RAMSEY: Jimmer calls Falcons 'very, very, very, very physical'

Jimmer Fredette delivered a virtual speech, and one of the longest sentences you will hear in 2011, as he described the handsy, physical style of Air Force defenders.

Fredette is, of course, the biggest name in college basketball, a probable Player of the Year and a ridiculously gifted shooter. The Falcons swarmed him Wednesday night.

This swarming was an utter failure. Jimmer scored 25 points while sinking 8-of-16 shots including 5-of-8 3-pointers. He carried BYU to a breezy, overpowering 90-52 victory. It was Air Force’s worst home loss ever.

But the Falcons’ attentive defending/stalking did get Fredette’s attention.

When I asked Fredette about Air Force’s defensive style, he responded with this 83-word sentence.

“You know,” he said, “their game plan was to be very, very, very, very physical with me, just to hold and grab and do everything they possibly could to keep me off the floor and just go for the ball every time I went in and you know, not a lot of fouls were being called tonight and that’s just the way the game was being called and so the game plan worked in that sense but I still was able to get some shots off.”

I asked Fredette if he would use four “verys” for any other team he’s faced this season.

“That was probably the most aggressive that I’ve been played. Obviously, every team plays real aggressive against me and tries to grab and do everything possible to keep me out of the middle of the floor and keep me from getting the ball, but they were definitely very aggressive tonight.”

Anything over the line? 

“No, they never go over the line. They just try to get in your head and grab at you and do everything they possibly can but they never had any cheap shots or anything like that.”

Air Force  coach Jeff Reynolds was told Jimmer had called his defenders “very, very, very, very physical.”

“We don’t play him any different than anybody else,” Reynolds said.

But a couple of minutes later, Air Force forward Tom Fow offered a different – and more accurate - view of the Falcons approach to defending Jimmer. He agreed with Jimmer’s “very, very, very, very” description.

“That’s our plan,” Fow said. “To make sure every time he drove he felt it.”