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OU Basketball: Oklahoma G Jeremiah Fears Wins SEC Award

The Sooners' fabulous freshman averaged 24 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists as OU bounced back from a five-game losing streak to beat No. 21 Mississippi State.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears
Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma freshman men's basketball player Jeremiah Fears was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday following his standout performances at No. 2 Florida and vs. No. 21 Mississippi State.

The league's freshman-of-the-week honor is the third for Fears, who was also honored Dec. 2 and Dec. 23.

In OU's two games last week, Fears averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting .519 from the field, .462 (6 for 13) from 3-point range and .789 (15 for 19) from the free throw line. The guard's 49 points on the week led all SEC freshmen (next most was 29) and his 12 assists on the week were one shy of the SEC lead and most by a freshman.

The 6-4, 182-pound Fears registered his first career double-double with 27 points and a career-high 10 assists in OU's 93-87 Saturday win over No. 21 Mississippi State. He also contributed five rebounds, a block and a steal. He became just the second SEC player, regardless of class, since at least the 1996-97 season to finish with at least 27 points, at least 10 assists and at least five rebounds in a game (the other was Auburn's Sharife Cooper in 2020-21).

Fears' 14 free throw attempts against Mississippi State tied a career high and his 11 makes were one shy of his career best.

In OU's Tuesday loss at second-ranked Florida, Fears recorded a game-high 22 points. He tied a career high with four 3-pointers and logged five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

On the season, the Joliet, Ill., product is the only SEC player to rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring (10th at 15.9 ppg), field goal percentage (10th at .444) and free throw percentage (10th at .839). He also ranks sixth in assists per game (4.0).

Nationally, Fears and Duke's Cooper Flagg are the only freshmen to average at least 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is the only player in the SEC, regardless of class, with those numbers this season.

Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC) hosts No. 17 Kentucky (18-9, 7-7) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center. The game will mark Kentucky's first in Norman in men's basketball.

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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