Jimmer Fredette Named AP Player Of The Year

HOUSTON — Jimmer Fredette is The Associated Press' player of the year after leading the nation in scoring and BYU to one of its best seasons.

The senior guard averaged 28.5 points. The Cougars won the regular-season title in the Mountain West Conference and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Fredette received the award Friday. He drew 48 votes from the 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. The voting was done before the NCAA tournament.

Kemba Walker of Connecticut was second with 11 votes. Nolan Smith of Duke had five and Jared Sullinger of Ohio State one.

Fredette is the first BYU player to win the award and the first from the Mountain West since Andrew Bogut of Utah in 2005.

Comments

[Tito Santini]

01:14 AM on 04/05/2011

Update: Kemba is (along with Enosch Wolf, the REAL P.O.Y.) a national champion. Congrats.

For those of you who decided we should judge a player's season by his last game:
Tonight Kemba went 5 of 19 (26%) and had exactly half of Jimmer's points in his last game. Sounds more "undeserving" than 11 for 29 (38%).

FWIW, not once all season (maybe ever) has Jimmer shot as poorly as Kemba did tonight. He is undeservin­g.

[AnnShahan2]

01:28 AM on 04/04/2011

Seriously, he hot dogged it and that's why BYU lost. He's definitely not the player of the year.

[Tito Santini]

12:47 AM on 04/05/2011

"Hot dogged", huh? Playing with a hurt calf, he had an off night* (*off night for for him... a career best for most players) supported by a team that without him probably wouldn't have made the tournament, so they couldn't make up the difference.

He still shot 37% and had 32 points.

So if he shouldn't be player of the year, then who? Kemba who shot 26% for 16 points tonight? Jimmer hasn't even come close to a FG% that low all YEAR. Not once. Maybe not in his entire career.

Jimmer played much better this year. That's why the voting wasn't even close. Kemba is a great player who played for a much better team. That's why he's a national champion. Not too shabby. But as an individual, Jimmer just played better this year. Thus player of the year. The stats all back it up. You want to call him a hot dogger and claim that he just threw up more shots. The FACT is that he didn't just score significantly more points than Kemba... he made a higher percentage of his shots, averaged more points each time he let the ball go and any coach will agree that if you have the choice between two players, one who will give net you an extra 7.6 points and one who will net you an extra half of steal, third of an assist and 2 rebounds per game in the tournament, you take the points every time.

[AnnShahan2]

01:26 AM on 04/04/2011

If he wasn't a Mormon.

[Tito Santini]

03:36 PM on 04/03/2011

Jimmer absolutely deserved it more. Your arguments to the contrary are pretty weak. Remember that this award is for the individual. Not the MVP on the best team:

"Kemba played against better competition"- the Huskies as a team may have played better competition, but Jimmer, individually, got more points against tougher defense on himself. Double teamed all day. Rotated for fresh legs cuz no one could handle him for very long. Tried bigs, tried smalls. Crossed over them all.

"Jimmer is just a good shooter" - No argument that he's a great shooter. Better shooter than Kemba without question (2% better FG%, +6% 3P, +8%FT), but he's also just a great scorer. Splits double teams like they aren't there and goes to the rack for and-1. Jimmer scores more points/shot.

"Jimmer went 11 for 29 in his last game. He is undeserving" -- It's easy to pick one bad game (in which he still scored 32 and got his team to OT) and judge him by that. But let's look at Kemba's season and 5 GAMES IN A ROW starting 1/17 agaisnt Villanova: 6-18, 6-17, 5-16, 7-23, and finally 3-14 or 21% against Syracuse. THAT is undeserving. His last game was 6-15. This 40% and 18 points is so much better than Jimmer's 37% and 32 points?

Finally, in tournament, Jimmer scores 32.6 PPG. Kemba = 25 PPG. I take an extra 7.6 PPG over .6 steals and .3 asts any day

[BillAnthony]

01:41 AM on 04/03/2011

A fun player to watch. Plays a little bit like John Havlicek without the ball. But mostly has the ball and is a pure gunner.

[NatTurner1]

09:27 PM on 04/02/2011

Hey, its Tim Tebow!

[HUM-V]

09:38 PM on 04/03/2011

Ya stole my post. Dammit :)

[AnnShahan2]

01:29 AM on 04/04/2011

Where's your Republican BS?

