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Jimmer Fredette highlights were seen by millions of basketball fans this past week. However, the slow-motion highlights came from a church gym accompanied with Fredette’s testimony of preparation and food storage. Not exactly the endorsements you would expect coming from a top 10 NBA draft pick.
Unfortunately, Fredette’s commercial most likely saw more airtime than he did playing time this week. In the past four Kings games, Fredette has played 10 minutes or less in three of them and hasn’t scored double digits in nearly two weeks. Ironically, Sacramento is riding a three-game winning streak into tonight’s matchup against the Utah Jazz.
Bryant West of the Bleacher Report is a self-proclaimed “Jimmer doubter” but doesn’t believe that fans should worry about Fredette’s rookie struggles this year.
“The biggest problem surrounding Fredette isn't his playing style or even his playing time — the biggest problem is the expectation that he would dominate the NBA from the get-go."
Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports spoke with Fredette about how different his life is today from where he was a year ago at this time and wonders if the nation would ever catch “Jimmer-fever” again.
“It’s something that’s different from last year,” Fredette said of his court presence. “But I had this role before when I first got to college and now I’m going through this kind of transition again. I’m in more of a positive spirit. I’m trying to handle it a little bit better.”
Bleacher Report's West says that Fredette's follies aren't because he's a bad fit for the team or that the coach hates him. It's because he wasn't as prepared to face the high NBA caliber of players as many expected him to be.
"It's gotta be tough being Fredette. He's a regular NBA rookie with an absolutely usual struggle to adapt to the new game. But the biggest problem with him isn't anything he can handle — it's the expectations that had been bestowed upon him before he'd even put on an NBA jersey."
Kings coach Keith Smart acknowledges the pressure from anxious fans who want to see Fredette succeed but assures that he will have a successful career, with time.
“Everyone from around the world wants to see him because of what they saw (in college),” Smart told Spears of Yahoo. “But at the same time you are taking a young man who had the ball in his hands 90 percent of the time and took 75 percent of the shots. In the NBA, you are not going to be able to do those things. … He’s understanding the big picture. But I think people around from the outside want to see something because of what they saw last year and throughout his career at BYU.”
With only a month left in the NBA season, it’s difficult to imagine Fredette’s rookie legacy changing very much. Remember, though, Fredette averaged just seven points in 18 minutes his freshman year at BYU. We will have to wait and see what his stats are like in four years.
