To Fears or Not To Fears: The Complicated Case For and Against Jeremiah Fears
I feel like it is overlooked that Jeremiah Fears and Jeremy Fears Jr are brothers.
With less than two minutes to go, Kentucky appears to be in the driver’s seat in their second-round matchup against Oklahoma. They’re up 78–67 before Jalon Moore drills a three to reduce the lead to just eight — on a possession where Oklahoma looked ready to throw in the towel, judging by their urgency to get a shot up.
We can even go deeper — with 1:26 left in the game, Kentucky is up ten. And then, things begin to slip.
Jeremiah Fears attacks the basket, drawing the foul and the bucket. Kentucky’s lead is now just seven.
Kentucky struggles against the immediate press, turning the ball over. The lead is now just five.
Andrew Carr is fouled hard at the rim by Mohamed Wague and is only able to hit the second free throw, pushing the lead to six.
On the next possession, Oklahoma looks to get Jeremiah Fears the ball in the half court. Otega Oweh takes the defensive assignment but gets caught trying to poke the ball free — an unnecessary foul, as Fears hadn’t gained separation on the move. Still, a foul nonetheless. Two made free throws. Lead down to four.
Now it’s Koby Brea’s turn at the line — a 90% shooter on the season. He hits them both. Back to six.
Off the inbounds, it’s a beautiful play call drawn up by Porter Moser. Kobe Elvis brings the ball up the floor with pace, drawing two Kentucky defenders in the process. Meanwhile, Fears curls off a screen, left wide open as Collin Chandler abandons the assignment to guard the drive. Fears drills the three. Lead down to three.
After a Moser timeout, Kentucky attempts to break the press using a football formation. Oweh fields the inbounds pass and crosses half court by sprinting up the sideline. But Fears charges over to cut off his ability to re-enter the middle of the floor. The dribble bounces off Oweh’s foot, only to be saved by Carr — who then becomes the victim of a trap. Fears rips the ball from Carr’s hands and pushes it to Moore in transition. Suddenly, the lead is just one.
Oweh gets the ball again, but the Sooners’ press continues to plague him. He loses control once more and attempts a last-ditch pass across the half court line. But the quick hands of Fears tip the ball, and now the Sooners have possession.
The play resets with 13.2 seconds to go. Fears has the ball at the top of the key, Oweh eager to make a stop. It’s a simple isolation. Everyone knows Fears wants to go left. But Oweh misses the step. Fears gets to the basket cleanly, laying it in with 5.6 seconds left.
If this were where things ended, it would have been a historic collapse for Kentucky — and a storybook moment for Fears as he builds his case for the draft. Instead, it becomes Otega Oweh’s moment: a strong coast-to-coast drive, a questionable defensive setup from the Sooners, and Kentucky advances to the third round.
Jeremiah Fears entered his freshman year as a 17-year-old and exits as a player projected to be a highly coveted lottery selection. In a draft full of question marks at the point guard position, Fears may have capitalized the most. While scouts continue to parse the inconsistent flashes of Nolan Traore or debate fit versus ceiling with Egor Demin, Fears has steadily climbed draft boards. He’s now legitimately in the conversation to be the second or third point guard taken — and what's even more impressive is that he’s doing it without a blue-blood résumé or a deep tournament run.
Oklahoma was a tournament team — technically. They were bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in an 8–9 matchup with Connecticut, never really threatening, never really scaring. Outside of the Sooners’ respectable record, their résumé was flimsy. They leaned heavily on the perceived strength of the SEC to justify inclusion, despite being dismantled by the conference’s powerhouses: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Florida all ran them off the floor. No signature win. No defining stretch. Just a lot of “good enough.”
They were a weird inclusion.
But amid that muddled context, Jeremiah Fears stood out — upside-down headband and all. He was the clear face of the team, the only player capable of bending defenses and shifting momentum. And more importantly, he did it with a toolkit tailor-made for the modern NBA.
He’s sized well for a lead guard at 6’4” — though he may measure closer to 6’3” even with shoes— and carries himself with the composure of a seasoned pro. There’s a slipperiness to his game that’s hard to quantify, but you feel it when you watch. His handle is tight and controlled, yet dynamic. He’s not overly shifty, but his ability to change speeds and direction, to use hesitation and timing to his advantage, lets him create space where none should exist. His first step is sharp, and when his handle is locked in, he becomes an incredibly tough cover — someone who can get to virtually any spot on the floor.
This isn’t always often.
What makes Fears especially dangerous is that he isn’t just driving for himself. He’s a creator — not just an assist compiler, but someone with a feel for manipulating defenders and creating advantage. His assist numbers — 4.1 per game — don’t pop on paper, but context matters. He was often passing to teammates who couldn’t finish. The intent and execution of his passes, though, are what draw scouts in. He sees the floor in real time — hitting cutters, slinging one-handed cross-court passes, or finding a big in the dunker spot with a wraparound dish. Sometimes, he throws passes ahead of the play, trusting that teammates will be where they’re supposed to be. It doesn’t always result in assists, but the vision is undeniable. The bet is that, with better spacing and finishers at the next level, his playmaking will flourish in a way it never could at Oklahoma.
His shooting is still developing. There are stretches where it looks shaky — in both form and results — but he’s not a non-shooter. He shows touch on floaters and confidence in pull-ups. With mechanical refinement, he could evolve into a respectable threat from deep. He’s shown the ability to hit tough shots off the bounce, especially in late-clock situations. It’s the catch-and-shoot consistency that still needs work.
