Jimmer Rat

     While players like Kyle Singler, Jared Sullinger, and Kemba Walker are the best players on their respective teams and are having terrific seasons, there is one superstar who is going above and beyond.  This senior is running away with the title of best player in the country by a long shot...kind of like he runs the fast break and then spots up for a lethal jumper that flows off of his finger tips with the utmost ease and glides through the basket.  His name: Jimmer Fredette.
     I've been pondering some potential nicknames for Jimmer.  Here's what I've come up with.  "Nothin' but net Fredette," "Jiminy Cricket," "Slim Jim," "Jimmer the Jammer."  Pretty decent I think...but I'll let you be the judge. Whatever you want to call "Jimbolaya," it's a fact that he's spicing up college basketball with his ability to score 40+ points on any given night.
     Fredette's BYU Cougars currently sit at 20-1, coming off of an impressive victory over (then #4 in the country) MWC rival San Diego State.  It was just another day at the office for Jimmer, as he dropped 43 points in the win.  No big deal, really.  That scoring output led to his third 40+ point game in the last four, a simply staggering number.  It's not like he's hogging the ball in the process either.
     He averages over four assists per game.  His efficiency is off the charts, as he's shooting over 48% from the field and a whopping 90% from the free throw line.  John Hollinger would like that.
     After listening to Fredette speak twice on ESPN, I have developed the utmost respect for him.  Not only is he a spectacular scorer, but he's an extremely nice kid...polite, well-mannered, and humble.
     One instance where he exemplified his humility was in an interview with John Buccigross on SportsCenter. After Fredette's outburst against San Diego State, Kevin Durant tweeted that Fredette is the best scorer in the world.  Rather than agreeing and saying, "Yeah, I'm the best," Fredette returned the favor, deeming Durant the world's best scorer.  I guarantee you that if Kobe was presented with that same situation during his senior year of high school at Lower Marion he would have praised himself up the wazoo.
     From his Mormon upbringing, to his lethal trademark double crossover, to his Deron Williams-like mid-range jumper, Fredette is certainly an intriguing player and amazingly fun to watch.
     Fredette compares his game to that of D Will.  Though they are both somewhat undersized (Fredette is 6'2 and a tad under 200) they compensate for this trivial deficiency with exceptional ball handling skills and an absolutely dirty stroke.
     You can talk all you want about Fredette's NBA career when he's actually in the league.  Maybe he'll be a massive bust, or maybe he'll be the greatest player to ever play the game.  But for now, rather than analyzing his potential to be an NBA star, focus on the the way he is electrifying college basketball.
     Jimmer Fredette has already accomplished milestones galore in his 3+ years at BYU.  This winter and early spring, however, he has a chance to become one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, by leading his team to a National Championship.