Las Vegas • Long before Jimmer Fredette became Jimmer Fredette — the firecracker scorer who erupted into college basketball’s hottest attraction — he was a little-known 3X3 player in New York.
As a kid, he’d drive to Hartford, Conn. and Boston, Mass. He and his friends entered Gus Macker tournaments and Hoop it Up events. They’d run 3X3 games until they were forced to go home. Fredette’s iconic shooting motion — ball cocked in front of his right eye as he rises up — torched nets in those gyms.
Now, some two decades later, Fredette is channeling those 3X3 days again. This time, on the Olympic stage.
The former BYU National Player of the Year is going to Paris to star on Team USA’s 3X3 basketball team. It may not be what he envisioned his Olympic debut would look like, but at 35 years old, it is the career bookend that makes the most sense: Ending his storied basketball life where it began as a young player.
“It’s still basketball, but it brings you back to your roots,” Fredette said. “Which is fun, because I used to play 3X3 with all my friends and just have an enjoyable time. So that was definitely something that I like about it. It’s something new and fresh. And obviously, the Olympics are on the line. So yeah, it makes it higher stakes.”
Fredette’s entering the final chapter of his playing career. The last time he played professionally was in Shanghai before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he has dabbled in The Basketball Tournament as a player and coach.
He transitioned from those 5-on-5 competitions to spearhead Team USA’s 3X3 team in the last two years. It’s a different style, where games are first to 21 points — or 10 minutes — and every basket is worth one or two points.
Fredette’s gone to two FIBA World Cups for the sport. He came away with two medals.
But off the court, he is starting to settle into different roles.
That is particularly true at BYU, where Fredette has a strong relationship with new head coach Kevin Young and says he has been an active part of recruiting efforts for the Cougars. Since Young arrived from the NBA ranks, he’s recruited a higher-level player than BYU ever reached. He signed two potential first-round draft picks in Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings.
Meanwhile, the last BYU player drafted in the first round was Fredette himself in 2011.
“Yeah, I‘ve been fortunate to talk to some guys,” Fredette said of helping with recruiting. “I haven’t talked to a lot of the recent guys because [the recruiting process] was so quick. All of sudden they were [signed]. I told [Young], ‘Anything you need, just let me know. Happy to help in any way whether it’s with the recruits or anything. The current guys, whatever it may be.’ So yeah, I’m available for some help if he needs it.”
Fredette’s relationship with Young started back when he played in the G League; then, Young was the head coach of the Delaware Blue Coats. Fredette played against Young’s teams several times.
“Knew him a little bit playing against him,” he said. “Then a few times in the NBA I would see him around and talk to him a little bit.
“I was able to talk to him as he got the BYU job and everything. He’s just a high-level coach. He really knows his X’s and O’s. He’s been in the battles in the playoffs and been coaching the best players in the world. So he knows all of those things. And obviously, he’s done a great job recruiting right now getting all these guys to come to BYU.”
While Fredette did talk to Young as he was getting the BYU job, Fredette said he wasn’t part of the process to bring him to Provo officially. After former head coach Mark Pope left for Kentucky, Fredette didn’t realize Young was an option. He thought Young would take an NBA head coaching job this offseason.
“Once he had an opportunity to get some interviews for NBA jobs, you thought that was was going to be [it],” he said. “And then when the BYU job opened up, [associate athletic director] Brian Santiago and [athletic director] Tom Holmoe wanted to go and find the best candidates, and I think they did that. Finding Kevin Young and luring him in to be able to come to BYU was a pretty great effort.”
Fredette did have a relationship with Pope, too. He would occasionally help with recruiting for his staff, but it wasn’t frequent.
“He would ask me every once in a while, if there was a guy that he felt like I could relate to or whatever it was,” Fredette said of Pope. “He just asked me if I could reach out and talk to him. It wasn’t super heavy or anything like that, but I’ve definitely talked to guys.”
For now, Fredette is still wading into his off-court life. It’s not his only focus yet. He has games left to play in Paris as he goes for his first Olympic gold. He won a gold medal in the FIBA games.
Now, the hope is he can do it one more time.
Fredette’s Olympic schedule:
Tuesday:
USA vs. Serbia at 2:35 p.m. MT
Wednesday:
USA vs. Poland at 2:35 p.m. MT
Thursday:
USA vs. Lithuania at 1:05 p.m. MT
USA vs. Latvia at 3:05 p.m. MT