Q-and-A with BYU's Jimmer Fredette
One of the worst decisions UNLV's Tre'Von Willis has ever made as a basketball player came not during a game, but before one.
A few days prior to the Runnin' Rebels' home showdown against BYU last week, Willis provided some bulletin board material for Cougars standout Jimmer Fredette.
"They've got a preseason All-American and supposedly the best player in the conference on the other team, so that's going to be nothing but fun," Willis told the Las Vegas Sun. "I'll try to make him earn everything he gets. Like I said, he's got all of those accolades, but he's gotta come in and prove it."
Nice move, Tre'Von.
In one of the best performances of his college career, Fredette scored 39 points to lead BYU to an 89-77 victory over its conference rival. The win snapped the Cougars' eight-game losing streak at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Fredette made 12 of his 25 field goal attempts and hit seven shots from beyond the arc. Fredette chuckled when asked if he said anything to Willis about his pregame comments.
"There was a little friendly conversation at the end,” he said. “We were up pretty big, so there wasn't too much to be said at that point."
Indeed, anyone who doubted Fredette before would be foolish to do so now.
With a scoring average of 24.9 points per game, the senior from Glens Falls, N.Y., has more than lived up to his billing as a preseason All-American. Not many players – if any – in college basketball are playing as well as Fredette, who also averaged 4.3 assists for the No. 15 Cougars, who are 16-1.
Fredette spoke with Yahoo! Sports by phone following Saturday's victory over Air Force.
Q: How would you describe the zone you've been in this season?
A: "I feel really good right now. Things are going well with our team and I've been shooting the ball really well lately. We've gotten some good wins and have played really good basketball up to this point in the season. I feel good about things right now. Obviously I want to continue to get better and help us progress as a team. I think we can do that. We've got a lot of room for improvement."
Q: Everyone assumed BYU would have a good team this year, but I'm not sure people thought you would be better than the squad that went 30-6 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. What's working so well for you guys?
A: "We have really good team chemistry. Everyone likes each other. It doesn't matter who gets the credit or who is scoring or making baskets. We're such team-oriented guys. That's a big thing. We're really out there to win. We want to win a conference championship."
Q: What about personnel-wise?
A: "This year we've got guys that make us a little more athletic than we've been in the past. We're able to get out and run really well. Our length bothers guys on the perimeter. We can get out to the shooters a little bit better and stay in front of our opponents. Those things are a little bit different. Brandon Davies (11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds a game) has been playing really well down low for us. That's also been a big key."
Q: You've already played games against teams such as St. Mary's, Arizona, UCLA and Creighton. Entering conference play, how tested has this team been?
A: "We've had some good tests. I think they ranked our non-conference schedule as the best in the Mountain West. We've played some really good teams at their place and done a really good job. We had a month where we were away from our building. That doesn't happen too often with a Top 25 team. But we were able to get out with eight wins and one loss. So we've been tested. We've been in tough situations. But we were still able to come away with wins. It's hard not to feel good about that."
Q: So many shooters go through dry spells where their problem seems to be more mental than mechanical. That rarely seems to happen with you. How do you guard against that?
A: "The biggest thing is to stay aggressive and continue to shoot. When things aren't falling from the outside, try to be aggressive and take it to the basket. Try to get fouled and get to the free-throw line and make shots from there. Just to see the ball go in the basket is something that really helps your confidence game by game. That's what I try to do even if I'm not shooting the ball really well. Get closer, see that ball go in and then the basket will start looking a little bit bigger."
Q: In your opinion, what constitutes a good shot?
A: "The biggest thing about me is that I can shoot it from a lot of different angles. I can shoot coming off screens. I can shoot off the dribble. I really like to shoot off the dribble. I have the ball in my hands a lot as a point guard, so I get the chance to do that a lot. The biggest thing is to get your feet set and square up to the basket – whether you're in the air or right when you catch the ball. Just use the same mechanics every single time and that muscle memory will make the ball go in."
Q: As good as the Mountain West Conference was last season, is it even better this year?
A: "This may be the best year we've ever had, with San Diego State up there in the top five. UNLV is in the Top 25 and New Mexico is always very good. Every other team is continuing to improve. It's really tough. We know that. In order to win we've got to continue to play as well as we can and get some good road wins like the one we had at UNLV."
Q: How has the success you achieved last season changed things for you this year?
A: "I definitely feel like there's a target on my back, with all the preseason [honors]. Every team is game-planning to do something to try to slow me down and make some of my other teammates makes plays. We've been able to do a good job with that, though. We're making plays as a team and that's why we're 16-1. It's definitely been a little bit different knowing we have to play as hard as we can every single night because we've got a target on our backs."
Q: Are there any particular players in the league you like going up against?
A: "There are a lot of guys on a bunch of different teams. Dairese Gary has been at New Mexico as long as I've been at BYU. He's an all-conference kind of guy. He's fun to play with. He's a tough competitor. We've had some very, very good battles. A lot of guys on UNLV and San Diego State are always tough guys to play against."
Q: You've said for a long time now that your older brother, T.J., had a big influence on your career. What's the main thing he helped you with at a young age?
A: "He just helped me gain confidence. He was always encouraging me to play with him and his friends. He was always encouraging me to shoot the ball and make plays, even when I was playing against older competition. For someone to sit there in front of his friends and encourage his little brother to make plays, it gave me confidence at a young age. I sustained that for the rest of my career."
Q: Some of the stories written about you during last year's NCAA tournament mentioned that T.J. was an aspiring rap artist. What's happened with his career during the last year?
A: "He's doing very well. He's with a management company right now. He's continuing to get shows and he's trying to work on an album with a guy down in New York City. Things have been picking up for him ever since those stories came out. Hopefully things will continue to go well for him. He's very, very talented. Hopefully he'll get a big break sometime here soon."
Q: Are you a fan of rap music? If so, who are some of your favorite artists?
A: "He got me into it because all of his friends listened to hip-hop and rap music growing up. I listened to it as well. I like a guy name Joe Budden. He's very good. Eminem is great. He and Jay-Z are two of the best rappers out there. J. Cole is putting out some really good stuff right now, too."
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: "I spend time with my friends and my girlfriend. After school and practice I just want to relax and watch movies. I'm a big movie buff. I'll just do that and hang out and maybe go get some ice cream."
Q: Name your favorite movie, your favorite ice cream and the thing you miss the most about New York.
A: "My favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption. As far as ice cream, I like cake batter with brownies in it from Cold Stone Creamery. My family and friends are up there on the list of things I miss. I also miss Angelina's Pizzeria. My brother's best friends run it. We're like family in there. I miss that type of pizza and that type of restaurant. They don't have the good thin crust pizza here in Provo like they do in New York."
