BYU Basketball: Where Jimmer Fredette ranks in BYU all-time greats

LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 12: Jimmer Fredette #32 of the Brigham Young University Cougars drives against Billy White #32 # of the San Diego State Aztecs during the championship game of the Conoco Mountain West Conference Basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center March 12, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Former BYU Basketball star Jimmer Fredette will be inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame on Saturday.

For the last decade or so, when anyone mentions BYU Basketball, 99% of people automatically think of Jimmer Fredette. In fact, just about the same could be said by just mentioning BYU sports in general. What Jimmer did during his senior year at BYU will forever go down in history as one of, if not the most memorable seasons in BYU sports history.

Whether it was making a half court shot against Utah, scoring 50 points in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, or shooting from range that even Steph Curry thinks twice about, Jimmer Fredette lit the college sports on fire.

Now ten years later, (I can’t believe it’s been ten years) he will be honored as a first ballot BYU Hall of Famer, the highest honor an athlete can receive from BYU. But where does he Jimmer rank against the competition?

That’s where it gets tricky. It depends on what you value.

If you value postseason success, the list gets very small to players like Robbie Boscoe, Mel Hutchins (NIT was National Championship that year), Ed Eyestone, Conner Mantz (future), or Ralph Mann.
If the most important aspect is professional career, Steve Young, Danny Ainge, Wally Joyner, Ashley Hatch, Dennis Pitta, or Kresimir Cosic are all great options.
Perhaps you value prestige and awards in which case Danny Ainge, Jimmer Fredette, Luke Staley, Darren Elg, Jason Buck or Bobby Clampett make a very strong argument for being on top.
Or maybe you are on the boat of most entertaining in which the list would be Jimmer Fredette, Taysom Hill, Ty Detmer, Tina Gunn, Luke Staley, or Mary Lake.

Regardless of which way you go, I don’t believe I, or anyone else for that matter is qualified to rank these BYU athletes and have a definite winner. Each one did something unique and impactful for their teams and the BYU sports program as a whole. Why would you want a BYU GOAT anyways when you can have a bunch of GOAT’s?

Is Jimmer a top five overall athlete in the history of BYU Sports? I’ll let you decide that, but he certainly does make a strong case for it.

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