Jimmer Fredette Can Walk Away With His Head High

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

There was a point where many believed that the BYU Cougars were going to make it to the Final Four with such a solid roster that featured the National Player of the Year, Jimmer Fredette.

Fredette scored 30-or-more points in 16 games this season. He also had a 52-point outing, and three 40-plus games.

Fredette has taken advantage of every opportunity placed before him.

He isn't a John Wall, but his game on the court has turned his name into a similar media outrage.

He has his on dance, his name is considered a noun, which has its on definition as well.

Outside of all the off-court things, Fredette has become a hot commodity due to his ability to drain NBA three's, and beat the opposition off the dribble.

NBA superstar Kevin Durant tweeted that Fredette is the best scorer in the world. His teammate Russell Westbrook also said, "I know just from watching him that he's going to be a great NBA player."

Fredette doesn't have a ton of post-season history, with his first Sweet 16 berth in his four year career coming this year, but he can leave the college game with his head held high.

He is among the elite players to score 1,000 points in a single season, along with shattering Danny Ainge's Mountain West Conference scoring record with 2,599 points over his career at BYU; that's an average of 18.6 points per game.

He was also present in the NCAA tournament, all four years at BYU along with ending his career with a 114-27 overall record.

Rightfully so, Fredette won the most prestigious award in College Basketball. Every player that has won Naismith National Player of the Year award, has went on to have, at the least, some success in the NBA.

Fredette owns six Mountain West Conference all-time records, along with many BYU records. Freddette was a fierce competitor, he took College Basketball by storm and everyone still wants to learn "How to Jimmer."

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Jimmer Fredette Has Become a Can't Miss Player

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Jimmer Fredette’s name has to be a hot topic in the player of the year conversation after his display of his scoring ability all season. Not to mention, Fredette has the BYU Cougars (20-1, 5-0) ranked inside the top 10 and looking for their first conference title in years.

Coming into this season, Yahoo Rivals listed Fredette as the most explosive player in the country. Many also regarded Fredette as a lethal scorer, but nobody really expected him to put up 40-points multiple times in one season—let alone, twice in a row.

Fredette had surpassed former scoring leader Kemba Walker after his 47-point performance against Utah. Since then, Fredette has owned the top spot in the scoring column and is now up to 27.4 per game.

Fredette has also pushed his average up to 35.7 points during conference play

Fredette has scored 20-plus points in 17 games this season, including seven 30-plus games, and three 40-point outings.

After his most recent 43-point game against rival San Diego State, Fredette received props from many formidable players, including NBA stars.

“Jimmer Fredette is the best scorer in the world,” said Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant via Twitter. “Jimmer Fredette is cold, #respect” said Washington Wizards star John Wall.

Fredette isn’t the same player that got locked down in the ’09 NCAA tournament by Jacob Pullen. He finally gets it, and has grown from last year’s disappointment, which is one of the reasons BYU is one of the top teams in the nations.

“Jimmer has a relentless mindset toward scoring the ball, which you might think everyone has, but his is unique,” said coach Rose.

The past few gams, coach Dave Rose has stuck with the same offense that plays to Fredette’s strengths.

“He’s also playing with guys that want to get the best shot possible on every possession,” said Rose. “I think you can see that when Jimmer’s got a hot hand and is rolling pretty good that his teammates really look for him.”

The last two games combined, Fredette has been hot from deep nailing 9-of-17 (52%) of his three point baskets.

Fredette will continue to grow as the Cougars travel to take on the New Mexico Lobos (14-7, 2-4) who are underachieving, but still a formidable opponent for BYU.

If Fredette were to recreate another 40-point night against the Lobos, he would solidify everyone’s notion of being the most dominant scorer in the college game.

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BYU Still The Team to Beat in the Mountain West

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The Mountain West conference could be looking at one of the best years in recent history.

The San Diego State Aztecs (14-0) has emerged on the national stage and is now touted as the No. 7 team in all of College Basketball.

Despite being upset by the UCLA Bruins, the No. 16 Brigham Young Cougars (13-1) have been very impressive with All-American Jimmer Fredette who pours in 24.9 points a game.

