Behold, the MWC's top rookies
The BYU-SDSU game features the leagues best two freshmen.
BYU’s Jimmer Fredette was named the preseason freshman of the year by the media that covers the Mountain West. But he is not a starter. Aztec forward Billy White is a starter and finds himself in more of the league’s statistics than Fredette.
So, who is better?
The answer isn’t an easy one to come by.
White plays a key role with the Aztecs. He is very athletic, has quicks,jumps and is a decent defender. Fredette also has a key role for the Cougars. He’s come off the bench for Sam Burgess and Lee Cummard and recently has played a lot at point guard. He is a very good outside shooter, has shown great poise under pressure situations, made key shots at critical times and has shown a penchant for penetrating defenses with his dribble, getting steals and delivering the ball to teammates.
Both are very good and I’d say they are the leaders in the freshman class. If writers voted today, White might have the edge as a starter as the freshman of the year.
White gets starters minutes and averages 27.7 minutes a game. Fredette sees an average floor time of 17.4 minutes.
White shows up in a lot of categories in MWC statistics, a set of measuring sticks dominated by juniors and seniors. To show just how dominating the upperclassmen are in this league, the leading 20 scorers list is comprised entirely of juniors and seniors but one – BYU sophomore Jonathan Tavernari (13.5 points per game), ranked No. 12.
White shows up as the No. 8 rebounder in the league and is No. 6 in steals and is tied for second in the league in offensive rebounds behind Trent Plaisted, the leader, with his SDSU’s Ryan Amboroso and Cummard. That’s pretty good company.
If there is one big key to tonight’s game for the Cougars, it is stopping SDSU’s guards from driving the lane. Once they do that, the Aztecs get a lot of second shots off offensive rebounds and tips from the likes of White and Amoroso.
How SDSU’s Lorenzzo Wade and White, both natives of Las Vegas, ever got away from UNLV might be one of the biggest recruiting questions of the past few years in the league.
Fredette, on the other hand, gives BYU a good ball-handler at the point, who can break down defenders off the dribble and has the ability to pick off some steals. This has proved key for the Cougars lately when he’s come in late in games and delivered some big plays. This was missing last year when BYU did without suspended Rashaun Broadus in losses to UNLV in the MWC tournament and against Xavier in the NCAA first round game.
The league’s other freshmen making waves include AFA’s Evan Washington, New Mexico’s Jonathan Willis, Wyoming’s Mikhail Lindskens, CSU’s Andre McFarland, BYU’s Chris Collinsworth and New Mexico’s Dairese Gary.