Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
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The last day of May featured Jimmer Fredette taking part in his first NBA team workout, a session with the Indiana Pacers. The first day of June arrives with Fredette facing a jam-packed three weeks before the NBA Draft on June 23rd.
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Fredette's Pacers' workout was well-received, and he talked about it on an Indianapolis sports radio station with former college coach and current analyst Dan Dakich.
A writer for the Pacers' website had this summary of Fredette's Tuesday workout.
You can see yesterday's "Cougar Tracks" blog entry for more comments and Fredette interviews after his Pacers workout.
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Next up for Fredette is a workout for his home-state New York Knicks, a team for whom Fredette worked out last spring, when he was considering whether to enter the draft or return to BYU. Fredette says after the Knicks workout, he has sessions planned with the Sacramento Kings (7th pick, 1st round), Utah Jazz (3rd and 12th), and Phoenix Suns (13th). No dates have been announced, and more workouts may yet be scheduled.
If Jimmer falls to New York with the 17th pick, ESPN.com writer Ian O'Connor thinks the Knicks should take a pass on Jimmer.
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Following Fredette's Knicks workout, Fredette will return to Utah to participate in the "Jackson and Jimmer Basketball Camp", this Friday and Saturday at the XSI Factory facility at Thanksgiving Point. Only a handful of camp spots remain as of today.
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Once Fredette completes his team workouts and once the NBA Draft is in the rear-view mirror, Fredette will work on a golf swing that is set to be showcased in the American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Tournament, a mid-July event he previewed with a Wednesday morning teleconference.
You can hear audio from the teleconference in the "Cougar Cuts" box above right. Some of the golf-related questions were edited out, but a lot of the golf stuff remains, in addition to a number of basketball-related questions Fredette fielded.
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Among teleconference highlights--
On the golf tournament:
"Well, we'll see how it goes; hopefully I can have help from my caddie, read the green a little bit and be able to put it in the hole...that's pretty much what I'm trying to do."
"Hopefully I just won't come in last place. I want to be able to beat at least a few people there, be in the middle of the pack somewhere, that's what I'm shooting for."
On his golf proficiency:
"I haven't played the game very long. I played a couple of times when I was in high school...when I got to college I played every once in a while. I like the game, it's a very skilled game...I haven't played enough to say I'm a good golfer or anything like that."
"Hopefully I'll get some more practice in, and be able to get a little bit better before the tournament starts, and show decent."
"I think my putting game is little bit better than my driving game; I think I do that a little bit better...I think that will be more of my strong point in the tournament."
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On planning workouts for the Kings, Suns and Jazz after visiting the Knicks:
"Hopefully I'll get those teams in, and I think they're all pretty interested. My agency (Octagon) has been doing a great job of talking to teams and trying to find out who's the most interested and what they think they see me as, and how I would fit into their team. There's some interest around the league and hopefully I'll get drafted to the right spot."
On what comes to mind when he thinks of the Phoenix Suns:
"I mean, obviously, Steve Nash, and what he has been able to accomplish in the time he's been there--two-time MVP and everything. It's an up-tempo system, a lot of ball screens, they put the ball in the point guard's hands and let him make decisions...that's the way I like to play."
On expectations for his rookie NBA season:
"I don't expect to come in and be the main scorer right away. Hopefully I'll go in make an impact and be able to score the basketball and just do whatever the coaches and teammates need to be do to help out in the beginning and gain their trust and earn a more prominent role on the team. Hopefully everything will go as planned."
On a projected NBA lockout:
"They think that there's going to be a lockout, and no one knows how long its going to take for them to resolve it. We'll see what happens, but you never know with these things. Hopefully it'll be not too bad."
On feedback from NBA teams:
"I think they know that I can play offense at the level of an NBA-caliber player; I think the biggest things they're concerned with is just the defensive end and being able to defend the NBA point guards."
"My job is to show them that I can do that in these individual workouts and I think I did a good job of that yesterday (in Indiana), and I think I'll do a good job of that with the rest of the teams, and hopefully I can silence those types of doubts and be able to go out and be an effective NBA player and a good defensive player in the NBA."
On criticisms of his defense:
"That's just the criticism I've gotten for my entire life basically, so I'm used to it and I realize that I do have to continue to work on defense, and I think a lot of people have to continue to work on defense..it's a tough thing to do, especially at the NBA level, with how skilled those guys are."
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Football notes:
The preseason college football magazines are out; here are BYU's rankings--
Phil Steele: 29th
Athlon: 34th
Lindy's: 40th
Sporting News: NR (only ranked Top 25)
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BYU OL Matt Reynolds is a 1st Team All-American in the Sporting News, Athlon and Lindy's rankings; 2nd Team All-American by Phil Steele.
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