Rex Frederick played basketball at Corner High School in Jefferson County where he led the Yellow Jackets to a state championship. He played collegiately at Auburn, helping the freshman team to an undefeated season. As a junior, he set a season record with 325 rebounds and also set the single game rebounding mark with 27. When he graduated from Auburn, he ranked as Auburn's third best rebounder with a total of 904, averaging 14.3 rebounds per game. He averaged 14.9 points a game for his career and had a career total of 937 points. He was chosen All-SEC two consecutive years (1958 and 1959) and was voted to the Associated Press and Helms All-America teams his senior year. In 1959, he was voted SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Frederick was also All-SEC in baseball and led Auburn to an SEC Championship. He is a member of Auburn's Basketball Hall of Fame and has been inducted into the Tiger Trail of Auburn by the Chamber of Commerce. He coached in college for a while, starting the basketball program at the University of South Alabama in 1966. He currently resides in Burnsville, NC.