When Jeremy Fears Jr. committed to Michigan State, elite athleticism was something that he brought to the table. Although he wasn’t the biggest point guard in the world, he had surprising athleticism.
Fears wasn’t going to throw down over defenders in game, but he could blow by his guy and get to the rim in what feels like the snap of a finger. He has a lethal first step and he’s possessed that burst throughout his career, but it took a while for him to get it back after he suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh as a true freshman.
Speed has never really been an issue, even post-injury, but his bounce kind of faded away due to the leg injury. He’s worked hard over the past three offseasons to get that bounce back. Well, it looks like third time’s a charm because even he feels like he’s fully back after posting a video of himself throwing down a windmill during a three-man weave drill at practice.
Jeremy Fears Jr. posts a video to Instagram of him windmill dunking off the 3-man weave in practice.
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) August 6, 2026
“We might got it back chat,” he says.
Preseason NPOTY candidate is looking more and more explosive. Had some flashes of that in Moneyball, too. pic.twitter.com/Ulr8aatL24
Fears is listed as 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, so he’s not exactly “windmill during regular drills” sized. He’s not Spud Webb or Muggsy Bogues or anything so we can’t treat a Fears dunk like a miracle, but he’s just a few years removed from getting shot in the leg and learning how to walk again.
Now he’s throwing down windmills.
This is what happens when you’re constantly working to improve your craft and become the best player that you can be. Fears has a work ethic that’s second to none and it shouldn’t surprise a soul that he’s gone from learning how to walk again to throwing down dunk contest dunks in three offseasons.
Fears was already an All-American point guard before he could seemingly throw down with ease, but now he has another element to his game that makes him even more dangerous.
National player of the year, anyone?
Jeremy Fears Jr.’s evolution is almost complete
Fears came to Michigan State as a Charmander and he’s turning into a Charizard before our eyes (yes, that’s a Pokémon reference). If you’re unfamiliar with the reference, it basically means that Fears came to Michigan State as a raw player with sky-high potential and now he’s becoming the best version of himself which happens to be an absolute demon.
When Fears came to East Lansing, he was a pass-first point guard who didn’t really look for his own offense much. He took a step forward in his evolution as a redshirt freshman, averaging 23.7 minutes over 36 games and he averaged 7.2 points and 5.4 assists and added a 3-point shot — albeit inconsistent — to his arsenal.
As a sophomore, he became an All-American, but he still had some flaws to his game that he wanted to clean up. He wanted to work on his three-ball and he wanted to get that athleticism fully back.
At least one of those tasks has been crossed off.
If he can become a 35-plus percent 3-point shooter this season, he’ll have reached his final form. He was already a great leader, an elite passer, and a top-tier defender, but now he’s adding extra offense to his game which will make him a complete player.
This season should be fun.
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