NORMAN — The news arrived, somewhat at random, on a Saturday evening in mid July: Jeremiah Fears, a standout prep point guard from Joliet, Illinois, who had recently decommitted from the University of Illinois, was reclassifying up a year, and had committed to Oklahoma.
At the time, Fears' commitment was seen as a big recruiting win for OU coach Porter Moser, but the payoff would be even bigger in the months to come. Fears, who is projected to be a lottery pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night, played a pivotal role in changing the Sooners’ trajectory under Moser last season.
With three straight years of no NCAA Tournament berth to start the Moser era, there was pressure for the 2024-25 Sooners to break through. There was belief that Fears could help, but who knew that a barely-18-year-old baby-faced assassin would be the one leading the way.
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In a Dec. 18 win over then-No. 24 Michigan, Jeremiah Fears scored 30 points. Nell Redmond, Associated Press file
Fears started to come of age in the nonconference slate, with 26 points in an upset of 24th-ranked Arizona, en route to helping OU win the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament over Thanksgiving break. He threw up 17 points to help the Sooners take Bedlam over Oklahoma State at Paycom Center. Then, “The Shot at Spectrum” happened.
At the Jumpman Invitational inside Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Fears introduced himself onto the national stage. He scored 30 points and converted a game-winning, four-point play in the final minutes of OU’s takedown of 24th-ranked Michigan. All of a sudden, the first-round draft hype began to really percolate on the internet.
The turn of the calendar to Southeastern Conference play brought ups and downs for the freshman phenom. Texas A&M flustered Fears with constant double teams over the course of the Aggies’ comeback win in Norman. Fears shot 1-for-11 and scored just two points in a loss at Georgia. There was a subsequent zero-point performance in the Texas A&M rematch in College Station. But when OU needed Fears most, he turned his play up a notch.
The Sooners beat the Tigers behind 31 points from Jeremiah Fears.
To start February, the Sooners were on the receiving end of three-straight beatdowns of 18-plus points from Auburn, Tennessee and Missouri. Moser’s future began to look bleak after OU blew a five-point lead with 35 seconds left in a home loss to a terrible LSU team. After that, there was a 22-point road to loss to eventual national champion Florida.
Fears was the lone bright spot versus the Gators, scoring 22 points. Fortunately for Oklahoma, the rookie ascended from there, saving the Sooners’ season. He scored 27 points to help OU capture a must-win home game against 21st ranked Mississippi State. The Sooners then fell to Kentucky and Ole Miss, putting their March Madness hopes back on a tightrope.
Fears answered the bell again. He punched back for a career-high 31 points to beat Missouri in Oklahoma’s home finale. And he carried that momentum into the SEC Tournament in Nashville. In a rematch with Georgia, he dropped 29 points in an OU win that essentially punched the Sooners’ NCAA Tournament ticket. He added a 28-piece in a highly-competitive second round loss to Kentucky.
OU landed a tough matchup with two-time defending national champion Connecticut in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Fears gave his all against the Huskies, scoring 20 points in what would be his final game in crimson and cream. Still, OU was bounced from March Madness with a 12-point loss in the Round of 64. Still, Fears had helped Moser prove a point.
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Jeremiah Fears idolized former OU guard Trae Young (above), now a perennial all-star for the Atlanta Hawks. Brynn Anderson, Associated Press
OU’s name, image and likeness budget for paying its 2024-25 roster was reportedly on the lower end in the SEC. Moser didn’t pay exorbitantly to land Fears. It was in part because of Fears’ father Jeremy’s preexisting relationship with Moser and OU assistant coach Armon Gates, both fellow Chicago area natives, that he went to OU. There was belief that they could continue Fears’ development and prepare him to be an early NBA draft pick.
Fears also idolized former OU guard Trae Young, now a perennial all-star for the Atlanta Hawks, and had visions of being the next in a line of Sooner greats, which he did indeed become. Fears finished his only year as a Sooner averaging roughly 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and one and a half steals per game. Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the presumed No. 1 overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, was the only other freshman in the country to match Fears’ production.
Add in that Moser convinced senior leaders Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin to return for the 2024-25 season, not for money, but for culture. And that Moser hit on in-state high school signee Dayton Forsythe and some transfer signees who were NIL bargains, in Mohamed Wague, Duke Miles and Brycen Goodine, among others, to fill out the 2024-25 roster. He showed that he could do more with less.
All that, coupled with Fears’ success at OU, gave Moser the chance to make a statement after the UConn loss. “You have to win in April and May with the NIL,” he said, explaining in not so many words that he needed more money for retaining current Sooners and recruiting transfers.
In the weeks after Moser made that end of season remark, rumors swirled around him. He was linked to openings at Villanova and Texas A&M, and there was concern that if OU didn’t pony up, he’d go find another job with more resources.
But Moser’s statements had struck a chord with Young, the Norman native and 2018 OU one-and-done who still cares very much for his hometown and his former school. In March, Young accepted the role of assistant general manager for OU men’s basketball, whereby he can help Moser recruit prospective players. Of at least equal if not more importance, Young donated $1 million to the program’s roster budget.
Moser went on to have a torrid offseason of recruiting. Bringing in Tae Davis from Notre Dame, Nijel Pack from Miami, Xzayvier Brown from Saint Joseph’s and Derrion Reid from Alabama, Moser signed the No. 11 transfer class in the country, per 247Sports.
Pairing the transfers with key returners such as Forsythe and Wague — as well Jadon Jones and Jeff Nwankwo, who were expected to be rotation players before season-ending injuries last year — Moser has the makings of another March Madness qualifier.
And for all these happenings, Fears should be given some credit. By willing OU into the NCAA Tournament, he changed the direction of Moser’s program. Because Fears wanted to be like Young, Moser now has momentum to keep recruiting and developing the greats who will come after Fears.
Declaring for the NBA draft in April, Fears signed with LIFT Sports Management, former NBA player Mike Miller’s agency. Since then, he has spent time in New York City training with Miller.
The Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets are teams Fears has been linked to ahead of the 2025 draft. (Side note: Wouldn’t it be something if he fell into the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder?)
Fears now has the chance to change another franchise, as he did OU men’s basketball. He’s still young, and there may be growing pains in the NBA, as there were in the SEC. But if his track record is any indication, Fears doesn’t let anything stand between him and elevating the people and places around him.
NBA Draft: Two rounds
at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
7 p.m. Wednesday, ABC/ESPN
7 p.m. Thursday, ESPN
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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