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OU Basketball: Oklahoma G Jeremiah Fears Declares for NBA Draft

The dynamic freshman announced he'll enter the NBA Draft after an outstanding season with the Sooners.

Ryan Chapman

Oklahoma Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears
Oklahoma Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears / Zachary Taft-Imagn Images
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Jeremiah Fears’ stay in Norman will just be one year. 

The talented guard declared for the NBA Draft, he told ESPN's Shams Charania on Wednesday.

He led the Sooners back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four seasons, averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 34 games of action. 

Fears stood out early in OU’s trip to the Bahamas. 

He scored 20 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the Sooners’ 79-77 win over Providence on Nov. 27, adding seven assists, four rebounds and four steals while turning the ball over eight times. 

The next day, he cut down the turnovers and scored 26 points on 7-of-17 shooting against Arizona. 

He truly announced himself at the Jumpman Invitational when he dropped 30 points on Michigan, including draining a 3-pointer in the final seconds, drawing a foul and completing the four-point play at the line to help the Sooners edge out the Wolverines 87-86.

Fears finished the night 8-for-12 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from deep, and he got to the stripe 13 times. 

The freshman struggled early in SEC play, scoring just two points in a road loss to Georgia, but as Oklahoma rallied down the stretch, Fears raised his level of play again. 

He scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists in OU’s 93-87 win over Mississippi State at the Lloyd Noble Center, then set a new career-high with 31 points against Missouri in the home finale — a game Oklahoma had to win. 

Fears shot 2-of-14 against Texas, but he went 9-for-10 from the free throw line and only turned the ball over twice to help Porter Moser notch his first win over the Longhorns at Oklahoma. 

Fears then scored 29 points against Georgia and 28 points against Kentucky on back-to-back nights at the SEC Tournament before finishing with 20 points and four assists in OU’s First Round NCAA Tournament loss to UConn. 

And he should have had significantly more than four assists against the Huskies. 

Fears calmly sliced UConn’s defense apart in a multitude of pick-and-roll actions against Dan Hurley’s defense, but his teammates were able to cash in on excellent passes to keep Oklahoma’s offense rolling. 

In total, he shot 43.4 percent from the field and 85.1 percent from the free throw line, but NBA teams will bank on the dynamic 6-foot-4 guard to improve on his 28.4 percent shooting performance from 3 as he continues to develop. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is managing editor at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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