Will Jimmer Fredette Bounce Back?

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Jan 16, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jimmer Fredette (32) in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers defeated the Pelicans 96-81. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Jimmer Fredette, the man who once had people in awe of his shooting range, is now on his way to his fourth team in his sixth season. There was a point in time when people would say, “From Jimmer range!” during a deep three-point shot. That should explain a lot when trying to understand how exciting he was while playing at BYU.

So let’s flip it back to the 2010-11 NCAA basketball season. Jimmer Fredette and BYU are looking like they could make some noise and everyone is excited to see what kind of fireworks Jimmer can launch from deep. He went on to average 28.9 points per game while shooting 39.6% from three, and 45.2% overall from the floor. He even won the Wooden Award for the most outstanding player of the season.

10-11mBKB UNLV 0971.CR2 10-11mBKB vs UNLV BYU-78 UNLV-64 February 5, 2011 Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU © BYU PHOTO 2011 All Rights Reserved photo@byu.edu  (801)422-7322
Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU
© BYU PHOTO 2011

Fast forward a little to the NBA draft when Jimmer is taken by the Milwaukee Bucks with the tenth overall pick and then shipped to Sacramento. He had tons of hype following him as this underdog from a smaller school who could shoot the lights out. Which, honestly, kind of also reminds me of when Stephen Curry came onto the NBA scene. Anyway, Fredette ended up starting only seven games and averaging a measly 18 minutes per game. He shot poorly his rookie season, but stepped up his percentages in his sophomore season. His minutes kept decreasing however, so midway through his third season he was sent to Chicago where he barely played at all. Most recently, Jimmer was in New Orleans where he finished with averages of 3.6 points and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 38% from the floor.

So here we are, in the offseason before his fifth season, and the San Antonio Spurs have officially picked up the sharpshooter. This could really be a match made in heaven. The Spurs’ system utilizes shooters and has always put them in position to have great seasons. Now that teams have to worry about Aldridge as well as Parker, Duncan, Ginobili, and Leonard, that means Jimmer could have even more open shots than he’s had in his last five seasons. He’s essentially taking the place that Marco Belinelli has vacated, and I believe he’s going to do more than just fill that space. We will see a return of the Jimmer range this coming season and I bet San Antonio fans will be loving it while they also enjoy the great play of LaMarcus Aldridge.

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