Willis’ words, performance ring hollow

PROVO, UTAH — A telling snapshot:

Less than a minute remained in Saturday’s game at the Marriott Center, and Brigham Young guard Jackson Emery held the basketball at midcourt. The Cougars led UNLV by 14 points in a game that had been decided for 10 minutes.

And still, Jimmer Fredette demanded the ball.

Clapped his hands.

Insisted that Emery give it up.

"We needed another basket to really put them away," Fredette said.

Believe this: BYU needed more points like Fredette needs more fans, and his resolve to score had everything to do with who was guarding him.

He received the pass, took Tre’Von Willis off the dribble, drove right, crossed Willis over left, easily sped past him into the lane, was fouled by Oscar Bellfield and scooped in his final field goal of a 29-point effort.

BYU beat the Rebels 78-64, and for the second time this season, Willis did his talking about Fredette off the court and the BYU guard did his by being a far better player on it.

Nothing is wrong with having an edge, with owning a competitive spirit, with believing your skills are superior to the other guy. Those who lack confidence never become great.

But if the Willis-Fredette rivalry was born when they were competing for Mountain West Conference player of the year honors last season (which New Mexico’s Darius Hobson won), the two since have traveled in opposite directions.

Fredette leads the country in scoring and is many’s pick to be named national player of the year. He is a rock star in these parts. You should see this place and how it has adopted him as an almost mythical being. Cameras flash, women hold signs offering marriage proposals, thousands chant his name, autograph lines run three aisles deep. It’s crazy stuff.

Willis began the season suspended after a no-contest plea to domestic battery, has battled a knee injury and hasn’t shown consistent signs of the player he was last season. He averages 11.8 points and is shooting 40 percent as compared with 17.2 and 47.8 percent as a junior. He is frustrated and playing like it.

But nothing seems to get him riled up like opposing Fredette.

He referred to the BYU star as "supposedly the best player" in the Mountain West before the league opener. Fredette scored 39, and the Cougars won by 12 in Las Vegas.

Now, before the Rebels tried not to inch any closer to fifth place in hoping to win here, Willis had this to say: "People don’t realize that (Fredette) doesn’t want to pass the ball. He doesn’t want to get assists. He wants to shoot the ball every single time."

Fredette on Saturday: A game-high seven assists.

He also ranks fifth among conference players with a 4.1 average in league games.

"I didn’t hear anything about what (Willis) said this time, but I heard about it the last time," Fredette said. "It doesn’t really matter, you know, whatever he says. All that matters is us going out and getting victories, winning the game and playing well. We did that both times against them this year."

This is not a trash-talking-is-evil column. I’m all for a little smack talk to amp things up. One of the best things about Willis can be his attitude. He backs down from nobody.

But twice now he has gone out of his way to take a verbal shot at Fredette and then followed it with a poor outing against the Cougars. In two games against BYU this season, Willis has shot 7 of 27, including 3 of 11 Saturday, when he scored 15 points.

Ask those beat writers who cover UNLV on a daily basis. Willis isn’t afraid to speak his mind, often a good quality on a team that never will receive any awards for flamboyant comments.

But you never find him taking jabs at other top conference players. He never reacts to questions about them as he does Fredette.

That’s fine if you’re going to play well when the time comes. It’s not when you shoot 7 of 27 in two games.

Then, you just look foolish.

"We don’t need to be disrespectful of other players," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "Certainly, you want to respect opponents It’s not appropriate to say anything that will rally the other team."

Willis afterward had little to say.

The biggest problem for UNLV on Saturday: "Turnovers."

UNLV’s defense on Fredette: "Wasn’t good enough."

If he and Fredette had words near game’s end, which appeared to be the case: "It was nothing."

Final summation: "We played the game and lost. It’s on our shoulders."

A man of few words.

Perhaps if the Rebels play the Cougars a third time come the conference tournament, he will follow a similar pattern. If not, UNLV needs to hope he at least can back up his words with play.

Because the last thing BYU needed on that possession with less than a minute left was another shot or more points. Fredette demanded the ball for one reason.

The guy defending him.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday and Thursday on "Monsters of the Midday," Fox Sports Radio 920 AM.