Originally, I wasn’t aboard the Jimmer Fredette train.
Now, after BYU lit up San Diego State on Saturday, I am dangling by one hand on the caboose. James “Jimmer” Taft Fredette scored 25 points and dished out nine assists that helped No. 7 BYU dominant No. 6 SDSU, 80-67.
Not that that scoring line for the senior from Glens Falls, N.Y., was something new: He’s been putting up video game numbers all season and shooting the ball with no regard for human life. Fredette averages 27.3 points per game and four assists.
What was new was how the Cougars beat the Aztecs — with Fredette relying more on his teammates for scoring support.
This second MWC high-wire tango involved West Coast supremacy. Outside of Provo, Utah, much of the nation expected the Aztecs to dunk BYU in and out of the Mission Beach waters with ease. But, of all teams, the Cougars, you know the team led basically all season by one player, proved basketball is a team effort, not a one-man show.
Little doubt, it was still The Jimmer Show, but the Cougars’ role players thrived, hitting 14-of-24 3-pointers. Fredette was 4-of-8 beyond the 3-point line.
All season long, I waited for Fredette to crack, buckle and have a poor-shooting affair in a Cougars’ loss.
Saturday’s high-stakes-poker matchup, a week and half before the MWC tournament, was pressure-filled, but Fredette didn’t crumple even with a league title, NCAA tournament seeding and national admiration on the line for the schools.
Fredette didn’t fold to the pressure even though SDSU was seeking revenge for a 71-58 loss at BYU on Jan. 26. It was the Aztecs’ first loss of the season.
The thing is, between SDSU’s defense and the energetic, show-stopping Viejas Arena student section, it was the perfect setting for Fredette to stumble.
For the last two months, I haven’t bought into Fredette shooting the ball 25 times. Yet BYU continues to roll through the Mountain West Conference.
So insert my foot into my mouth.
Days after the win, the Cougars are in the run for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and maybe a less-traveled road to possibly play for the national championship.
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After all is said and done, I have to concede that Fredette can do it with the world’s best basketball players.
Behind Fredette, BYU can win a MWC regular-season title outright with two more regular-season wins at home against UNM and Wyoming.
For much of the season, I’ve been on the Aztecs’ bandwagon. I pulled for SDSU to finish 30-1 and head to the NCAA tournament. The Aztecs are still poised to make a deep, deep run into the NCAA tournament next month.
But the Cougars have shown they can do it, too. And Fredette is a doesn’t-come-around-often talent.
So, after careful consideration, please conductor, punch my boarding pass. I’m coming aboard the Fredette Express.
