MSU's Jeremy Fears Jr. on Double-Double, Fast Start to Season

See what Michigan State's "floor general" had to say following the victory over Detroit Mercy.

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. speaks to the media after an 84-56 win over the Detroit Mercy Titans. Fears had 18 points and 11 assists during the game. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Michigan State redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had another stellar game on Friday, scoring a career-high 18 points and dishing out 11 assists during the Spartans' 84-56 win over Detroit Mercy.

Spartan Nation spoke to Fears after the game to ask about MSU's 5-0 start and the things Fears did during the offseason to help make the leap that he has this season that have improved his abilities as both a scorer and a distributor.

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. dribbles the ball up the floor during a game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Through five games now, Fears is averaging 11.8 points and 10.4 assists per game. He was at 7.2 points and 5.4 assists last season.

A video of Fears' press availability can be viewed below.

Watch Jeremy Fears Jr. here:

Additionally, a partial transcript of Fears' presser can be read below.

Transcript

Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) is introduced during starting lineups ahead of a game against San Jose State on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Q: A career-high in assists on Tuesday night, a career-high in points, another double-double [on Friday]. I assume you have to be, overall, pleased with your development and progress.

FEARS: Yeah, I think this summer, like I said, was really big for me. Just my game overall. Just this summer, like just time, mentally, physically. Just knowing what I can do and how much better I got. I felt like this summer was really huge, and now I'm better. And this is my first real summer. So, at the same time, last year, I was kind of like a freshman.

I kind of know what I needed to work on and get better at. But at the same time, you know, like players like [Jaxon Kohler], Trey [Fort], and Kur [Teng] kind of had an off-night shooting. But just the fact that I have guys around me that help, they make my life easier.

Q: They scored like maybe five straight or something like that, cut it to eight in the first half and then you go out to the lane for a layup, and then you found, [Carson Cooper], maybe Kohler, it was like an 8-0 spurt. You scored. Is that kind of part of the next step in development is being like, all right, we need a basket, I'm going to kind of facilitate this happening.

FEARS: Kind of. I think just making sure that when teams go on a run, just making sure that I'm able to, you know, lead us to get a great shot or, you know, maybe get two points or get fouled.

Somehow, someway, making sure we get a bucket kind of to stop the ball, stop their run. So, just making sure that me as the point guard, get the team ready and get in the right spot to be successful.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo (left) has a conversation with guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (right) during a game against the San Jose State Spartans on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

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