The New Mexico Lobos (11-2) has been the most impressive team knocking off teams such as Colorado, Arizona State, and Texas Tech.

The UNLV Rebels (12-2) have also been another very impressive Mountain West program.

UNLV won the 76 Classics in-season tournament, as well as picking up wins over Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and Kansas State.

Last season, the regular season title belonged to New Mexico after defeating BYU head-to-head late in the season, while San Diego State came up victorious during the conference championship.

The last time BYU won a conference championship dates back to '07-08 when the Cougars won the regular season title with a conference record of (14-2). The last time the Cougars took the tournament championship home Mekeli Wesley, and Terrell Lyday were playing for BYU back in '00-01.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette has never won a Mountain West conference tournament title. This season, things could change tremendously.

Despite the re-emergence of San Diego State, the Mountain West conference powerhouse still remains BYU.

Jackson Emery, the 6-foot-3 senior guard, continues to help Fredette in the backcourt. Emery chips-in 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assist, which happens to be slight drop from his contributions last season.

Sophomore Brandon Davies saw his minutes increase and has taken advantage by chipping in career highs in points with 11.4 points, and 5.2 rebounds.

He continues to get better as the season progresses and averages 15.2 points, 6.7 rebounds in his last four games.

Mind you, Davies only see's the floor for 21.6 minutes per outing.

Collectively, as a team, BYU scores 83.2 points per game, which ranks 10th in the nation. The Cougars also get on the glass pulling down 40.7 rebounds.

The Cougars are my favorite to win the Mountain West because of their balance. BYU has the advantage over UNLV, San Diego State, and New Mexico on the glass.

Not to mention, the Cougars have a great rotation that features almost every premier player on their roster.

For BYU to come away with it's first conference regular season title in three years, and tournament championship in nearly a decade, it must overwhelm on the glass.

Fredette continues to be "Mr. Everything" and plays his part every game. Now it's time for others to step up and contribute consistently when it matters the most.

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College Basketball: Boise State to Mountain West; KU, K-State and Mizzou Next?

Boise State has always been interested in joining the Mountain West conference. However, things never worked out and they had to stick with the WAC.

Things were sure to work out in the long run, considering how much sense this made for both schools.

Today, it finally worked out and the Broncos gave the Mountain West its tenth program. Similar to the Pac-10 and Big Ten they're headed towards the expansion gates as well.

Everybody knows conference expansions and if you don't I'll give you a rundown.

This off-season, the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences have been reaching out to teams, mostly in the Big 12, to form a power conference. 

However, the only dilemma with that is, they're only looking at it from one perspective; the football perspective.

Colorado and Nebraska have found their new homes. Nebraska was accepted into the Big Ten, while Colorado bolted to the Pac-10.

Other Big 12 teams like Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are all reportedly proceeding to the Pac-10 as well. 

Meaning the Big 12 could be a distant memory, inspecting that, Texas enclosed the future of the conference in its hands. If they jump to the Pac-10 the Big 12 can't be a power conference anymore. Meaning the remaining teams will have to find new homes.

The Mountain West may have a considerable chance of landing Kansas State or Iowa State. This makes the most sense for the conference, in my opinion.

Kansas and Missouri on the other hand, are too much of a powerhouse for a conference like the Mountain West. They're a lot more competitive, and the teams in the Mountain West wouldn't match the same intensity they would prefer.

That doesn't mean they couldn't join either. Without the offer from the Big Ten, Mizzou may only have a few preferences, interchangeable with Kansas. 

The Big East is an option for all these teams left in the Big 12. I've even heard of a potential SEC jump for Kansas to develop a rivalry with Kentucky.

It's all just a lot of speculation, confusion and nobody really understands, to a certain extent, what is next for these teams. KU, K-State, Mizzou, Texas A&M, and Iowa State are the remaining teams in the Big 12. Where they'll land is a huge mystery. Just don't be stunned if some of these teams land in the Mountain West conference.

Written by DeAnte Mitchell