Why Fears' Three-Point Shot Will Improve for MSU Next Season

A better jump shot is the main thing separating Fears from the professional ranks.

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. attempts a three against the Cornell Big Red at the Breslin Center on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The margin between the NBA and at least one more year in college might have been pretty thin for Jeremy Fears Jr.

Michigan State's star point guard made just 32.1% of his threes last season. He still seemed to seriously mull going to the NBA anyway. If that percentage were a handful of points higher, perhaps the decision would have been different.

Why Shot Is Close To Breaking Through

Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. takes a breather before a free throw against Michigan on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, inside the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The percentage is the percentage, but Fears didn't necessarily feel like a 32.1% shooter last season. He had cold stretches, but he also went 16-for-34 (47.1%) from behind the arc across MSU's final 10 games. That was while Fears was playing about 35 minutes per game. His legs should have been as tired as ever when shooting those threes.

Fears also showed signs of improvement during his NBA workouts. One report from analyst Raphael Davis says that he went 74-for-100 in a shooting drill with one team. It's not specified that those shots were threes in Davis' report, but at least heavily implied.

Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. attempts a free throw against Cornell at the Breslin Center on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Plenty of signs are right there in Fears' game right now. He became a very reliable mid-range shooter this past season. It felt like any open, off-the-dribble shot from 15 feet or so was virtually automatic towards the tail end of the year. His free-throw shooting is also elite, as he went 88.5% at the stripe last year.

Those were both big developments from the year before. Fears' jumper used to constantly have this awkward-looking hitch before his release. That's gotten smoothed out for the most part (it still shows up once in a while). Fears' free-throw percentage also jumped up from a 73.0% mark during his redshirt freshman season.

Positive Indications

Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. looks on during the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Louisville at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Solid mid-range shooting and being a good free-throw shooter are two of the big things that often pop up before a three-point shot explodes. Not every three-point shooter is necessarily a great free-throw shooter, but it's pretty simple logic that most would master free throws before they can master three-pointers.

The mid-range game makes me more optimistic, though. Fears takes more mid-range shots than most. Torvik says he took 153 "far twos" last year (making 41.2% of them). Nobody else on the team took 100.

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. yells to the crowd during a game at the Breslin Center against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Getting an improvement here is also going to be a necessity for the Spartans to contend in 2026-27. Fears is already enough of a headache for opponents to gameplan for, but adding a more reliable three-point shot will take it to another level.

Just think of the pick-and-roll possibilities. Fears usually shoots the three already if opponents go under screens. Becoming a better shooter will force defenders to fight through screens more often. This could lead to more mismatches with the ball in Fears' hands, or perhaps a lob could be available with the roller at the rim.

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. dribbles the ball up the court against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI