Despite the fact that he probably won't be selected within the first 10 picks of the 2011 NBA Draft, Jimmer Fredette is the most discussed prospect on the board.
There are plenty of critics wondering whether or not he can succeed at the next level, and for some reason his doubters seem to believe he has absolutely no chance to improve on his weaknesses.
The biggest questions surrounding Jimmer Fredette concern his athleticism and defense.
In terms of athleticism, he may be as underrated as anyone in the country. Experts lead us to believe he's slow and glued to the ground. But that's simply not true.
He has a 36-inch vertical leap and was also recruited to play Division I football while he was in high school. He was a fantastic wide receiver and return specialist, and Fredette's quarterback had this to say about him:
"I remember him being just a straight-out athlete—I could put the ball anywhere, and he'd catch it. He's one of the most gifted athletes I've ever known. He still is a lot quicker and faster than people give him credit for."
All that is nice evidence for Fredette's athleticism, but anyone who actually watched him play more than a few games this year already knew he's a great athlete.
The elevation he gets on his jump shots, the way he makes defenders look foolish with his extremely quick crossover and his acrobatic finishes at the rim are all great displays of his physical abilities (the ones the experts tell us he doesn't have).
Plus, he went right by Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton whenever he wanted to when BYU met Florida in the NCAA tournament (both were supposed to be vastly superior athletes).
As for his defense, the questions there are legitimate. The thing is, we didn't really see what he's capable of defensively because of coaching.
Dave Rose had BYU run a zone for most of every game and allowed Fredette to stand around at the top of the zone. Many have speculated that this is because the team wanted him to save himself on that end of the floor and stay out of foul trouble.
Defense is all about athleticism and desire. Anyone who can average 29 points a game, scoring in such a wide variety of ways, has the athleticism to play solid defense.
The desire part can still be developed. You see, despite everything we've heard to the contrary, Jimmer Fredette does have potential and will get better at the things he isn't already great at.
Here are five things that he needs to (and will) improve on over the next few years.
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