All it took was three games. Three games and every single expert who doubted Michigan State after its exhibition letdown changed their tune. Three games until Jeremy Fears Jr. went from “are we sure this is the national player of the year?” to “it’s his award and everyone else is fighting for second”.
Three games is all it took to sway the masses. Now that everyone’s believing in Michigan State, its star player is getting the love he deserves.
Fears Jr. has gone from “will he even get drafted?” to “we’re going to end up in a world where Jeremy Fears is a first round pick in 2027”.
Just finishing final notes write up on Duke-Michigan State from last night and I think we're going to end up in a world where Jeremy Fears Jr. is a first round pick in 2027. What he did to Boumtje-Boumtje last night in ball-screens should be illegal. Awesome leader. Great player
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) November 12, 2026
Fears Jr. entered the draft process this past offseason to first get feedback and then he believed that he did enough to hear his name called and stayed in until the final hour before the withdrawal deadline. He decided to return because he believed in the team and bet on himself to improve his stock.
In just three games, he’s done that.
Everyone was touting him as a preseason All-American and national player of the year favorite, but there was still little talk about him being a first-round selection in the 2027 NBA Draft. He’d almost undoubtedly be leaving after this season given how close he was to staying in the 2026 draft so not seeing him on many first-round boards was confusing.
That no longer seems to be the case considering the draft “experts” are touting him as a first-rounder after seeing his improvement through three games.
The shooting will come, but Fears has only gotten better on both ends as the nation’s top passer (10.3 assists per game) and the team’s top scorer. He also has his highest field goal percentage (45.8) since his true freshman season before his season was cut short and averaged just 15.3 minutes per game.
Fears has gotten better in every single category.
What more could Fears possibly show to prove that he’s a first-round pick as the best point guard in America? Grow five inches? This dude deserves to hear his name called not just in the first round, but in the lottery.
Tom Izzo has his Mateen Cleaves 2.0
Tom Izzo was obviously thrilled to have Fears return because he’s been touting his junior All-American as Mateen Cleaves 2.0 for a couple of years now. He’s always said that Fears has a little Mateen in him, but he has a long way to go for him to really earn that title.
Folks, he’s close.
Fears is arguably the best leader he’s had since Mateen and there’s a chance he goes down as one of his top 1-2 point guards ever which, if you know anything about MSU hoops, is a massive honor. He’s coached the likes of Mateen, Drew Neitzel, Kalin Lucas, Denzel Valentine, and Cassius Winston. He’s had some legends roll through East Lansing.
And Fears could end up being at the top of that list. He has all the intangibles from a leadership and overall teammate perspective, but he’s an even better player than he is leader — which is a scary thought.
Fears can do it all from shot creating to passing (leads the nation in assists) to defending at an elite level. He’s as complete a point guard that Izzo has had in soon-to-be 27 years.
And we all know what happened 27 years ago.
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