Fredette becoming complete player for BYU

At first, he was known as the kid with the funny name. Today, Jimmer Fredette is known as one of the best basketball players in the Mountain West Conference and one of the main reasons Brigham Young should compete for the league title.

Fredette, the Cougars' 6-foot-2-inch junior point guard, has emerged as a talented two-way player who does everything well. Not only can Fredette score (he leads the Cougars with a 17.9 average and is hitting 93 percent of his free throws), he can guard opponents bigger and smaller than he is.

Fredette and BYU (10-1) will face UNR at noon today in the third round of the Las Vegas Classic at the Orleans Arena. The winner will play today's Nebraska-Tulsa winner at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for the tournament title.

"This is a good time for us to be in this kind of environment," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "It'll be interesting to see how our guys handle playing back-to-back and having a short turnaround to prepare."

Fredette, a first-team all-conference selection as a sophomore, has become BYU's unquestioned leader, taking over for former Cougars guard Lee Cummard, allowing backcourt partner Jackson Emery to effectively fill Fredette's sidekick role of a year ago. Emery is second in scoring at 11.5 points per game and is shooting 47 percent on 3-pointers.

"I thought if I worked hard enough that I could reach this level as a player," Fredette said. "I've tried to be a complete player, and I work on all parts of my game, things like free throws, dribbling, everything I can do to get better.

"I'm very comfortable being the team leader on the floor. But the truth is, we have a lot of leaders. I think that's why we're playing so well. We've done a good job of playing together, and it's a very unselfish team. Guys will give up a shot for someone who has a better look."

Rose said what has impressed him about Fredette this year is how he appears to be a step ahead of the opposition.

"I think his challenge for this season has been to respond to how teams guard him," Rose said. "We've played 11 games so far, and he's probably seen eight or nine different defenses already. But he has played under control and has gotten his points without forcing things."

The Wolf Pack, which is 6-4 but hasn't won a road game, will have to contain the kid with the funny name or that streak might continue. And just how did Fredette get that name?

"Actually, my given name is James, but my mother liked Jim," he said. "She thought I was a special kid, and since there's a lot of people called Jim, she started calling me Jimmer. It's been that way ever since I can remember."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.