Coming so close to realizing his NBA dreams just to put it on hold for at least another year was not an easy decision for All-American point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
Michigan State’s starting point guard was seriously considering leaving East Lansing for the NBA after just 2.5 seasons and it was a shocking possibility. He wasn’t projected to go in the first round of any mock drafts even though he did say that’s what it would take for him to make the early leap.
The longer Fears remained in the draft closer to the withdrawal deadline, the more nervous the fanbase got that he would no longer be on next year’s championship-seeking roster.
Finally, on the final day before the withdrawal deadline, Fears waited until there were just two hours remaining to decide in order to make his decision public: he was coming back.
The news came as a huge relief to Michigan State fans everywhere who assumed it would be a no-brainer, but Fears admits that he was closer to leaving than anyone really knows. He said that the decision did come down to the final hours but his main reason for staying comes in the form of a Hall of Fame head coach.
At the Moneyball Pro-Am on Tuesday, per SpartanMag, Fears spoke openly about his decision for the second time, and this time he opened up more about Tom Izzo’s role in his return.
The All-American point guard said that Izzo never left him so he can’t leave his coach.
Jeremy Fears on Tom Izzo:
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) June 24, 2026
He took a chance on me when I was 17-18 years old to bring me into this program. He never left me so I don’t think I can leave him.
🎥 @TheSpartanMag pic.twitter.com/NTcERsblQ6
Fears also alluded to his teammates and other coaches as reasons for staying, along with wanting to chase something special, but Izzo seems to be the common denominator whenever he talks about why he came back. Shortly after his decision to return went public, he even posted a picture of him and Izzo on Instagram with a caption about remaining loyal.
Izzo is right when he says that loyalty matters.
Tom Izzo’s “old school” mindset paid off
Izzo isn’t like most college basketball coaches. He’s willing to choose loyalty over a superstar who’s willing to play for him for a bag of money. He’d rather keep his roster intact than build through the portal — even if that hurts him sometimes.
However, his “old school” loyalty paid off this time around.
I’m not quite sure why being loyal is considered old school nowadays, but it’s good to see that Izzo was right once again and loyalty does pay off.
If Izzo ran his program like John Calipari, Jon Scheyer, or Dusty May who deal with major roster turnover every year, there’s no way that Fears would have opted to return. Thankfully Michigan State has one of the best cultures in college hoops.
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