[niko73]

08:47 PM on 04/02/2011

Jimmer is a great shooter and classy kid. But he didn't deserve Player of the Year over Kemba Walker. Jimmer can shoot. That's it. Kemba can pass, defend, create opportunities for other teammates, AND shoot. He's a better all-around basketball player.

Playing basketball is about more than scoring points. Walker was more deserving.

[NatTurner1]

09:29 PM on 04/02/2011

They have to sell Jimmer for ratings! He is the new JJ Reddick. A great shooter that will sit the bench in the pros with maybe a 12 minute per game average coming in to shoot the proverbial 30 footer.

[a okafor007]

10:50 PM on 04/02/2011

lol. Even Redick was a better shooter than Jimmer

[BillAnthony]

01:59 AM on 04/03/2011

Fredette led a team that twice convincingly outplayed a San Diego St. team that played to the wire with UCON in the tournament. Had they not suspended a very good inside player for them when they did, politics aside, BYU would have been a very strong contender for the National Championship.

[TheBestPatriot]

03:53 PM on 04/02/2011

Him? I wonder why.

[t iessa]

06:20 PM on 04/02/2011

Scoring. It's all a lot of people understand about basketball or care about. It's a simple life.

[horsey]

12:35 AM on 04/03/2011

better stats

[D Pelletier]

03:24 PM on 04/02/2011

Kemba was robbed.

[mc53]

11:27 AM on 04/02/2011

You gotta be kidding. He doesn't pass, doesn't play a lick of defense. I guess that's what the NCAA considers a complete ball player nowadays. Selfish. No wonder college basketball is going downhill, fast.

[BillAnthony]

05:38 AM on 04/03/2011

I disagree about Fredette being responsible for the downfall of college basketball. I don't begrudge anyone the right to make a living, but losing the one and two year college, not to mention high schoolers- and then on to the NBA draft careers have probably had more to do with a decline in college basketball than anything else. Often the very best talent is rushed along, missing the seasoning of at least a full junior or senior season.

[DrBulldog]

06:38 PM on 04/01/2011

But he's wah ... wah ... whhh .... wwhhhiii ...

[DanSc]

08:50 PM on 04/01/2011

cracker?

[NatTurner1]

09:29 PM on 04/02/2011

Keebler?

[MemphisBuffalo]

05:25 PM on 04/01/2011

Fredette 48 votes. Kemba Walker of Connecticut was second with 11. Looks like the 65-member national media panel (who follow the sport closer than anyone posting here) see this as an easy choice. Fredette will be the NBA MVP in a few years from now. The next Steve Nash!

[mc53]

11:26 AM on 04/02/2011

He can't plan a lick of defense. Poor court eyes, never passes. Yeah, he won't be able to clean Nash's sneakers.

[ECB]

04:15 PM on 04/02/2011

I agree, he is more like JJ Redick. Steve Nash "Has Game".

[NatTurner1]

09:30 PM on 04/02/2011

Yeah, like JJ Reddick!

[JasonDaPsycho]

04:54 PM on 04/01/2011

So? His defense is pretty horrible. Best case scenario: Eddie House.

[Steelerfanman]

03:26 PM on 04/01/2011

All I see is "Kemba is a better player" replies. Its not a "who's a better player" award. Its who had a better season. Kemba had a great 1st and last part of the season. Fredette had a great entire season. Fredette carried a mediocre team while Kemba is surrounded by talent.

[NatTurner1]

09:31 PM on 04/02/2011

ummmm...Kemba is still playing. Jimmer is watching at home on TV. 11-for 29 his last game is sad. He is undeserving. But I see why the NCAA did it. They have to sell basketball to folks like yourself, who end up hating the sport when men begin to get paid for it.

[Steelerfanman]

10:50 PM on 04/03/2011

Huh? Hating the sport? I've been watching basketball for 35 years.
And its not chosen by the NCAA, its the "AP Player of the Year." You know, the Associeated Press? Sports writers pick the winner. The guys that actually make a living keeping up with it all. Shows how much you even know about it.

[Tito Santini]

12:55 AM on 04/05/2011

Hey, Enosch Wolf is still playing. Maybe he should be POY! Sound logic.

Kemba went 5 of 19 (26%) and had exactly half of Jimmer's points in his last game. Sounds more sad than 11 for 29 (37%).

FWIW, not once all season (maybe ever) has Jimmer shot as poorly as Kemba did tonight. He is undeserving.