Tom Izzo is facing a serious dilemma. His sophomore point guard who was considered a lock to return for his junior year after getting feedback during the NBA draft process is now very much considering keeping his name in and forgoing his final two seasons in East Lansing.
There wouldn’t be many things more shocking than Jeremy Fears Jr. leaving for the NBA after his sophomore season with Michigan State, but Izzo has to be prepared for just about anything.
Izzo has been through this before.
Back in 2002, star point guard Marcus Taylor left Michigan State abruptly after a breakout sophomore season and decided to go pro. He shocked everyone with the decision and it didn’t exactly pay off as he went late in the second round and never made it in the NBA. The decision hurt both Taylor and the Spartans.
Michigan State was expected to be one of the best teams in college basketball with Taylor leading the way and Chris Hill acting as his backcourt running mate. However, he bolted and left Michigan State with a combination of Hill, Alan Anderson, Kelvin Torbert, and Maurice Ager running the backcourt. There was no true point guard and the Spartans went 22-13. They did go to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 Texas, but it makes you wonder what could’ve happened if Taylor stayed.
The Spartans are projected to be a top-five team in 2026-27 but if Fears pulls a Marcus Taylor and leaves to be a second-round pick, they’re going to suffer a similar regular-season fate as that 2002-03 team (fifth place in the Big Ten).
Izzo is facing a tough decision if Fears does decide to remain in the draft. He can’t afford to have a major setback like this near the end of his coaching career.
Where can Tom Izzo look if Jeremy Fears leaves?
Losing a player that Izzo compared to Mateen Cleaves would absolutely destroy the Hall of Famer, but it’s entirely possible given the fact that Fears and his dad have been vocal about not listening to others who think they know what’s best.
It would also sting because Izzo said a couple of weeks ago that he felt good about Fears’ return and a month ago, it was reported that the soon-to-be junior point guard was fully committed to a return.
Heck, Fears even shamed Divine Ugochukwu for his decision to leave.
But what could Izzo do if that situation does take place? Honestly, at this point in the offseason, it would be one of two things: ride it out with Carlos Medlock Jr. as his PG1 or look overseas for an option to complement the incoming freshman point guard.
Obviously I’m not an overseas recruiting expert, but given the fact that the top 50 point guards in the transfer portal are all committed already, there’s just no way that Izzo finds someone worthy of starting via that route. Izzo has done this before, targeting Canada’s Karim Mane back in 2020 before he decided to go the pro route.
Another underrated but unlikely option would be hoping for a grandfathered-in fifth year for current seniors and bringing Tre Holloman home after he made the mistake of playing for Will Wade.
I don’t see the NCAA allowing current seniors a fifth year, but if that does happen with a vote that’s supposed to happen this summer, Spartan fans would welcome Holloman back with open arms in the event that Fears leaves. Talk about a redemption story.
As of right now, it would likely be a Medlock backcourt with someone like Jasiah Jervis handling combo guard duties. Not ideal to have two freshmen running the show, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
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