2011 NBA Draft: Will Jimmer Fredette Win NBA Rookie of the Year in 2012?

Jimmer Fredette should be taken in the lottery of this year's draft, and could make a run at NBA Rookie of the Year in 2012.

He led his BYU Cougars over fourth ranked San Diego State on Saturday.  He did so as much with his passing as he did with his scoring.

He demonstrated that he's not only an elite scorer, but a true point guard as well.  

Despite leading his team in assists all year long, plenty of critics have questioned Jimmer's point guard skills.  He answered the questions by breaking down numerous double-teams and dishing out nine assists.

And he did so against a team that most experts said possessed the kind of athleticism that the too slow and too white Fredette couldn't deal with.

Fredette has already played his way into the lottery for the 2011 NBA Draft.  If he continues to play like this through the Mountain West tournament and into the NCAA Tournament, he could be a top-10 pick.

If he does slide to the middle or end of the first round, don't be surprised if he makes every team that passed on him very sorry.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors faced a lot of the same criticism that Fredette is dealing with now.  He went on to put together a serious case for Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Fredette could be on track for a similar run.

He's not the only player with a shot at the award, though.  This slideshow will rank the top 10 Rookie of the Year candidates for 2012...

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