Breakin down Jimmer Fredette's weapon to avoid being BUST!

Jimmer can still work out his game to become at least a decent rotation player or even better. One year of adjustment will be enough, a little tweak on his game could be the key to finding success in the NBA. If you take a look at some good players, some of them struggled in their first season but used it to improve their game. Let's take a look at how can Jimmer Fredette can improve his game.

He's good in creating contact.

If you watched the summer league, Jimmer Fredette didn't impress us much in efficient field goal percentage but he still manage to fill up the points. He surely make up in free throws. He's a good free throw shooter shooting around 85-90%. He has upper body strength, which he can used in driving and creating contact. We saw him struggle in making lay ups since he is always blocked. Then this could be a key for him to be effective in the hardcourt. 

Once he get hot, he pours it!

Even though he struggles in his rookie season, in some of the games, we still able to watch how a great shooter he can be. He surely can shoot the ball everywhere in the court and all he need to do is to get hot. In some reasons, he just can't be consistent on it. Once he find a way to be consistent, he can be dangerous, so don't count him out.

Improve his floater or close range shots.

Since he can't drive past the defender and have a lay up, then a floater or close range shot can be the best option for him. This is a high percentage way of scoring for him to improve efficiency. He fires too many long range shots which result to 38% field goal rookie season.
 

He can pass the ball.

Since he was drafted by the Kings, I knew he'll struggle since the Sacramento Kings are already filled with guards. They got Thorton, Evans, Salmons, Garcia, Thomas. If you watch their games, Tyreke and Thorton carry the ball most of the time and they are the one who create offense. This means a lower assist for Jimmer on the stats. If you gave him significant role on a team wherein he'll have more time on the court and have the ball in his hand, he could have played his game. He's the kind of player that needs more touch in order to be effective.
 

He must have confidence.

The main reason for his struggles in his rookie season could be his lack of confidence. As a rookie, from college where in he is the go-to-guy on a winning team to NBA a bench player on a losing team. (but Kings have a bright future.) These factor could affect his game on every area. The best chance for Fredette is to start over new with much significant role somewhere else. No one could tell, he just might be the next big story of this upcoming season.

If you have any thoughts or would like to comment on this post, we'd love to hear them on the comments section below. 

Written by Fritz Castro

Euroleague Post-Season Awardees

The Euroleague Final Four tipoff will happen in 15 days and it also means that another intense and exciting season of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague has wrapped up. Before all you die-hard Euroleague fans sulk in your seats because it will mean you will be missing the action at the Euroleague hard court for a few months until another season opens, this is also the time to look back on the individual players who shone above the rest despite tough competition in the league to showcase their individual skills and talents at the hard court.

There are a few post-season awards to give away and this post will highlight only some of the most recognizable awards given by the Euroleague Basketball. Let us kick off with one award that is based purely on statistics, the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the most impressive scoring performance for this current Euroleague season. And this year's winner is Igor Rakocevic of Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Although his team failed to qualify to the Playoffs and Euroleague Final Four 2011 after they were eliminated in the Top 16 round, Igor Rakocevic' outstanding performance cannot be denied. This trophy is given to players with the most number of points in minimum amount of games, which showcases their efficiency on the court. By the end of the regular season, Rakocevic has outdone Mirza Teletovic of Caja Laboral, Joel Freeland of Unicaja, Juan Carlos Navarro of Regal FC Barcelona, and Kenny Gregory of Union Olimpijia for this award. Also, Rakocevic earned the distinction of the only player to win this award more than once; in fact, this is his third time to win the trophy after he won it twice while still playing for Tau Ceramica.

Another notable post-season award is that of the Best Defender. For the sixth time, Dimitris Diamantidis owns the award, which is determined through votes given by head coaches in the Euroleague. It is an impressive feat for Diamantidis because in 7 seasons in the Euroleague, he has won the award 6 times, including his rookie year! That only goes to show his quality as a defensive player despite being quite an offensive powerhouse himself, thus making him a valuable player for his team! In doing so, he has assured his status as one of Euroleague's best defensive figures of all time, if not THE best!

Finally, Nikola Mirotic of Real Madrid earns the nod for this year's Rising Star award. Last year, it was won by Regal FC Barcelona's Ricky Rubio and this year, Mirotic has won it after making a huge transition from being a teenage reserve to becoming a decisive force that helped lift his team, the Whites, into the Euroleague Final Four 2011. It is also a historic moment for the club as they have broken a 15-year drought since it last reached the Euroleague Final Four. This award is given to any player in the Euroleague below the age of 22 that has shown massive leadership, excellent individual play, and a great overall performance to lift their team's performance. And for these reasons, Nikola Mirotic is deserving for the Rising Star award given to him by the Euroleague officials.