Defensively, Fears is a bit of a wildcard. He won’t be drafted for defense, and there are concerns about staying in front of quicker guards or switching onto bigger wings. But he reads the game well. He has good instincts for jumping passing lanes and his help-side timing can surprise you. Like Jordan Poole, there’s a deceptive craft to his defense — not because he’s locking down guys in isolation, but because he disrupts rhythm. He’ll poke the ball loose when a handler gets lazy. He’ll sneak in a deflection when least expected. He’s more opportunistic than disciplined — but that’s a foundation you can build on.
What truly separates Fears is his demeanor. He plays with calmness and poise beyond his age. Even when Oklahoma was getting blitzed by top-tier competition, Fears rarely looked rattled. He carries a self-assurance that says, “This is my game to control.” That doesn’t always translate to wins — but it’s a trait you can’t teach.
He’s not the type of player who screams “future All-Star” based on raw numbers or athleticism. But he is the type good teams identify early and develop patiently. A cerebral guard with shiftiness, vision, and scoring creativity — the foundation is there.And in a draft lacking dominant floor generals, that might be enough to make him one of the first guards off the board.
There are two camps when it comes to Jeremiah Fears: the “Fearl-full” and the “Fear-less.” Or, the Believers and the Skeptics. But that isn’t as fun1.
Believers
Believers have a real case: he was a shining light on a poor Oklahoma roster. It's the same conversation once had around Trae Young — who, funnily enough, was in attendance when the Sooners visited Georgia, one of Fears’ worst games of the season and arguably was the moment where intrigue with Fears began to wane.
Given his age, the fact that Oklahoma relied on him so heavily speaks to his confidence and skill. Turning to a freshman guard in an ultra-competitive conference is a gutsy move by Moser. It helps when he’s recognized as a five-star just before his commitment — but still.
And while his shooting splits raise eyebrows, Believers will point to context. Fears rarely got clean looks — defenses keyed in on him as the engine of Oklahoma’s offense. He was often creating off the dribble, late in the clock, against length and pressure from upperclassmen. Still, he led the team in scoring and playmaking. His pace control and poise, especially for a freshman, stood out even when the shots didn’t fall.
Add in his defensive competitiveness and you can see the outline of a two-way guard who just needs more support. Believers aren’t projecting stardom off stats — they’re projecting growth off situation, talent, and flashes. And those flashes were real.
Skeptics
Skeptics, meanwhile, have a pretty easy case. The Trae Young comparisons fall incredibly short — Young led the NCAA in both points and assists, doubling Fears’ assist total. Young had flaws, but his production was undeniable.
Fears’ cold streaks matter. Most of his highlights came pre-conference play. In non-conference games, he averaged 18.1 points and 4.5 assists (3.7 turnovers), shooting 50% from the field and 30% from deep. In conference? That dipped to 14.9 points and 3.9 assists (3.3 turnovers), while shooting 38.3% overall and just 23.4% from three.
Not good.
And it’s not just the numbers — it’s how he looked. When the game sped up, when the pressure rose, Fears often looked like he was pressing. Decision-making faltered. Shot selection worsened. Impact waned. There’s a difference between being the best player on a bad team and being a future pro — skeptics argue he’s the former.
They also question his ceiling. He’s not an elite athlete, not a knockdown shooter, and not physically overwhelming. So if he’s not efficiently running an offense or consistently making shots, what exactly is the upside? The burden of proof is on him.
Fears is benefiting from a weaker guard class. He might be the quintessential “reach” — good age, good size, good flashes, maybe not quite NBA-ready. He’ll adjust to the pace, using the high screen to gain speed. The bigger question is consistency. His highs and lows were both extreme — and while the dips haven't gotten enough context, they also can’t be ignored.
But context cuts both ways.
The flashes are real. So are the slumps. Scouts aren’t just measuring production — they’re analyzing why it looked the way it did. Was it due to better scouting and tougher defenses? Or was it a preview of how Fears might struggle at the NBA level?
The truth might lie somewhere in between.
One thing working in his favor: he chose some pretty good times to show-up. That Kentucky game was a national stage. It was chaos — and Fears thrived in it. He looked like the best player on the floor, and not in a “hot streak” way, but in a “give me the ball and watch” way. That stretch stuck in executives' minds. You don’t forget a performance like that.
It’s the kind of moment that sways war rooms. It doesn’t erase the concerns, but it forces teams to ask: What if he figures it out?
And that might be the real crux of Jeremiah Fears’ draft profile:
He’s not a sure thing. But he’s intriguing. He’s dynamic. He’s young. And in a guard class without many surefire bets, Fears offers a compelling gamble. The skill is raw, but the tools are sharp. There’s polish to be added, consistency to be found, and questions to be answered — but the bones of a modern point guard are there.
Upside-down headband and all.
Where he lands on draft night may depend more on how a front office views its own player development system than on any single metric. Is he a Day One rotation player? Probably not. But in the right system, with time and patience, he could blossom into a slippery creator who shifts the geometry of a game.
He’s a lottery ticket — but one with just enough winning numbers showing to make the room lean in.
Pros:
Way better of a passer than the statistics lead on.
Excellent finishing capability at the rim.
Very promising free-thrown percentage to signal an opportunity to improve perimeter scoring.
Will get a lot of foul calls in years 2 and 3.
Will insert fairly well into any NBA team that brings him in.
Avoided being coached by Brad Underwood.
Cons:
A little too reliant on the left hand.
There’s always a world where that three point shot just never comes and you’re looking like a guard in Portland, telling people “next year is the year.”
High voltaility in-terms of what type of player he becomes.
The upside-down head band thing.
It also becomes very confusing now that I’m thinking about it.