Jeremiah Fears needs to be eager about who he desires to take to promenade proper now. With an Oct. 19 birthday, Fears was a part of the highschool class of 2025 till finalizing a daring plan to reclassify following his standout run on the Nike EYBL circuit over the summer season.
“My aim is to play within the NBA,” Fears advised ESPN on the day he dedicated to Oklahoma. It was a aim that couldn’t wait.
Fears was initially dedicated to Illinois, the state college for his hometown of Joliet, situated about 45 miles Southwest of Chicago. The Illini have been planning for Fears to come back to campus for 2025-26, however there wasn’t actually a spot for him this season after they took Lithuanian level guard Kasparas Jakucionis in Might after already signing Arizona switch Kylan Boswell.
As Fears re-opened his recruitment, he continued to lean on his native connections. Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser grew up in close by Naperville earlier than rising to nationwide fame when he led Loyola Chicago to the Remaining 4 in 2018. An assistant on employees, Armon Gates, was one other Chicago native who knew Fears’ father from his personal taking part in days.
Most significantly, the Sooners had a gap at level guard and have been prepared to let Fears drive the offense as one of many youngest gamers in school basketball. If Fears was going to place himself within the combine for the 2025 NBA Draft, he knew he needed to present scouts what he may do with the ball in his palms.
A couple of months later, Oklahoma is now 11-0 to begin the season, certainly one of solely 4 undefeated groups within the nation. After being nowhere to be discovered on early NBA massive boards coming into the season, Fears is now establishing himself as a possible lottery choose — and it’s doable he may go a lot larger than that. All the pieces goes in line with plan for the younger guard, and he’s solely beginning to scratch the floor of what he may at some point turn out to be.
Fears at all times seemed like he was going to be taller than his older brother, Jeremy Fears, who’s now a sophomore level guard at Michigan State. It wasn’t till this yr that his progress spurt actually began to hit.
After measuring at 6’1 barefoot in the summertime of 2023 on the Nike Elite 100 camp, Fears is at present listed at 6’4 at Oklahoma and appears each little bit of it. Now blessed with NBA measurement for his place, Fears has been placing on a present all yr as one of the crucial scintillating guards within the nation regardless of additionally being one of many youngest.
Fears was at his greatest in his first matchup towards a ranked workforce on Wednesday night time. Dealing with off towards Michigan on a impartial ground in Charlotte, the freshman guard constantly picked aside the Wolverines protection off the dribble, and punished them each time they went below a display screen. With the Sooners trailing by three within the closing seconds, Fears sprinted to take a pitch off a dribble-handoff, and drained a three-pointer plus the foul from NBA vary. He hit the free throw to win the sport.
Fears completed with 30 factors on 8-of-12 capturing from the ground, 3-of-4 capturing from three-point vary, and 11-of-13 capturing on the foul line. He struggled with turnovers at occasions (5), but in addition added 4 assists and three rebounds within the win.
Oklahoma is placing an express quantity of belief in one of many youngest gamers within the nation, and he’s main them to an unbeaten begin. Fears has the best utilization fee of any freshman in DI at 32.9 %. To place that in perspective, that quantity is barely larger than what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic are carrying this season, and solely behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and LaMelo Ball when it comes to NBA gamers.
Regardless of shouldering such an enormous load for the Sooners, Fears is working at great effectivity. He’s posting immaculate 62.9 % true capturing, making him certainly one of 11 gamers within the nation with a utilization fee over 30 and a TS% higher than 60. The one different freshman within the nation doing it’s presumptive No. 2 choose Dylan Harper, and Fears ranks larger than him in each classes.
Fears is capturing 57.3 % on two-pointers and 34.1 % on three-pointers, each stable marks. His effectivity has actually been pushed by his means to get to the foul line. His 57.7 free throw is an outstanding mark for a freshman guard, and he’s capturing 85.9 % when he will get to the charity stripe.
Fears hardly ever settles for a jumper with the ball in his palms regardless of having good capturing contact. He prefers getting downhill, the place he showcases his tight deal with, means to alter speeds, and normal shiftiness. It’s spectacular that he doesn’t shrink back from contact regardless of being so younger. He’s not the kind of guard who will dunk in your head, however he does have actual explosiveness out and in of his crossovers when attacking the basket.
Fears’ playmaking can be superior. His 32.2 help fee locations him No. 56 within the nation. There are solely three different freshmen with a 32 % help fee proper now, and it consists of future lottery picks Jakucionis and BYU’s Egor Demin (the opposite is Baylor’s Robert Wright III).
Fears is already well-versed in realizing the best way to use his scoring gravity to arrange straightforward scoring probabilities for his teammates. He hardly ever appears rushed with the ball in his palms and can string out his dribble till he has a transparent passing lane. Lead guards simply appear to be born with a degree of passing imaginative and prescient that may’t actually be discovered or coached, and Fears has it.
I am going via the tape proper now and Jeremiah Fears placed on a passing present within the first half towards Oklahoma State. This one may be forgotten about because it did not find yourself as an help, however the course of in visitors to arrange a large open take a look at the rim is admittedly good. pic.twitter.com/kXsMLDX3QZ
— Wilko (@wilkomcv) December 16, 2024
Additional growing as a shooter will put Fears excessive as an NBA prospect, and there are many causes to imagine in his shot. Hitting 34 % from three and 86 % this early in his profession is encouraging. Groups wish to see him take greater than 7.5 threes per 100 possessions — a quantity that ranks under Harper and Jakucionis — however his hesitance doesn’t appear to stem from a insecurity, however reasonably a desire for attending to the cup.
Half of Fears’ 14 made threes have been self-created this yr. Go below the display screen and he’ll let it fly.
It’s necessary for a guard like Fears to have an appropriate mid-range recreation, too, and there are some constructive indicators there as nicely. Fears has made 41.4% of his non-paint twos this yr, and none of them have been assisted.
He is aware of the best way to hyperlink his dribble strikes to get his defender off-balance earlier than rising to fireplace. The truth that he’s equally adept at creating house along with his deal with or his power is gorgeous for a participant who simply turned 18.
One of many clearest markers of future upside is a excessive steal fee in a younger participant. Fears shines there, too, with a 4.6 % steal fee rating No. 50 in America, and third for all freshmen guards behind future lottery choose V.J. Edgecombe of Baylor, and likewise Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner.
Oklahoma has confronted a reasonably tender schedule to date. That’s about to alter in this system’s first season within the SEC, with top-10 matchups at Alabama, at Auburn, residence towards Tennessee, at Florida, and residential towards Kentucky highlighting the early 2025 schedule.
If Fears retains this up, there needs to be no cap on his potential draft inventory. Proper now, Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are locks to go No. 1 and No. 2 general within the 2025 NBA Draft, however nobody has emerged because the consensus favourite for the third general choose. Fears can conceivably get there.
Fears’ numbers scream star upside. Working at tremendous excessive utilization whereas additionally being an environment friendly scorer with a excessive help fee and a excessive steal fee is engaging for any prospect, and notably spectacular for somebody who ought to nonetheless be in highschool proper now. One of the best marker of upside is simply being actually productive at a very younger age towards older competitors. Fears is nailing that to date. If he retains it up when the schedule will get harder, his goals of being an NBA lottery choose this summer season are going to turn out to be a actuality.
Fears and his household had a imaginative and prescient for his future when he first began contemplating reclassifying. It’s all coming to fruition proper now, and Oklahoma is undefeated due to it.
