SportsBeat Jimmer: NBA prospects


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It has never been more real for Jimmer than right now, stepping up and stepping out, showing the NBA what he can do. For the next month leading up to the draft, the debate will rage on.

After stuffing the stat sheets and the stands in an electrifying senior season, Jimmer's "on attack" at the highest level of the roundball realm.

The first stop is Chicago, where Fredette just completed the NBA's evaluation, the pre-draft combine.

"I want to go out there and make sure that everybody is a believer," Fredette said.

Jimmer had a ridiculous season as the nation's leading scorer with unbelievable out-of-the-arena range.

"(Fredette is) a great great shooter, shoots it from real deep," Danny Ainge said.

"That was kind of the unique part of coaching him because there were times when he would rise up from spots on that floor where you would hope that maybe he would get a little closer," BYU Head Coach Dave Rose said.

"The ability to make shots in the NBA is absolutely paramount," Gordon Chiesa said.

ESPN's NBA insider Chad Ford said that Jimmer is the best shooter in this draft, but also said, "Jimmer has the most volatile stock I've been doing this a long time I'm not sure I've ever seen a prospect that's so polarizing among GM's and scouts as Jimmer Fredette."

"His game is going to be put under a microscope - scrutinized and flipped upside down and tested," Ainge added.

Last year's #9 pick, Gordon Hayward, knows what is ahead for Jimmer.

"The problem with Jimmer, which i didn't necessarily have as much, is that he's going to have a huge target on his back just because he's Jimmer. Everyone's going to be trying to go right at him," Hayward said.

His athleticism is one question, leading to the great debate - can he stop anybody?

"He's an indifferent defender. His quickness, in NBA standards, is only average. The question is - will he dig in defensively?" Gordon Chiesa said.

"You know, right now people are pretty down on how he defends. I think they'll be really surprised," Rose said.

Where will Jimmer go?

"People are talking somewhere between 8 and 15, in that area," Rose said.

Unless they make a trade, the Jazz second 1st round pick will be #12. If Jimmer is there, do they take the local hero? Maybe, maybe not.

"I wouldn't even say about his basketball ability. I would say bringing him here you would have a sell out every game," Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko told KSL.

"With every player, at some point the novelty wears off, and it wears off pretty quickly if the team isn't competitive," Jazz CEO Greg Miller said.

"I think that the system that he gets into is going to be crucial for Jimmer. Not how high he gets drafted, but where he gets drafted - if the team that drafts him knows how to utilize his special talents," Ainge told KSL.

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