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SALT LAKE CITY -- BYU basketball star and soon-to-be NBA player Jimmer Fredette says life after college basketball has been crazy during a stop by KSL Broadcast House.
"People are trying to get you to come to appearances and speak to people," he said.
I just continue to work hard. I don't see myself as this big star that some people do, I guess.
–Jimmer Fredette
But he says he's focused on playing in the NBA and works out two to three times a day. "I just continue to work hard. I don't see myself as this big star that some people do, I guess."
During his stop, Jimmer also took some time to talk about his mother on Studio 5. With an anxious crowd of fans waiting, he jogged onto the KSL Plaza with the same swagger and confidence he takes to the basketball court. But it's his humility and kindness that really stand out.
Both traits, this 22-year-old basketball star says, he learned from his mom, Kay. "She's a huge part of my life."
"Every single game [my mom] says, ‘Do what you do." And that's what I try to go out there and do — I play basketball, I score, I'm competitive, I go out and play aggressive every single night." -Jimmer Fredette
Jimmer sat down to discuss his mother's influence under the umbrella of KSL's new Motherhood Matters campaign, sharing the personal insides of their relationship, including a game they played growing up, called "Tackletation."
"Every time she was near a couch or by a bed, I would go over and tackle her on the bed or onto the couch and we would yell "Tackletations!" Jimmer explained. "It's a fun thing we did. She always had fun with it as well."
He said his mom's support started at an early age, when she built a dribble studio in their basement.
"It wasn't anything much. We don't have a very big house, so there wasn't much room to do stuff. She put some drywall on the floor and covered it with wall paper so it looked like a basketball floor, so it looked like wood," Jimmer said.
According to Jimmer, it's his mom's voice of encouragement he hears both on and off the court.
"Every single game she says, ‘Do what you do." And that's what I try to go out there and do — I play basketball, I score, I'm competitive, I go out and play aggressive every single night," Jimmer said. "It's a good reminder every single time she says that to go out there and play the way I play."
Jimmer says he has no idea how the draft will turn out, but he would love to play for the Utah Jazz.
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Story written with contributions from Randall Jeppesen and Brooke Walker.
