Jimmer will need some help this year

Jimmer Fredette's health is improved, but the 14th-ranked Cougars cannot count on his heroics of a year ago to save the day in what was then called Cox Arena atop the mesa in San Diego.

Even if Fredette were fully cured, it would be tough to top what he did a year ago on this road trip, when he turned hockey-mask-wearing Jason and the Aztecs looked for cover.

For this single reason, if BYU is to knock off SDSU tonight, it will take a team effort similar to what fans witnessed on that roadie at UTEP and the win over UNLV in Provo.

A year ago? It was Fredette's first case of unconscious play, an act he repeated in Tucson the last time he was healthy.

On that night a year ago, Fredette put on one of the more remarkable performances I've seen from a BYU player in lifting the Cougars past the Aztecs in the second half. It was like one against five. Pure playground. His shooting touch everywhere from outside the arc to the rim left Steve Fisher's players stunned and in shock as he continually picked pockets and made layins.

Fredette scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half. He had five steals in that period and was 10-of-19 from the floor, many of those shots right down the gut of the Aztec defense. He helped crash an SDSU 10-game home win streak, and Fisher's team hasn't lost there since, going 9-0 this year.

But today, Fredette is not Fredette. He isn't the Fredette that dropped 49 on Arizona a month ago. He claims he's 90 to 95 percent, but even some teammates say that's a very liberal guess. They see daily improvement, but he's probably closer to 80-85 percent after Thursday's practice.

After a bout with strep throat and mononucleosis, Fredette's patented lift isn't there; neither is his first explosive step. On Wednesday we saw Fredette, a 91 percent free-throw shooter, miss 3-of-7 foul shots against the Cowboys — a sign he got tired.

Tonight's game is crucial for BYU to maintain a stronghold on the MWC lead and file a piece of evidence toward a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

It will be a BYU clash with what may be Fisher's most athletic team yet, a rebounding machine that struggles to consistently make free throws but gobbles up missed shots for put-backs better than anyone in the league.