Who will draft Jimmer? Part II

It happens every year. A player is projected to be drafted in one spot and then climbs 10 spots over night.

Did he get any better? No. Did he have an amazing last minute work out? No. Did he suddenly grow taller, jump higher or learn to shoot better? No.

Obviously, it's none of these things. Instead, teams become enamored with a player and fear some other team in front of them will draft a player they think will be the hidden gem of the draft. So, they trade picks and move up to draft the player higher than expected.

This year's benefit of last minute trade talk and paranoia? Jimmer Fredette..

Indiana, Utah, Sacramento and New York. All have had the Jimmer in for a workout, and all have walked away thinking he isn't gonna last long at this year's draft.

The key here is what the Utah Jazz do with the number three pick. If Utah drafts a guard, Jimmer might fall as far as Indiana with the 15th pick. However, if Utah drafts a big man with the third pick, expect to see a lot of trade activity by teams looking to jump in front of Utah at number 12.

Either way, don't be surprised if Sacramento grabs him with the seventh pick. The Maloof brothers don't entirely run the Kings draft camp, but do own the team and are very interested in putting Jimmer in a King's jersey next season.

Over the past few weeks, seemingly every private workout for Jimmer has ended the same way; teams walk away impressed with his character and in love with his scoring ability.

At the NBA draft combine, Fredette tested much better than most people thought. He shot the lights out, ran faster than expected and proved to be stronger and more athletic than teams expected.

Interesting. Turns out the little 6'2" white guy from a small school can actually play. Who know?

I'll tell you who knew; anyone  who followed Jimmer closely this past season and has followed college basketball for the past decade. He wasn't just a big fish in a small pond. The guy is a great white shark in any sized body of water.

There is a difference between a guy who simply scores against bad competition and a guy who scores more against the better teams. Jimmer shot better and scored more on the road, while most players see dips of several points per game on the road.

The bigger the stage, the better he got. Most impressive was the variety of ways he scored. Everyone has seen Jimmer drain shots from well beyond the arc, however, not everyone noticed the bag of tricks he used to supplement that deep range.

Fredette had the best crossover in college basketball last season. He was a 90% shooter from the foul line, an asset that helped him use his best move, dribble hesitation, to get to the rim or create space for pull up jump shots.

And despite taking a high volume of shots, he is a very adept passer when teams focus on shutting him down. He simply fed his teammates until the defense played him honestly, at which point, he went into attack mode and ate opponents alive.

NBA GMs have noticed and, after meeting him in person and seeing him perform, his stock has begun to climb. They know in Jimmer they are drafting a guy who won't develop a big ego, a guy who won't get caught in a club at 3 am the night before a finals game or be seen hanging around drug dealers.

No. In Jimmer they get the boy next door who will attract fans and sell jerseys for years. He has also been known to knock down a few big shots every now and then.

Whoever ends up taking him, one thing is for sure, this columnist is going to have a new favorite basketball team. 

Now please tell me Jimmer doesn't fall to the Thunder.