PROVO — It was a simple enough request, but one Jimmer Fredette just could not grant.
Not on this night. Not in a game where the basket looked as big as the ocean. Not with basketball history staring him right in the face.
Midway through the second half of BYU's blowout win Monday night over Arizona, Wildcats coach Sean Miller jokingly asked Fredette to pass the ball a little bit more, and to "please" quit shooting so much in the game at the McKale Center in Tucson.
"I didn't take his advice, fortunately," Fredette said.
At the time, Fredette had already eclipsed the 30-point mark, and Miller's halftime TV comments were looking more prophetic with each passing minute.
"Jimmer Fredette is someone we just don't have an answer for," Miller told Fox College Sports during Monday night's intermission.
Fredette scored 24 points in the first half. As the game wore on, his shot looked better and better. And as every one his eight second-half baskets dropped through the net, the oohs and aahs in the McKale Center crowd became louder and stronger.
"Who is this guy?" one fan was heard asking.
"Somebody hit that kid," another fan yelled.
Fans knew they were witnessing an amazing shooting performance, and a game that would land in BYU and Arizona basketball history. When it was all done, after Fredette hit a 3-pointer from up top with three minutes remaining to score his 49th point, the junior Cougar guard received a standing ovation from the visiting crowd as he headed to the bench.
"He and his performance alone really dictated the final score," Miller said of BYU's 99-69 rout and Fredette's BYU-record 49 points.
The previous BYU single-game scoring mark of 47 points was set by Bob Skousen 48 years ago against UCLA. Fredette's 49 were also the most ever scored against the Wildcats, the most ever scored at the McKale Center, the most ever scored in the Fiesta Bowl Classic and ties the most points ever scored by a Mountain West Conference player. UNLV's Trevor Diggs scored 49 against Wyoming back in 2001.
The only Division I player to score more this season was Arkansas' Rotnei Clarke, who popped in 51 against Alcorn State back in November.
Fredette made 16-of-23 shots, 9-of-13 from 3-point range and sank 8-of-9 free throws. His nine treys is both a BYU record and MWC record.
"He was good," Cougar coach Dave Rose said.
Even though nine of Fredette's 16 baskets were from deep, he didn't really have a favorite spot Monday night. He made two layups, one baseline jumper, one foul-line jumper, a jumper from the left wing and a jumper from the right wing, four 3-pointers from the right wing, four 3-pointers from up top, and one 3-pointer from the left corner.
"He reminds me a lot of Mark Price, who played at Georgia Tech and had a long career in the NBA," Miller said.
When the Wildcats backed off because of Fredette's threat to penetrate, he'd just rise up quickly and shoot the 3. He also used screens up top and a criss-cross dribble to get open.
"I saw Jimmer shoot like that in the summer, and tonight it was just like one of those things, like 'Well, he's not going to miss today.' Today was one of those days," teammate Jackson Emery said.
In the past four games, Fredette is averaging 31.5 points per game and is shooting almost 65 percent from the field. Rose said Fredette has a better understanding of how teams are going to guard him now, and has made the adjustments. Rose also feels Fredette is releasing his shots better.
"He has a little better understanding of some of the things he struggled with earlier and he's been able to attack it better," Rose said.
Fredette has scored more than 50 points before in an AAU game, and scored 47 in high school. But even he was shocked by his dead-eye and deep accuracy on Monday night.
"It was just a special night. I don't really know what happened, but I just shot the ball really well," he said.
e-mail: jimr@desnews.com