BYU basketball: 5 questions with BYU guard Jimmer Fredette

BYU junior guard Jimmer Fredette attracted the nation's attention with a school-record 49 points in a 30-point victory at Arizona in December. Not long after that, Fredette was diagnosed with mononucleosis, forcing him to miss two games and see limited time in two others. Fredette talked to the Deseret News this week about fighting his way back to full strength.

Question: Can you explain what happened after that with your health after that amazing performance against Arizona?

Answer: "A day or two after (the Arizona game), I started to feel pretty bad and I got a really bad sore throat. I had it for four or five days. After that, I got an allergic reaction to the medicine and had a rash all over my body. Then after that, they diagnosed me with mono. I was out for about two weeks, not feeling good at all. It was a tough couple of weeks -- something I hadn't gone through before."

Question: What was the toughest part of dealing with that illness?

Answer: "When I was going through it, the daily routine I had was a lot more tiring. When I got to practice, I was already tired. That's how it felt like. When I was out there, I got a little winded. That had to do with not playing a lot for those four games. I had to get back into game shape."

Question: Are you feeling close to normal?

Answer: "It's a slow, gradual thing, but I'm definitely getting better. … I've just got to keep eating and getting rest. I'm on the right track. It will be gradual until I'm 100 percent. Hopefully it will be soon."

Question: How did your illness affect your shooting?

Answer: "I couldn't even practice for five or six days, something like that. I wasn't even shooting or anything like that. When I came back, I felt good. I'm just trying to get back in the rhythm of things. My missed free throws, it was probably my fault, but we can blame it on the mono for now."

Question: How tough was it to have to be sidelined for that exciting victory at UTEP?

Answer: "It's tough to sit out any game — doesn't matter which one it was. I sat out against Eastern New Mexico and that was tough. I didn't play a whole lot in the UNLV game, then I sat out against UTEP. I didn't play a lot against Air Force. No matter what, it's not something I'm used to, sitting out a lot of minutes or not playing at all. It's tough to see your teammates go out and play and not be out there with them. It's something I've had to do and hopefully now I'm ready to go and be back out there for the rest of the season."