Tom Izzo has to be sitting on pins and needles as he awaits the decision from his All-American point guard on whether he will stay in the NBA draft or return for his junior season at Michigan State.
The Hall of Fame head coach has likened his point guard to the legendary Mateen Cleaves who delivered Izzo his first national title and the consensus opinion is that Jeremy Fears Jr. is the closest thing to him that Michigan State has seen over the past 25 years. Cassius Winston and Kalin Lucas were close but they fell short of the ultimate goal.
Fears could very well be the guy to deliver Izzo No. 2 — that is if he stays at Michigan State.
Wednesday is the NBA draft decision deadline and Fears has until 11:59 p.m. ET to decide whether he’s coming back or leaving, but Izzo may have just dropped a huge hint about his point guard.
While speaking up at the Mackinac Policy Conference, Izzo dropped arguably his biggest hint yet that Fears might just be back for the 2026-27 season.
Tom Izzo, up at the Mackinac Policy Conference, is asked about next season's group. Says "We've got most of our guards back. I think we'll have all of them back."
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) May 27, 2026
Jeremy Fears Jr. has until 11:59 pm to withdraw from NBA Draft. Answer like that may hint he's closer to returning.
”I think we’ll have all of them back.”
That’s either going to be the phrase that talked everyone off the ledge and we can look back and thank Izzo for it, or it’s going to be an infamous quote that will haunt the Spartans if Fears leaves. I’m choosing to believe that Izzo said it because he knows the answer.
Obviously he’s more in the know than the rest of us seeing as he’s been in close contact with Fears throughout the process, but he can’t really know for sure until NIL deals are signed and the point guard officially announces his return.
It feels like good news is on the horizon, but Wednesday may feel like an eternity.
Tom Izzo has been pretty confident all along
While the rest of us are in full-blown panic mode because Fears has waited until the final day to decide, Izzo has been pretty calm, cool, and collected regarding the situation — at least publicly.
The head coach is obviously not going to stir up panic, but he’s usually good at tempering expectations if he feels one way or another. He’s not the type of coach to lie about good news just to get the fanbase’s hopes up.
Since the beginning of this process, Izzo has been pretty open about his confidence level and he’s appeared on multiple podcasts throughout the past month, telling everyone that he’s not too worried about losing Fears and that the two sides are on the same page.
Izzo won’t lead us astray, folks. Good news is (hopefully) coming.
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