he just hasn't told his skin.

YBrit wrote:

And if Jimmer were black he'd be a top 5 pick.

He pretty much is, he just hasn't told his skin.

Jimmer plays white - finesse - but so did Danny Ainge, John Stockton, Stockton's buddy at shooting guard for the Jazz, Larry Bird, and a host of other smart shooters that were athletic enough.



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In the end bball is about making shots. Jimmer can make shots in myriad ways and an NBA team will find a way for him to make shots for them.

NOt buyng the 40, that is just a pretty big window. Insider is just hedging against Jimmer being just average the rest of the year and in predraft situations.

We are seeing the trend and infact Jimmer's Sr year is improving over his junior year and if he continues, no way he drops to 40. mid to late first round and hopefully ends up on a decent team. His defense will hurt him, but get a team that likes to run and gun and they will eat up his style and put it to good use.

I usually avoid the race card.. but come on, could Stefan Curry ever play D? There is some race bias going on here if they're saying he's a second rounder. And for that matter, does anyone really play D in the NBA?



Saying he plays "white" and is a "smart shooter" is the other side of that race issue... skin color aside, IMO his game is much more like Deron Williams/Baron Davis/Stefan Curry than Stockton or Ainge.



Another factor here is that he's a senior. Everyone is so accustomed to the premier players leaving early that we assume he must not be true NBA material if he stays 4 yrs.



He's going to surprise people in the NBA just like he has at every level. Players with that level of scoring talent and ball skill can do well in the NBA.

NCPUMA wrote:

Saying he plays "white" and is a "smart shooter" is the other side of that race issue... skin color aside, IMO his game is much more like Deron Williams/Baron Davis/Stefan Curry than Stockton or Ainge.

Agreed, his handle, deceptive quickness, and ability to create remind me of Iverson.

Schmoe wrote:

Saying he plays "white" and is a "smart shooter" is the other side of that race issue... skin color aside, IMO his game is much more like Deron Williams/Baron Davis/Stefan Curry than Stockton or Ainge.

Agreed, his handle, deceptive quickness, and ability to create remind me of Iverson.

His shot doesn't remind me of Iverson - because Jimmer actually has one. Iverson in college was a career .440 FG%, .314 3p% and .683 FT%. In the NBA he wasn't much better going .425 FG%, .313 3P% and .780 FT%.



Iverson couldn't shoot, Jimmer can.

Cougarbib2 wrote:

kitic77 wrote:
And if Jimmer were black he'd be a top 5 pick.

He pretty much is, he just hasn't told his skin.

Jimmer plays white - finesse - but so did Danny Ainge, John Stockton, Stockton's buddy at shooting guard for the Jazz, Larry Bird, and a host of other smart shooters that were athletic enough.



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I think you mean Hornacek. The little buddy was Gilligan to the skipper.



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When BYU was playing Arizona in the ESA, Frank Layden was in attendance and did a short interview during the game. He said the Jimmer probably is on the level of Ainge and has an NBA future. He remarked that he is the greatest player at BYU since Ainge. He has drawn the top defender of the opponents with double teams, and he still get 30+ points. That has to be impressive...

Actually Fredette's style of play reminds me a lot of Billups. He is a big strong guard with a very good jumpshot and a handle.

BYULV wrote:

YBrit wrote:

And if Jimmer were black he'd be a top 5 pick.

He pretty much is, he just hasn't told his skin.

Jimmer plays white - finesse - but so did Danny Ainge, John Stockton, Stockton's buddy at shooting guard for the Jazz, Larry Bird, and a host of other smart shooters that were athletic enough.



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I think you mean Hornacek. The little buddy was Gilligan to the skipper.



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That's exactly who Jimmer reminds me of. Add that to the ability to scoop-and-score on dribble penetration (which reminds me of Stockton).

BYULV wrote:

YBrit wrote:

And if Jimmer were black he'd be a top 5 pick.

He pretty much is, he just hasn't told his skin.

Jimmer plays white - finesse - but so did Danny Ainge, John Stockton, Stockton's buddy at shooting guard for the Jazz, Larry Bird, and a host of other smart shooters that were athletic enough.



[ Post made via Mobile Device ] http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

I think you mean Hornacek. The little buddy was Gilligan to the skipper.



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My bad - brain fart - Yes - Horny as some Jazz fans called him. This won't shock you, but I have met both Hornacek and Stockton. My best friend's son - the one that plays for UW - played on numerous teams with their kids. Jeff was actually the Assistant Coach one year - imagine being the head coach of that team with players named Stockton and Hornacek and an active NBA star as assistant coach. Stockton was just another dad wearing blue jeans and a cap sitting in the bleachers.



Those kids were great athletes even at a young age - golf, tennis, basketball, football - not as much involved with baseball as I recall. They have stayed in touch and play in special tournaments together when they get a chance.



Hornacek was a very generous man with his time and his money. Judge Memorial High School got new bleachers courtesy of Horny iirc.

Listening to the "coach" on KFAN prior to a Jazz game, he said a lot of the scouts act a lot smarter than they really are. I don't recall him talking about Jimmer in particular, but his point was most of the NBA scouts are arrogant idiots that can't really analyze talent. They say a guy can't make it and he ends up undrafted, but contributing to a team (Wesley Mathews). Sure fire hit (Luther Wright) . And on and on. Some smart scout will see some potential and make the pick. Frank Layden said that Jimmer will be the greatest player to come out of BYU on the level of a Danny Ainge. We will find out in a few months when the NBA has its draft.

Tim Legler compares Jimmer to Steve Nash with the way that Jimmer can shoot off the dribble like Nash. Legler says he doesn't handle the ball quite as good as Nash does (probably true, but probably not as far off as Legler thinks he is either)



I think the comparison to Billups is accurate. If any of you ever saw Billups play as a college player at Colorado, their styles are very similar. I watched Billups play about 3 times when he was at Colorado. He was the whole team, and he would regularly take and make 28 to 30 foot 3-pointers because it was the only place the other team wouldn't triple him. Billups was much more of a scorer in college then he has been in the NBA.



I believe Jimmer's game will have to change a little bit when he goes to the next level. He'll need to become a better shooter coming off of screens, not that he's bad at it now, but most of his shots come off of the dribble. He's already improved defensively, and we all know that you don't have to be an elite player defensively to make an impact in the NBA (ie Nash-Jimmer may already be a better defender than Nash is).



Having said all this, I truly believe that Jimmer should be a top 10 pick. There have been players drafted in the top 10 recently, most notably Steph Curry, with similar skill sets to Jimmer.

Jimmer will not slip out of the 1st round because he won't get past the Knicks, Celtics, or the Mavs. The good teams at the end of the first round that need a smart reliable back up PG are not going to pass on him.

SenorCougar wrote:
Listening to the "coach" on KFAN prior to a Jazz game, he said a lot of the scouts act a lot smarter than they really are. I don't recall him talking about Jimmer in particular, but his point was most of the NBA scouts are arrogant idiots that can't really analyze talent. They say a guy can't make it and he ends up undrafted, but contributing to a team (Wesley Mathews). Sure fire hit (Luther Wright) . And on and on. Some smart scout will see some potential and make the pick. Frank Layden said that Jimmer will be the greatest player to come out of BYU on the level of a Danny Ainge. We will find out in a few months when the NBA has its draft.

Draft is irrelevant as far as how good he is going to be. We'll know in about 5-10 if Jimmer's game translates to NBA talent or if he can adjust enough to the NBA to make it work.



He'll make a team for sure, I'd be pleasantly surprised if he gets picked earlier than 25.