Jeremiah Fears needs to be enthusiastic 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 time.
“My objective is to play within the NBA,” Fears informed ESPN on the day he dedicated to Oklahoma. It was a objective that couldn’t wait.
Fears was initially dedicated to Illinois, the state faculty for his hometown of Joliet, positioned about 45 miles Southwest of Chicago. The Illini had been planning for Fears to return 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 Could 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 Ultimate 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 had been keen to let Fears drive the offense as one of many youngest gamers in faculty 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 might do with the ball in his palms.
A number of months later, Oklahoma is now 11-0 to start out the season, one among 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 potential he might go a lot larger than that. Every little thing goes based on plan for the younger guard, and he’s solely beginning to scratch the floor of what he might sooner or later develop into.
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 development spurt actually began to hit.
After measuring at 6’1 barefoot in the summertime of 2023 on the Nike Elite 100 camp, Fears is presently listed at 6’4 at Oklahoma and appears each little bit of it. Now blessed with NBA dimension for his place, Fears has been placing on a present all yr as probably the most 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 evening. Dealing with off towards Michigan on a impartial flooring in Charlotte, the freshman guard constantly picked aside the Wolverines protection off the dribble, and punished them each time they went below a display. 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 specific 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 price of any freshman in DI at 32.9 p.c. 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 p.c true capturing, making him one among 11 gamers within the nation with a utilization price 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 p.c on two-pointers and 34.1 p.c on three-pointers, each strong marks. His effectivity has actually been pushed by his capacity 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 p.c when he will get to the charity stripe.
Fears not often 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, capacity to vary speeds, and common 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 price locations him No. 56 within the nation. There are solely three different freshmen with a 32 p.c help price 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 understanding use his scoring gravity to arrange straightforward scoring possibilities for his teammates. He not often 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 realized or coached, and Fears has it.
I am going by way of the tape proper now and Jeremiah Fears placed on a passing present within the first half towards Oklahoma State. This one is likely to be forgotten about because it did not find yourself as an help, however the course of in site visitors to arrange a large open take a look at the rim is actually 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 p.c from three and 86 p.c this early in his profession is encouraging. Groups want 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 choice for attending to the cup.
Half of Fears’ 14 made threes have been self-created this yr. Go below the display 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 properly. Fears has made 41.4% of his non-paint twos this yr, and none of them have been assisted.
He is aware of hyperlink his dribble strikes to get his defender off-balance earlier than rising to fireplace. The truth that he’s equally adept at creating area along with his deal with or his energy is gorgeous for a participant who simply turned 18.
One of many clearest markers of future upside is a excessive steal price in a younger participant. Fears shines there, too, with a 4.6 p.c steal price 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 comfortable schedule to this point. That’s about to vary 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 price and a excessive steal price is engaging for any prospect, and notably spectacular for somebody who ought to nonetheless be in highschool proper now. The very best marker of upside is simply being actually productive at a extremely younger age towards older competitors. Fears is nailing that to this point. If he retains it up when the schedule will get harder, his desires of being an NBA lottery choose this summer time are going to develop into 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.