Gators know Jimmer has helpers

NEW ORLEANS - Just like everyone else in college basketball, Florida is quite familiar with Jimmer-mania.

Jimmer Fredette's production - 28.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game - is impossible to ignore. If anything, BYU's senior guard is getting stronger, scoring at least 30 points in six of his last seven games.

But second-seeded Florida doesn't buy that third-seeded BYU will be a one-man team when they meet in the NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional semifinals tonight.

The Gators know from experience.

BYU beat Florida, 99-92, in double overtime in a first-round game last season. Fredette scored 37 points, yet what really hurt the Gators was a career game from reserve guard Michael Loyd Jr., who poured in 26 points.

Now with a second chance, Florida's players say they have plenty of respect for all of the Cougars - even if it's Fredette who is dominating the highlights.

"The game plan isn't just to stop Jimmer," Florida's Chandler Parsons said. "They've got a complete team. We had a taste playing against them last year and now we understand just how good they are. We don't have to watch film to understand that. They're strong and they execute."

Florida is almost the antithesis of BYU, with multiple seemingly anonymous options who can hurt opponents during any given game. Four players average at least 11 points and the Gators often use a 10-man rotation.

Parsons, the SEC Player of the Year, is perhaps the best example. The 6-9 senior is averaging 11.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, can step out and hit three-pointers, is a solid defender and doesn't make many bad decisions.

But he's nowhere near the superstar that Fredette has become.

The 6-2 shooting specialist has a well-deserved reputation as a nearly unstoppable scorer. He's shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 40.6 from three-point range despite constant double teams, but has also proved capable at creating for others.

He's an unassuming superstar, with an easy laugh that keeps teammates loose and a surprisingly small ego for such a prolific scorer.

"I'll be a willing passer if they're going to double-team me and try to take away my scoring," Fredette said. "But if they're kind of single-covering me and I see opportunities to score, that's what I'll do."

In BYU's locker room yesterday, Fredette was surrounded by more than 15 reporters while most of the other players sat around eating lunch in relative silence.

"He gets all the attention, but deservedly so," BYU forward Noah Hartsock said.