Top-50 basketball recruit Jeremiah Fears is again on the open market and garnering major attention from some of the top programs in college basketball.
Fears, a Joilet (IL) native, decommited from Illinois on July 1 and will reclassify to the class of 2024, according to Kedric Prince of IlliniGuys.com. While Illinois has an open scholarship for the 2024-25 season, the Illini backcourt is crowded with Kylan Boswell, Kasparas Jakucionis, Ty Rodgers, and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.
Two Blue Bloods Have Eyes Set On A Former Illinois Commit, Who May Reclassify To 2024
Fears committed to Illinois in late January. Before committing to the Illini, he held 17 offers and had whittled his list down to Providence, Kansas, Ole Miss, and Michigan. He visited Tennessee and Providence before pledging to Illinois.
Interestingly, the 6-2 guard officially visited Michigan after committing to the Illini. He made the trek to Ann Arbor on February 3.
While it is unknown why Fears recommitted from the Illini, there is some speculation that it had to do with the Illini signing of Will Riley on June 23, per Sports Illustrated’s Zachary Draves. Riley is a highly touted 6-foot-8 small forward who is capable of playing either backcourt spot. Draves said that Riley is also able to play both backcourt positions. As a result, it is thought that Fears could have been “left out in the cold.”
Jeremiah Fears Profile
Fears is a consensus four-star combo guard who played his first high school season at Joilet before transferring to Compass Prep in Arizona. In 14 games for Compass Prep this year, Fears averaged 14.2 points, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals.
Fears, who is long and athletic, has a nice feel for the game and good court vision. He also has a good-looking jumper and an excellent mid-range game. But what he does the best is attack the rack and finish at the rim, in transition, and the halfcourt. He should also have an impact on the defensive end. However, 3-point shooting is an issue.
Fears had an excellent EYBL campaign this spring and helped Team USA to win gold in the U18 AmeriCup, averaging 6.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and a team-high 3.0 steals in 12 minutes per game.
Here is what 247Sports Brandon Jenkins said about Fears game:
He is a smooth and confident scorer who has no problem finding his own offense within the flow of a game. A combination guard with a score-first mindset, Fears is at his best in a secondary ball-handling role where he can primarily focus on making shots and creating for himself off the bounce. He is talented with the ball in his hands and has a creative enough handle to break defenders down to get to his pull-up game. While he is smooth off the bounce, there are times when Fears can be loose with the ball through traffic. However, whether playing on or off the ball his ability to make shots makes him a player that needs to be accounted for at all times. He has all the needed variables to be a solid scoring option at the power conference level.
Who Is Looking At Fears
It is unknown who has contacted Fears, but he is expected to draw a lot of attention before he ultimately decides. However, it is known that Kentucky has been in contact with him.
According to Jack Pilgrim of On3, just a few hours after reopening his recruitment, the former Illinois pledge received a call from the Kentucky Wildcats. New Wildcats coach Mark Pope saw a lot of Fears during his stint with Team USA as he scouted the Argentina event.
Kentucky has an open scholarship for the upcoming season, and Pope had previously stated that his 13th and final scholarship would be a floating piece.
“It’s still the same,” Pope told Chris Fischer of 247Sports last week. “I think we had a pretty good feel of where we were a couple of weeks ago, and it’s just been confirmed more than anything else. There could be a hundred different reasons why a 13th scholarship would fit. We’re still kind of floating with it, and we’ll see. We’ll spend a ton of time this summer out on the road, including some international things. There’s always unique things that happen there late. And there’s also interesting things that always happen late in the States. So, we’ll kind of play it by ear.”
Fears Linked To Michigan State
Michigan State is considered a possibility for Fears because his older brother, Jeremy Fears Jr., is on the squad. However, Tom Isso doesn’t appear to have any scholarships available, though things can change.
Michigan also appears to be a possible landing spot. Fears had the Wolverines as a finalist before choosing Illinois. The Wolverines appear to have a scholarship left, and there would be a path for Fears to get a little run with them.
Providence, another finalist before choosing Illinois, could very well be, as it appears they have a few openings.
