Nov 28, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Oklahoma Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears (0) drives to the basket past Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) during the first half in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
One of the most surprising freshman in the country this season has been Fears, who has been a day-one impact piece for the Oklahoma Sooners. He’s been a huge catalyst in their success and oozes with confidence despite always being the youngest player on the court. He’s a natural leader who brings poise beyond his years and plays with an alpha mentality.
Advertisement
Fears is an aggressive offensive player who has confidence in his abilities. That’s one of the reasons his game has translated so quickly at the college level and should give NBA teams similar optimism moving forward. He’s a great athlete who boats good length and explosiveness.
He’s best when he can take his defender off the dribble and get the opposing defense moving, at which point he can get to his spot and score or set up teammates with his facilitation and playmaking chops. Fears is a three-level scorer who is effective with both hands and plays either guard position but will likely play a lead role at the next level. He has quality dribble moves and a handle that creates space with creativity. The decision-making and shot selection could be better at times, but that’s expected of an 18-year-old freshman in the SEC.
Inconsistency is also expected from a player of Fears’ age, which is why it isn’t uncommon for his scoring to be hot and cold. While he can get going in a hurry, there’s also times in which his shot just isn’t falling. In those moments, the Sooners guard needs to continue proving he can impact the game in other ways.
The competitiveness of Fears is clear on the defensive end, as he always takes his assignment personally. As good as he is on the offensive end, he also wants to ensure he wins on defense, too. He has quick hands and has upside as a point-of-attack defender given his length and motor. Fears needs to get stronger and brush up his natural processing on that end, but that comes with collegiate reps. The tools are all there for Fears.
Given he reclassified in high school, Fears is an extremely young prospect. He will still be 18 on the night of the 2025 NBA Draft and won’t turn 19 until right before the start of the 2025-26 season. His brother Jeremy Fears is a sophomore at Michigan State and was also a significant recruit coming out of high school the year before him.
Advertisement
Potential First-Round Pick in 2025 NBA Draft.
Want to know more about other potential 2025 NBA Draft prospects and where they might get selected? Check out our Draft Digest Big Board.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
For a free account and access to Cerebro Sports, the largest Basketball Player Database in the world, sign up here.
The energy was off the charts in the Frost Bank Center even before opening tip for what many hoop fans are hoping is the next great NBA rivalry. Both the Spurs and Thunder the traded blows on the offensive and defensive end in an exhilarating display of basketball that included 12 lead changes and 11 ties. Oklahoma City took a slim 60-58 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second half played out in much the same fashion with extremely high-level basketball and neither team able to pull away, though San Antonio were the ones who took a 5 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. That chink in the Thunder armor though was enough to blow the game wide open to begin the final frame for the Spurs. They spent the vast majority of the 4th quarter just making life hell for the Thunder, who waved the white flag and pulled their starters with 3 minutes left in the game.
Led by huge performances from Stephon Castle, Harrison Barnes and a particularly special performance by Keldon Johnson off the bench, the win marks their second straight win over the defending champions and their 7th win in a row, the longest for the club since 2019. Tonight’s win sets the table for Thursday’s Christmas Day match-up in Oklahoma City pretty nicely, sending a message to anyone still doubting whether or not the Silver and Black are for real.
The rematch on Christmas Day starts at 1:30 CT on ABC and ESPN.
Christmas is nearly here, but are you done with Christmas shopping? You still have a few days left, and we know that so many people face the annual challenge of what to buy someone who has everything, or is hard to buy for.
News 9 spoke to Von Maur representative Mathew Burniga to learn how to wrap up your Christmas shopping.
NORMAN, Okla. — Derrion Reed scored 22 points, Xzayvier Brown finished with 18, and Oklahoma set the program’s single-game record for field-goal percentage on Monday night as the Sooners beat Stetson 107-54 on Monday night.
Oklahoma shot 67.8% (40 of 59) from the field and had its highest-scoring game since a 107-86 win over Arkansan-Pine Bluff on Nov. 30, 2023. The previous record was 66.1% (39 of 59) against Baylor on Feb. 26, 2005.
The Sooners made 12 of 24 from 3-point range, outrebounded Stetson 39-24, and outscored the Hatters 54-18 in the paint.
Mohamed Wague had 15 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma and Tae Davis added 12 points and six assists. Kuol Atak and Nijel Pack each scored 11 points.
Advertisement
Sports Roundup
Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis and opinion delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Ethan Copeland, the only Stetson (4-9) player who scored in double figures, had 14 points.
Oklahoma (9-3) used runs of 15-3 and 10-2, the latter of which culminated with a Jadon Jones three-point play that gave the Sooners a 26-11 lead a little more than eight minutes into the game.
Advertisement
Up next
Stetson plays at North Alabama in the ASUN Conference opener for both teams on New Year’s Day.
Oklahoma hosts Mississippi Valley State next Monday.
2026 NCAA football transfer portal: Tracking moves for Texas Tech, SMU, other area schools
Find updates for Baylor, North Texas, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and SMU.
As NFL draft decision looms, Oklahoma’s John Mateer will weigh his options
Mateer, a Little Elm alum, is listed as the fifth-best quarterback prospect on Pro Football Focus’ big board and the seventh-best on ESPN’s.
With Alabama on the ropes, Oklahoma squandered golden opportunity to end CFP drought
The Sooners tied their own record for the largest blown lead in College Football Playoff history.
Advertisement
Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
