Jimmer Fredette

My dad was the first to tell me about Jimmer Fredette. We were driving on the Adirondack Northway. He was chauffeuring me to a job interview at the Glens Falls Post-Star, a great little paper about 45 minutes north of my hometown in upstate New York. Because I hadn't lived in the area for about a decade, my dad was updating me on the local sports scene, circa 2007. "You can't walk into this newspaper without knowing about Jimmer Fredette," he said. Jimmer's legend, despite being only a high school senior, had expanded enough to include our family.

DICK JERARDI   First No. 1 seed to lose: Pittsburgh Highest seed to win a game No. 13 Belmont My Final Four: Ohio State, Kansas, San Diego State, Florida My champion will be: Kansas Villanova will win: One game Temple will win: One game Big East teams in Sweet 16: 4 Surprise Sweet 16 team: Clemson Players I want to see: Derrick Williams, Arizona Jimmer's points vs. Wofford: 32 ...

ALLEN IVERSON is still not worried about practice. Iverson announced the rosters for his Las Vegas Superstar Challenge, scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13, and was asked whether he would be practicing to get ready for the event. "I didn't come here to talk about practice," he said, laughing, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I'll have enough workouts to make sure I come here in shape and ready to play. " Iverson is hoping the tournament can serve as an audition to get him back in the NBA, but if the lockout ends, the event could be canceled.

Thursday's NBA draft has its share of intriguing stories, along with players who could be selected by the 76ers. Here are some of the more interesting stories: Nikola Vucevic, 6-11, junior, center, USC. This is a player the Sixers may take with their first-round pick, No. 16 overall. He weighed in at 259 pounds at the NBA combine and had a body fat level of 6.1 percent. As a junior, he became the first USC player since the 1994-95 season to average a double-double - 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds.

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. Brigham Young's senior guard has scored at least 30 points in six of his last seven games. But No. 2-seeded Florida (28-7) doesn't buy that No. 3 BYU (32-4) will be a one-man team when the teams meet in the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals Thursday night. BYU beat Florida, 99-92, in double overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.

Jimmer Fredette became a one-name star in his senior season at BYU. Leading the country in scoring, at 28.5 points a game, helped, as did being on a team that spent the second half of the season ranked in the top 10. Yesterday, Fredette - uh, Jimmer - was selected the Associated Press' player of the year. The Cougars won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and lost to San Diego State in the tournament final. A No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they lost to Florida in overtime in the round of 16 and finished 32-5.

NEW ORLEANS - Alex Tyus is like most of these Florida Gators - good at a lot of things, but lacking one dominant skill. On the biggest stage of his career, though, the senior's impact was obvious. Tyus had 19 points and 17 rebounds as Florida beat BYU, 83-74, in overtime last night, chasing a bloodied Jimmer Fredette and the Cougars out of the NCAA Tournament. Now the Gators will be playing for a spot in the Final Four for the first time since 2007 - ascending back into the nation's elite after a hiatus from the spotlight following back-to-back national championships in 2006 and '07. "It's been so rewarding for me to see them make the journey they've made to this point now," coach Billy Donovan said.

Jimmer Fredette became a one-name star in his senior season at Brigham Young. Leading the country in scoring helped, as did being on a team that spent the second half of the season ranked in the top 10. On Friday, Fredette was named the Associated Press' player of the year. "It's been quite a ride and it's been a lot of fun, and I wouldn't take anything back," said Fredette, who averaged 28.5 points. He is the first BYU player to win the award and the first from the Mountain West Conference since Andrew Bogut of Utah in 2005.

This time, there was no buzzer-beater miracle shot for Murray State. Instead, there was a great buzzer-beating defensive play by Gordon Hayward to save Butler in the West Regional. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs prevented a last-second, three-point attempt when Hayward deflected a pass by Isaiah Canaan to preserve a 54-52 victory over 13th-seeded Murray State in a second-round NCAA tournament game in San Jose, Calif. After knocking the basketball away, Hayward bolted down the court and dived on the loose ball as time expired.

Jason Bohannon scored 19 points to lead No. 16 Wisconsin to a 67-49 home victory over No. 5 Michigan State last night, snapping the Spartans' perfect Big Ten start and leaving them without leading scorer Kalin Lucas. Michigan State (19-4, 9-1) may have lost a lot more than a game: Lucas, last season's Big Ten player of the year, left with just under 11 minutes to play after he came down awkwardly on the foot of Wisconsin's Keaton Nankivil. Having injured his right ankle, Lucas did not return.

