Jimmer Fredette has been in the Chinese news as of late with conflicting reports about his availability for the start of the CBA season for the Shanghai Sharks.

But there should be no worries for fans of the Sharks or Fredette, as sources have confirmed to JMoney Sports, that the former BYU standout is expected to be ready to go when the season starts on Sunday.

“He has been practicing and scrimmaging with the team,” our sources said. “He missed the preseason action so some coaches won’t start a player if that’s the case, but Jimmer will be suited up and ready to go for the first game.”

Fredette averaged 37.6 points per game through the regular season and playoffs a season ago while leading the Sharks turnaround. He also secured the league’s International MVP for his strong play.

One of Fredette’s former teammates at BYU, Charles Abouo has also been in the news again after another strong performance in the Leaders Cup in France.

Abouo had one of his best games in two years in an 81-73 loss to Le Havre in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Pro B Paris Leaders Cup.

In the loss, he finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point land and 4 of 5 from the foul line. He added six rebounds, four steals and an assist in 28 minutes.

In five games in the tournament, he is averaging 12.8 points on 43.4 percent shooting from the floor and 84.6 percent shooting from the foul line. He is also contributing 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.4 assists in 28 minutes a night.

On the diamond

After spending a month in the Majors with the Seattle Mariners, former BYU star Jacob Hannemann is back with the organization who drafted him.

The Chicago Cubs, who drafted Hannemann in the third round of the 2013 draft, claimed the outfielder off waivers on Thursday less than two months after he was let go.

During his time in Seattle, he batted .150 with a home run in Major League 11 games. Before joining the Mariners, he hit .265 with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs with five home runs, 26 runs batted in and 23 stolen bases in 80 games.

On the hardwood

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports ranked all 351 Division 1 college basketball teams prior to the start of the season, and the Cougars came in at No. 62.

Speaking of the Cougars, Norlander wrote, “Think I’m relatively high on the Cougs. TJ Haws is going to put up 20-plus points per game, and Yoeli Childs is only known in league circles, really, but he’ll be a top-10 player in the WCC. Nick Emery will be a top-15 player in the league. There’s enough here. Still a solid No. 3 team in the conference.”

He had the Cougars as the third highest ranked team in the WCC behind the Gonzaga Bulldogs who came in at No. 16 and the Saint Mary’s Gaels who landed at No. 21.