It's looking more and more likely that Jeremiah Fears will play basketball only one season at Oklahoma.
ESPN on Thursday released its first first-round projections for the 2025 NBA Draft. Obviously the NBA season isn't over yet, but it is near its halfway point, so the NBA Draft order was based off ESPN's BPI forecast.
In the projections, Fears was predicted to go to the Houston Rockets with the No. 9 overall pick. The Rockets are projected to get this pick because of a trade with the Phoenix Suns for a first-round pick in 2025.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony helped with the projections and said Fears has been one of the best freshmen in all of college basketball this season. Fears was one of nine college freshmen predicted to be a top-10 pick. The only player in the top 10 who's not a freshman is French prospect Nolan Traore.
Fears was a highly recruited prospect before reclassifying from the 2024 class to 2025, meaning he should still be a senior in high school.
Since, even as young as he is, Fears has been OU's biggest weapon during its hot 13-2 start. He leads the Sooners with 17.6 points a game. Fears has scored double digits in every game of his young career so far.
The Sooners head to Georgia on Saturday as time dwindles to get to watch Fears in a crimson and cream uniform before he's playing in the NBA when he should actually just be starting his college career.