Dick Harmon: Jimmer Fredette's decision to stay was the right one

On Thursday, Houston's SportsTalk 790 AM host Matt Thomas interviewed Fredette and told him he was no longer Jimmer Fredette but The Jimmer. "You are a phenomenon, dude."

Thomas asked Fredette how crazy this season has been for his teammates and what does it mean exactly to be Jimmered.

"Hopefully, it means something good. Hopefully, it means you did something positive, that you really killed something," he answered.

"It's kind of funny, really, how people love the name and have been creative in how they use it. We've had a lot of fun with it as players."

Thomas noted BYU has had many All-Americans that have become famous, players like Steve Young, Danny Ainge and Ty Detmer. Then he predicted, "Now you will probably be the poster child for BYU sports going forward."

At the end of the radio segment, another host thanked Fredette for coming on the air and he ended with the line, "Hopefully, we just Jimmered the interview."

Back in Glens Falls, N.Y., the Fredette family is trying to get back to normal life after a crazy March that followed a crazy February and January.

The decision, it turns out, was the right one and Jimmer's parents, Al and Kay, were a part of it.

Parents want the best for their children.

In the case of the Fredettes, they've always known their son had it in him and they had faith he could do great things. But they've always hoped people could see him as a person, a kind and humble young man who is driven, but not forgetting his roots and his place in the world.

"We had a wonderful experience through the college years and we love Utah and everyone who supported him," said Kay Fredette.

"It's something also that we never will forget. I'm having trouble with the reality that it's over and he will never play amateur basketball again, but I am also looking forward to his future and what is to come.

"What you see is what you get with Jimmer," she said. "He has been a joy to us and has never given us a moment of trouble in his life. I think that people have identified with Jimmer as being just a regular, unassuming kid that happens to play good basketball. He hasn't looked for any of this attention, and I think he is sometimes embarrassed and confused by it all, but it's what has happened and he is dealing with it the best that he can."

Indeed, Jimmermania is something nobody expected. It is a world that's taken on a life of its own.

EMAIL: dharmon@desnews.com