Just two years ago, Jeremy Fears Jr. was facing the biggest offseason of his basketball career. The then-Michigan State freshman was coming off a season-ending injury after being shot in the leg while home during Christmas break visiting friends.
The freshman had to learn how to do a lot again. Not only did he have to get that confidence in his game back, but he had to learn to walk first. After being shot in the leg, he faced a major setback that could have ruined a lot of young players’ careers.
Not Fears, though. All he did was work.
After putting in a ton of work during the offseason leading up to his redshirt freshman year, he helped lead Michigan State to a Big Ten title — the first since Cassius Winston was in town — and he started to showcase that explosiveness that made him a McDonald’s All-American in 2023.
Although he wasn’t quite back to his fully-healthy, pre-injury self, he was making strides. Then the offseason before his sophomore year saw an even bigger leap and he became an All-American.
Now, after flirting with the 2026 NBA Draft and deciding to return for another season, Fears has to take the biggest leap of his career. He needs to go from an elite college player who has speed and knows how to lead a roster to a legitimate NBA prospect who can do everything really well and not just pass, hit the occasional jumper, and play elite defense.
Fears needs to showcase that elite athleticism that he had before he was shot during his freshman season, and apparently he’s doing that at Moneyball already.
Jeremy Fears Jr. just threw down an alley-oop in transition. No, not threw a pass, elevated and slammed it with two hands. That pogo-stick leaping he showed as a freshman before being shot is coming back.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) June 24, 2026
This is what’s going to get him to the NBA. The league is already full of point guards who can pass and who have a strong frame, but if he can add elite athleticism and a reliable jumper to his bag, he’s going to be a first-round talent around this time next year.
This also makes Michigan State even scarier with another elite athlete rearing to go.
Michigan State may have its most athletic team in a while
If Fears is getting that “pogo-stick leaping” back that he had during his freshman season, pre-injury, Michigan State will have one of the most explosive lineups that Tom Izzo has ever coached.
First, you have a point guard who can apparently throw down two-handed alley-oops in the fastbreak now. Then there’s Coen Carr who’s the best athlete in college basketball and probably just in basketball in general. After that, there’s elite freshman shooting guard Jasiah Jervis who will be battling for minutes with fellow uber-athlete and wing Jordan Scott. Kaleb Glenn has some eletricity in his game when he’s healthy and Anton Bonke is a big man who can back you down or step out to hit threes. He’s also going to be a heck of a pick-and-roll threat.
Then you have Cam Ward who can run the floor really well for a power forward, Jesse McCulloch is a floor-stretcher, Carlos Medlock is a crafty athlete even as a true freshman, and Ethan Taylor has proved to be a freak with that 7-foot-3 frame and rim-protecting ability. He, too, will be a lob threat.
This team is full of guys who can run the floor at an elite level, defend, and jump out of the gym. The 2026-27 season is about to be electric.
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