BYU basketball: Big sis played big hand in Jimmer Fredette's development

'These past four years have been really awesome for me because my family has been out here with me," she said. "We've been able to share in watching Jimmer's success."

Jimmer's recently completed senior year, which saw him receive widespread national attention and earn consensus national player-of-the-year honors, was "crazy," Lindsay said.

"With media access today, people can become really well known in a short amount of time," she said. "We always could tell that Jimmer had a special talent. We always knew he would be special to his team. But to see it blow up to this magnitude has been a surreal experience. I think back to when Jimmer was little. He was just always this unassuming, happy-go-lucky kid. He was nice and he had a cute little voice and fun-loving. When we go out with him now, so many people recognize him and they know who he is and want to be around him. It's an incredible feeling. It's exciting because it means he's reaching his goals. His goal has always been to play in the NBA, which he is starting to realize. I'm just proud of it. You could tell at a young age that Jimmer was going to do something special with his life, whatever it was."

Basketball aside, Lindsay is appreciates that Jimmer knows what's most important.

"He is a wonderful uncle to my two kids," she said. "He was the first one to call me, just minutes after the delivery of my son Jason, and was the first to contact me when he found out Tyler was going to be born. He was ready to drive up to Salt Lake in the middle of the night to see me and the kids."

Now that the draft is almost here, and Jimmer is on the verge of realizing a lifelong dream of being picked by an NBA team, Lindsay and the Fredette family is relishing it all.

"Sometimes you take it for granted, that Jimmer's going to the NBA. You talk about it and hope for it," she said. "This doesn't happen to a lot of families. You feel excited for him and blessed to be able to be so close to it because it's such a unique experience. He's going through a lot of things a lot of people don't experience. He's doing something he loves and can make a good living for his family. It's an amazing feeling to get an inside peek at that type of life. It's pretty amazing. I'm proud of him. He's been blessed with opportunities. Hopefully he will continue to be a good influence. He's done a great job so far."

email: jeffc@desnews.com