Kings notes: Fredette shows off some of his 'BYU Jimmer'

Jimmer Fredette was what coach Keith Smart refers to as "BYU Jimmer" on Monday night.

Fredette scored in bunches, was aggressive on offense and attempted a season-high 13 shots in scoring a career-high 22 points in the 101-90 loss at Phoenix.

"Jimmer's got to stay in the groove that he's in right now coming off the bench and be aggressive," Smart said.

Much of that is dependent on how much Fredette plays. His big scoring game came without Marcus Thornton available, but Thornton is expected to return tonight when the Kings host the Warriors.

Fredette's playing time has been up and down all season, so even after a good showing there's no guarantee he will play much tonight. Fredette's minutes usually are limited because of concerns about how he matches up defensively.

So Fredette bides his time.

"That's what you have to do, just continue to be ready when you get a chance out there," Fredette said. "And I feel like I've been producing when I get a chance, and that's all that I can do. Continue to do that and try to earn more minutes and see what happens in the future."

Fredette impressed Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry. Once Fredette found his rhythm on offense, the Suns were forced to scramble to contain him.

"That guy has been a terrific scorer his whole life, and you give him a couple of shots and he makes them and his confidence gets up, he can be a problem," Gentry said.

Smart said Fredette can be even more aggressive, and Fredette said he will try to oblige when given the opportunity.

"There were probably a couple shots I could have taken that I didn't," Fredette said. "But for the most part I thought I was pretty aggressive and shot the shots that I should have and moved it when I thought I should. But there might have been a couple that I could have taken."

Guards report – Tyreke Evans (sore left knee) is questionable for tonight's game. The Kings are 2-4 in the six games Evans has missed in the last three weeks.

The Kings are 0-4 without Thornton, who left the team to be with his ailing mother. According to Smart, things are better with Thornton's mother, who lives in Louisiana.

• Read more articles by Jason Jones

Order Reprint