“It’s been good, I had a fun first part of the season”. Jimmer Fredette is quite straight-forward in judging his first European months playing for Panathinaikos. The numbers tell of a player who is adjusting well to an unknown contest, in a team which has been steadily inside the Euroleague Playoff Picture throughout the first 20 games of the season.
“It’s been a different experience, especially than China, I’m really enjoying the basketball and getting along with my teammates”, Fredette tells Sportando. “We have some great veteran guys that have helped me acclimate very quickly to the type of game you play in Europe. I still have room for improvement and I have to keep working hard to get better”. As a player who grew up and improved in China, he’s one of the most prominent speakers in talking about the differences between the two basketball systems: “You just don’t get nearly as many shots here, so you have to be always prepared, ready and efficient. When you get a shot, they expect you to make it. It’s about being prepared, being ready and knowing where you are going to make your shots during the game, which plays are run for you, how to get open… In China you have the ball in your hands a lot, and making decisions with the ball in your hands, here is all about finding out where you can get your shots off and what’s best for the team each night”.
China, undoubtedly, has played an important role in Fredette’s career: “I felt that being over there I got a lot better as a basketball player. Just playing in games, having to made a lot of decisions each night and carry the team to victory helps you to become a competitor, a winner, so I got better for sure as a basketball player. With that came a lot of responsibilities, on and off court, so it was a great experience, a big part of my career, something I cherish”.
The present, for Jimmer, is an experience with a Hall of Famer coach in Rick Pitino: “He’s someone who has been around the game forever at whole different levels. It’s exciting to be a part of this club with a coach like Pitino who is always trying to get the best out of his players each and every single nights. He is demanding, he call out us accountable to try to be better every single day in practice and in game, whatever it is, and it’s something he does pretty well”. And when it comes down about possible future plans (his contract with Panathinaikos ends at the end of next season), Fredette tends to be more focused on the present: “I don’t know yet, It’s only been a few months here and it’s been a great experience so far. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I’m excited to see what is going to happen, whatever is gonna happen will happen. The NBA is an amazing league, I’m not too focused on that right now”.
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