Tom Izzo said he was going to make sure to give Jeremy Fears Jr. an earful after the latest on-court incident on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor.
The sophomore point guard found himself in hot water again after another controversial player involving his leg and Elliot Cadeau’s groin. The play was reviewed and it was upgraded to a technical after the original call was a foul on Cadeau for pushing Fears in the back.
While both Izzo and Fears said that it was a natural play after being shoved in the back, it was still a bad look for the All-Big Ten point guard.
Michigan fans begged for Izzo to publicly shame Fears, but since he’s a Hall of Fame coach and has made a career on building great relationships with his players, he opted to defend him publicly and handle the situation privately.
Izzo did speak to the media about Fears on Tuesday, and what he had to say probably isn’t going to make rival fans very happy.
The Hall of Famer said that he is worried about Fears a little bit, but not for the reason that everyone might think. He actually wants Izzo Fears to get meaner.
Tom Izzo on Jeremy Fears: If you want the truth, what I'm worried about most, and I sat down with him yesterday to talk about this.
— Jennifer Hammond (@SidelineHammer) March 10, 2026
"I want him to get meaner and get on people...I want him to become more of a pit bull."
I can already hear the complaining from rival fans.
Yes, Izzo had a talk with Fears privately and addressed the issues that have been happening, but he’s right in wanting his sophomore point guard to get even meaner.
Izzo had a similar request for Miles Bridges during his sophomore year. He wanted Bridges to become more selfish. He wants his leaders to become junkyard dogs.
Jeremy Fears is under the microscope again
Fears is going to be under the microscope for the remainder of the season and probably throughout the rest of his Michigan State career. He needs to be smarter because of that. Knowing that everyone is watching Fears extra closely, he needs to avoid these plays that can be considered controversial but wouldn’t get a second look if they were by anyone else.
Izzo is right, though. His sophomore point guard does need to get a little meaner — in a controlled way.