MSU's Tom Izzo Defends Fears Again after Recent Criticism
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Tom Izzo still has his point guard's back.
Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. has received heavy criticism in the last couple of days. Video showed him tripping a Michigan player last Friday, which went uncalled, and then he received a deadball technical foul on Wednesday for backwards-kicking a Minnesota player in the groin area. Other questionable plays have made their way around social media, but none have been quite as clear-cut as those two.
Izzo on Fears
Izzo isn't saying that Fears is an innocent party here. He said that he and Fears had a "come to Jesus" meeting recently. For now, Izzo seems to think that the situation has been blown out of proportion a bit and Fears deserves a greater benefit of the doubt than he's receiving. Izzo also described any insinuation that Fears has legitimately been trying to injure anyone as "insulting."
"I think he understands what's going on," Izzo said during a Friday afternoon press conference. "When you look at a kid, and you make decisions on your own kids or somebody else, you have to look at the full picture. And the whole picture for me [is]: he's a 3.1 [GPA] student... he's done absolutely zero [things wrong] off the court --- I've never had a problem --- I've never had a problem with him in the class room, I've never had a problem with drugs or alcohol."
He is right in that regard; this is the first time Fears has deserved real scrutiny for how he acts. There have been no off-the-court issues that are the fault of Fears' own. His story should be more about his perseverance of becoming an elite point guard after being shot in the leg during his true freshman season at Michigan State. A couple of bad decisions from two games where some frustrations may have boiled over should not define his time in East Lansing, but, fair or not, that only happens if Fears is able to cut it out from now on.
Even though Izzo is clearly still sticking by his player's side, there is a chance Fears will receive some punishment. That type of move is on the harsher side, but it could be necessary. That "come to Jesus" meeting might not be as effective as something that eats into Fears' playing time. It's a decision Izzo is still grappling with before MSU's next game against No. 5 Illinois on Saturday night.
"I talked about not starting him, bringing him and suspending him for a half," Izzo said. "And then I looked at the whole situation, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, and that's the honest-to-God truth."
Michigan State and Fears needs this to blow over sooner than later. It is a legitimate distraction for the team that Izzo has said has taken "too much of my time." Fears is the leader of this team, which makes it all more important that he regulates his own emotions. Izzo seems confident in that.
"You don't think this has already been handled? It has been handled," Izzo said. "But if you think that I'm going to give in, to let you think I've got a loose cannon here, and the guy does 95% of everything right --- not only his play, but his off-the-court [actions], his [work] in the classroom. His body of work deserves somethng, and I'm the only one who knows that.
"I'm ready to be taken to task, like I was last week, like I may be today, or like I may be tomorrow [against Illinois]. I will make the best decision for that kid first, and for me and my program second. And I say that because I think I know the kid well enough that he's done a lot of great things."
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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