Oklahoma freshman guard Jeremiah Fears will enter the 2025 NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility, he announced on ESPN’s “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Wednesday.
“I was lucky to walk into a great situation at Oklahoma with a lot of opportunity,” Fears said. “I had great teammates and coaches working with me every day to help a young freshman achieve his dreams.”
Fears, the No. 7 prospect in ESPN’s NBA draft projections, was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 30 minutes per game this season.
Oklahoma made the NCAA tournament, finishing 20-14 on the season, with Fears having some of his best games down the stretch in the SEC tournament to get the Sooners off the bubble, posting 29 and 28 points respectively against Georgia and Kentucky in front of significant NBA audiences.
Fears is one of the youngest players in this draft class, not turning 19 until mid-October, as he was originally slated to graduate high school in 2025 before electing to enroll a year early in college.
His combination of size, speed, pace, shot creation, shotmaking and scoring instincts makes him one of the most talented guard prospects in the draft, as he gets virtually anywhere he wants on the floor, either to create opportunities for teammates dishing on the move, finish skillfully in the lane or get to the free throw line in bunches.
Fears comes from a basketball family. His father Jeremy Fears Sr. played Division I basketball at Ohio and Bradley University and professionally in Europe for six seasons. His older brother, Jeremy Fears Jr., is the starting point guard at Michigan State, finishing second in the Big Ten in assist percentage. His younger brother, Jamarri Fears, is a class of 2027 point guard at Romeoville High School in Illinois.
“My dad has been a big influence as someone that played and knows the game,” Jeremiah Fears said. “My older brother also; we played together at Joliet West High School. He was always the pass-first point guard who did whatever his team needed, while I was the scorer alongside him. He’s my biggest critic and number one supporter and has helped me a lot with my decision-making and leadership skills.”
Fears says he will be spending the coming months in New York City, training for the NBA draft with agent and former NBA player Mike Miller.
“It’s great to be able to learn from someone like him,” Fears said. “We’re working on a lot of shooting, ball-screen reads, continuing to be a leader and finding the right balance between scoring and creating for others.”
The NBA draft combine will be held May 11-18 in Chicago, and the draft will be June 25-26 in New York.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and International teams.
