'It's pretty wild': 15 years later, BYU hangs Jimmer Fredette's No. 32 jersey in rafters

PROVO — For at least one more afternoon, Jimmermania was alive and well in the Marriott Center.

With students sporting No. 32 jerseys — and a handful of Shanghai Sharks shirts in the crowd that filled to the rafters nearly an hour before tipoff — BYU gave former Naismith national player of the year Jimmer Fredette the highest honor.

The Cougars raised the jersey of the former No. 10 pick in the NBA draft into the rafters, ensuring that his No. 32 won't be worn by a player on the Provo campus again.

For a Saturday afternoon, chants of "Jimmer! Jimmer!" echoed across the 17,978-capacity arena — just like it did when the Glens Falls, New York, native was leading an improbable run in front of his then-girlfriend cheerleader that included near-nightly highlights on SportsCenter's Top 10.

It was a journey in basketball that took Fredette and his family to the NBA, the G League, and around the world to China, Greece and even a stop in the Summer Olympics.

But it all started in Provo, where the former anonymous recruit received a hero's welcome a day after an hour-long line in the school's bookstore for an autograph signing.

"It's pretty wild," he said at halftime of BYU's home game against Colorado after being joined by his family, former coach Dave Rose and former athletic director Tom Holmoe — as well as current BYU officials — in a special ceremony in his honor.

The night before, Fredette, his wife, Whitney, (that former BYU cheerleader) and the couple's three children got a preview of the moment: a private audience with the replica to join former Cougar greats Danny Ainge, Kresimir Cosic, Mel Hutchins and Roland Minson as just the fifth men's basketball jersey to be retired in school history.

"It's hard to put into words," Fredette said. "You see the few jerseys that are up there, and it's not easy to get your jersey retired at Brigham Young University, with all of the requirements that they have.

"I'm glad they waited 15 years, honestly," he added. "Now I get to have my three kids here, and to be able to have that experience with my family left me pretty speechless, honestly."

For any of the capacity crowd in attendance, right where it belongs for the former nation's leading scorer (28.9 points per game) who captained the Cougars to a rare Sweet 16 appearance with 52 points against New Mexico, 47 against Utah, 43 against San Diego State and 42 against Colorado State.

"If we weren't great, I don't think this would've been the same way," he said.

James Taft Fredette arrived in Provo under relative anonymity, and his college experience was like most in America with late nights studying for exams and making jokes with friends.

But eventually, it erupted into a wave that swept the nation — then came "Jimmermania" at a time when the nation- and world-wide fanbase of the flagship school of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was lesser known than the Big 12 program is today.

It even came with its own theme song, "Teach me how to Jimmer,"a parody of the Cali Swag District "Dougie" classic written by a group of Utah-based artists.

That was, of course, before his 2,599 points in 139 career games at BYU — an 18.7 point average, for those counting a significant bump by his 28.9 points per game as a senior in 2010-11.

"Once we made it to the Sweet 16 my senior year, it wasn't much better than that. BYU hadn't made it there in a long time, and to get that monkey off our backs again was pure happiness — and also relief for a lot of people," Fredette said. "I had a lot of great memories on that floor out there."

Four years after he was inducted into the BYU Athletics hall of fame, Fredette retired from basketball, took a job as managing director of USA Basketball's 3x3 men's national team, and started hosting a podcast with BYUtv personality Spencer Linton.

But mostly, he's a dad and his return to Provo was no less special because of the three little ones with little- to no-previous knowledge of his collegiate heroics back to the place where it all began.

"I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that's what this institution is about," Fredette said. "It's something where I try to be a good person and someone who is kind to people.

"I hope when people are around me, they feel like I tried to treat them the right way. That's the most important thing."

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