Early Returns for MSU's Fears at NBA Draft Combine
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Michigan State's best player has less than two weeks to make his final decision for next season.
Jeremy Fears Jr., who is coming off a Second Team All-American season during his redshirt sophomore year at MSU, is currently in Chicago for this year's NBA Draft Combine. Fears has until the end of the day on May 27 to withdraw his name from consideration for the draft, if he so chooses.
How Fears Is Doing
One of the big events in the combine is when everybody scrimmages. During the first day of those scrimmages on Wednesday, Fears was one of the standouts. He dropped 17 points and five assists while playing against fellow NBA prospects, standing out as one of the "biggest winners" by insiders and analysts. Fears had another scrimmage on Thursday, dropping nine points with 11 assists, though that came at the expense of seven turnovers.
Fears was measured at the combine earlier in the week at precisely six feet tall without shoes (the Spartans listed him at 6'2" this season), with a wingspan of 6'4". His standing reach was 8'1.5", and Fears weighed in at 196.2 pounds.
Fears Weighs in on Incoming Choice
On Thursday, the Big Ten Network posted an interview between Fears and Andy Katz, which illuminated where Fears' mind seems to be at right now. The overall expectation has been for Fears to withdraw from the process eventually, and his responses have somewhat conformed to that.
"Really, if I get some good feedback," Fears said when asked about what his decision will come down to. "I believe I'm a first-round talent. There's a lot of players in the first round I've played against or probably, like, seen throughout college. But that's a big thing, if I can get a first-round spot."
"I would love [that], and my dream is to play professional [basketball] and to play in the NBA. That's for sure, and if not, then go back to college and try to work my way up and get that."
Fears is probably still in that second-round or undrafted range, though. ESPN's Jeremy Woo ranked Fears as the No. 56 overall prospect in this year's class on Tuesday. That ranking could improve if more college players drop out of the process, and it might've improved on Wednesday with Fears' great scrimmage performance.
That's not the first-round grade that Fears is searching for, though. If Fears were to stick with the draft, I could pretty easily see him taking out a Rajon Rondo-like role whenever he'd come off the bench somewhere, but there are not a ton of point guards in the NBA who aren't good to great shooters.
Fears made just 32.1% of his three-pointers last season, and a few percentage points can be taken off that when you factor in the deeper NBA three-point line. The positive part is that Fears still has two more seasons of collegiate eligibility to improve his shot before he must absolutely go pro. Tom Izzo and Michigan State will pay him just as well or, probably, better than Fears' hypothetical NBA team would, too.
Thoughts on Next Year's Team
Bringing Fears back is the last big step of MSU's offseason. It's been a remarkably simple offseason by today's standards, really. One transfer has come in: Charlotte convert Anton Bonke. Only one guy has transferred out: Divine Ugochukwu, who is now at LSU.
That's exactly how the Spartans wanted it. Next year's roster has the chance to be one of the most complete rosters Michigan State has had in a while. Keeping Fears would essentially be the finishing touch. EvanMiya had him as the third-best player in the nation last season, only behind Duke's Cameron Boozer and Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg. Both of those guys are expected to become "lottery" picks in the top-14 of this year's draft.
"I think we've got a good group with everybody coming back," Fears said. "We're bringing in a transfer [in reference to Bonke]. Just overall, a great group of guys being able to build on what started last year."
MSU still has one open roster spot if Fears comes back, but the rotation and minutes seem pretty set. Incoming freshman Carlos Medlock Jr., a high-4-star recruit, is going to be Fears' backup this coming season. With added wing scoring from Jasiah Jervis and Kaleb Glenn entering the fold, a lot of the Spartans' previous weaknesses have been addressed.
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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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