Converted to Jimmerism

Perhaps playing in front of a 22,700-man crowd at an elevation of 4,500 feet was a bit of baptism by fire for the no longer undefeated San Diego State Aztecs. If so, the beat down delivered courtesy of Jimmer Fredette can only be described as baptism by Jimmersion, though truth be told Fredette's christening came more in the form of a sprinkling of shots than a display of dunking - he is white afterall. The All-American point guard did it again last night -- again! -- scoring 43 and carrying BYU to its biggest regular season win of all time (it was the third time in four games that Fredette has scored over 40 points). In the process Jimmer did more than just convert a bevy of shots from both inside and outside the arc. He also converted SDSU into a one-loss team, and even more impressive, he converted yours truly -- a  college basketball atheist -- into a believer (for this season at least).

His game and his hair have continually improved

Considering my gospel-like adoration of sports, you may be surprised to hear I turn the other cheek when it comes to college basketball. The truth is I simply don't care about it (as evidenced by this being the first blog about college basketball I've ever written). I think its a fluke sport where home court advantage and three-pointers decide most outcomes. As for regular season games, they usually are of minimal importance - March seems to be the only time that anything matters.

Then last night came along. In BYU's biggest home game ever, in the first game featuring an undefeated team versus a one-loss team in ten years, in a game with Player of the Year implications and a perfect season on the line, everything mattered. And all Jimmer did was lay 43 points on the alter while magnifying his calling from All-American to legitimate Player of the Year candidate. As for me a new member of the Fredette faith was born.

My doubting brother was brought to the fold last night as well. He sent me this text after watching Fredette score 15 straight points late in the first half:  "Jimmer gives me hope that I can watch basketball again."

Of course the Hansen clan wasn't the only group converted to Jimmerism last night. ESPN personality Bill Simmons, NBA Rookie of the Year candidate John Wall, point guard Steve Nash, rapper Nelly and Player of the Year candidate Jared Sullinger all had shout outs for Fredette via Twitter.You see in the end it wasn't just SDSU that got Jimmered yesterday, but the entire nation as well. Perhaps no one more than NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant, who tweeted, "Jimmer Fredette is the best scorer in the world!!"

He was for one night at least.

Fredette scored a supernatural 1.1 points per minute in a game where SDSU grinded 30 seconds out of each of their possessions. This while shooting 58% from the floor, 62% from three, and 90% from the line. It may not have been as much a religious experience as an out-of-body one, but either way students still held up signs that proclaimed, "In Jimmer we trust." Whether or not the Jimmer-worship is encroaching on the first of the ten commandments is an issue for another day. That such a question exists due to a person whose name could be shortened to an incredibly average 'Jim Fred' is beyond surprising.

As for my brother, he had his own way of describing Jimmer which had little to do with removing name endings and even less to do with organized religion.

Said he in the simplest way possible, "Jimmer is a bad ass".