At the time Jeremiah Fears' high school career should have been ending, his college career was already over.
The 9-seed Oklahoma Sooners lost to the 8-seed UConn Huskies 67-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. With the loss concluding OU's season at 20-14, it was likely also the end of Fears' college basketball career as a potential lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
The closing credits created the realization that maybe Sooner Nation did not appreciate the show it was able to watch all season with Jeremiah Fears. Granted, there were plenty of distractions between losing streaks in SEC play, late-game collapses and anger toward head coach Porter Moser. But now the Sooners would be applauding for an encore Fears wouldn't (and shouldn't) ever come back out of the curtain for.
Fears had the TNT broadcast crew of Ian Eagle, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery rambling Friday night about how incredible this young star was. Social media, including Stephen A. Smith, was buzzing. They were all enjoying the show Sooner Nation got all season.
"OOH! A WHIRLING DERVISH FROM JEREMIAH FEARS! HE'S IN THE SPIN ZONE!" - Ian Eagle
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 22, 2025
"The full tilt and balance! Just absolutely extraordinary!" - Bill Raftery 🏀🔥🎙️ #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/4Xco9sGsBy
In his last game, Fears led all scorers with 20 points. He also added four assists, five rebounds and two steals. He turned the ball over only twice while running the point as a freshman on the biggest stage in college basketball.
Not even midway through the first half, UConn coach Dan Hurley already admitted during an in-game interview that Fears was giving his team fits.
"Not doing a job on Fears. But, it's a tough job. He's really good."
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2025
Dan Hurley and UConn are trying to find a way to stop Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears. pic.twitter.com/hzU07wUaty
When UConn double-teamed Fears, he dished it to the right man. When the Huskies got physical, Fears got to the line, then made every free throw, going 8-for-8 from the stripe.
Fears was a boy playing among men this season. He turned 18 only a month before the season started. He was supposed to be a senior in high school this year, but he reclassified from the 2026 class to head to college, and ultimately the NBA, early.
He might have been a boy among men, but Fears played like a professional among amateurs. He just didn't have the supporting cast he needed to take down the two-time defending national champions Huskies on Friday night.