Lamont Jones has played against Brigham Young twice before. But he only remembers one player - one no longer even with the Cougars. Jones, now a top player for Iona, got a close-up look at BYU phenom Jimmer Fredette in two meetings before transferring after his sophomore year at Arizona. But with Fredette now in the NBA, Jones and the Gaels (25-7) believe they can beat the Cougars (25-8) in a battle of No. 14 seeds on Tuesday night at the First Four at the University of Dayton.

HE STILL looks like he belongs in a high school hallway, trying to steal a kiss from his girlfriend between classes. And his listed height of 6-2 appears to be a pretty good exaggeration. Nonetheless, rookie Jimmer Fredette, who wowed the college basketball nation last season at Brigham Young, was in the Sacramento Kings' starting lineup last night against the 76ers. The consensus college player of the year last season, when he averaged just under 29 points a game, Fredette was taken by the Kings with the 10th overall pick in the draft.

ALLEN IVERSON is still not worried about practice. Iverson announced the rosters for his Las Vegas Superstar Challenge, scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13, and was asked whether he would be practicing to get ready for the event. "I didn't come here to talk about practice," he said, laughing, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I'll have enough workouts to make sure I come here in shape and ready to play. " Iverson is hoping the tournament can serve as an audition to get him back in the NBA, but if the lockout ends, the event could be canceled.

Tiger Woods said he was "honored" to be a captain's pick for the U.S. Presidents Cup team and indicated he believed he belongs on the squad despite his recent struggles. "They wanted me on the team, and I'm honored to be part of the team," Woods said. "It's a wonderful mix of younger guys and older veterans. I'm excited to get down there and play. " U.S. captain Fred Couples disclosed last week that he'd already told the 14-time major champion that he would pick him to be part of the 12-man squad that will compete in match play against an international team at Australia's Royal Melbourne Golf Club in November.

Thursday's NBA draft has its share of intriguing stories, along with players who could be selected by the 76ers. Here are some of the more interesting stories: Nikola Vucevic, 6-11, junior, center, USC. This is a player the Sixers may take with their first-round pick, No. 16 overall. He weighed in at 259 pounds at the NBA combine and had a body fat level of 6.1 percent. As a junior, he became the first USC player since the 1994-95 season to average a double-double - 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds.

Jimmer Fredette became a one-name star in his senior season at BYU. Leading the country in scoring, at 28.5 points a game, helped, as did being on a team that spent the second half of the season ranked in the top 10. Yesterday, Fredette - uh, Jimmer - was selected the Associated Press' player of the year. The Cougars won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and lost to San Diego State in the tournament final. A No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they lost to Florida in overtime in the round of 16 and finished 32-5.

Jimmer Fredette became a one-name star in his senior season at Brigham Young. Leading the country in scoring helped, as did being on a team that spent the second half of the season ranked in the top 10. On Friday, Fredette was named the Associated Press' player of the year. "It's been quite a ride and it's been a lot of fun, and I wouldn't take anything back," said Fredette, who averaged 28.5 points. He is the first BYU player to win the award and the first from the Mountain West Conference since Andrew Bogut of Utah in 2005.

NEW ORLEANS - Brigham Young had the best scorer on the court. Florida had the best team. Alex Tyus scored 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Florida beat BYU, 83-74, in overtime Thursday night, chasing Jimmer Fredette and the Cougars out of the NCAA tournament. While Fredette was the star attraction, scoring 32 points on 11-for-29 shooting in the final game of his college career, Florida countered with balance. Kenny Boynton added 17 points - while also playing tight defense on Fredette - and Erving Walker and Chandler Parsons both scored 16. Boynton and Parsons each hit three-pointers in overtime as Florida outscored BYU, 15-6.

NEW ORLEANS - Alex Tyus is like most of these Florida Gators - good at a lot of things, but lacking one dominant skill. On the biggest stage of his career, though, the senior's impact was obvious. Tyus had 19 points and 17 rebounds as Florida beat BYU, 83-74, in overtime last night, chasing a bloodied Jimmer Fredette and the Cougars out of the NCAA Tournament. Now the Gators will be playing for a spot in the Final Four for the first time since 2007 - ascending back into the nation's elite after a hiatus from the spotlight following back-to-back national championships in 2006 and '07. "It's been so rewarding for me to see them make the journey they've made to this point now," coach Billy Donovan said.

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. Brigham Young's senior guard has scored at least 30 points in six of his last seven games. But No. 2-seeded Florida (28-7) doesn't buy that No. 3 BYU (32-4) will be a one-man team when the teams meet in the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals Thursday night. BYU beat Florida, 99-92, in double overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.