Under normal circumstances, Jeremiah Fears should be playing his senior season of high school basketball. Instead, he is busy establishing himself as the best freshman to play at Oklahoma since Trae Young, and one of the best in OU men's basketball history.
Fears was rated as one of the top combination guards in the 2025 class coming out of Arizona Compass Prep in the Phoenix metropolitan area. According to the 247Sports Composite, he was the No. 32 overall player in the 2025 class. That changed a little when he reclassified to the 2024 class, but he was still ranked among the top 50 in that class and the fifth-best combo guard.
Originally from Joliet, Illinois, Fears was rated as a five-star 2025 prospect when he committed to Illinois in Jan. 2024. On July 1, however, the elite 2025 prospect announced he was decommitting from the Illini and reopening his recruitment. Later that same month, Fears committed to Porter Moser and Oklahoma and subsequently reclassified to 2024.
Fears, the younger brother of Jeremy Fears Jr., who plays for Michigan State, is easily the highest-rated recruit in Moser's four seasons at Oklahoma, and at the midway point of his freshman season, he has mostly lived up to the high expectations that preceded him to Norman.
His performance and on-the-court leadership as the Sooners' starting point guard have far exceeded what would traditionally be expected of a 17-year-old who ordinarily would still be in high school.
Even more impressive about Fears' freshman performance at Oklahoma is that his season stats so far actually exceed his numbers from his junior season at Compass Prep.
Fears is the Sooners' second leading scorer with 16.6 points a game, and averages 3.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and two steals through 16 games. He also has a field-goal percentage of 46.4 and shoots 84% at the free-throw line.
Fears has scored in double digits in all but one of his 16 games this season, including a season-high 30-point performance in a thrilling come-from-behind win over Michigan. In that game, Fears nailed a contested 3-point shot and was fouled on the play.
The 3-pointer tied the game with just a few seconds remaining. He then calmly stepped to the free-throw line and completed the four-point play, giving the Sooners an 87-86 win.
THE WINNER!! FROM THE FRESHMAN!! pic.twitter.com/jGzXamaPRC
— Stormin In Norman (@StorminInNorman) December 19, 2024
A year ago at Compass Prep, Fears averaged 14.2 points. 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals.
At his current pace, the younger of the two Fears brothers may have an important decision to make at the end of the season: declare for the NBA Draft after one college season or return for another year of seasoning. Fears is already being projected as a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
If Fears does elect to turn pro after his freshman season, he will be the first Oklahoma player to do so since Trae Young. While Fears won't approach the prolific offensive numbers that Young put up in leading the nation in both scoring (27.4) and assists (8.7) in 2017-18, he fits right at home with the best freshmen players in Oklahoma hoops history.
Among the pantheon of great basketball players to come out of Oklahoma -- names like Gerald Tucker, Alvan Adams, Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King, Buddy Hield, Blake Griffin and Trae Young -- only a few out of this elite group were able to hit the ground running at a high level in their freshman OU season.
By comparison, the late great Wayman Tisdale (1982-85), arguably the greatest player to ever play at Oklahoma, led the Big 8 in both scoring (24.5 per game) and rebounding (10.1) his freshman season. In fact, Tisdale went on to lead the Big 8 in scoring all three seasons at OU and was a three-time All-American.
Alvan Adams (1972-75) preceded Tisdale by a decade. The two-time OU All-American at Oklahoma, also led the conference in scoring his freshman season. Adams averaged 22.1 points and 13.1 rebounds in his first season.
Tisdale and Adams made their living in the front court at or close to the basket (there was no 3-point shot when they played). As a result, they both shot better than 50% from the floor. There was a 3-point shot when Griffin played, but he will always be best known for his explosive thunderous dunks.
As a point guard, probably the most relevant comparison for Fears is Trae Young, which is a really big deal considering that Young might go down as the greatest -- and certainly the most productive -- point guard in Sooner basketball history, and in just one season at OU.
Like Young, one season might be all Oklahoma gets from Fears. But even if that's not the case, Sooner Nation is being treated to one of the best freshman performances in the long, rich history of Oklahoma basketball.