{"id":84496,"date":"2024-07-03T23:50:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T03:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=84496"},"modified":"2024-07-03T23:50:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T03:50:31","slug":"two-blue-bloods-have-eyes-set-on-a-former-illinois-commit-who-will-reclassify-to-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/03\/two-blue-bloods-have-eyes-set-on-a-former-illinois-commit-who-will-reclassify-to-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Blue Bloods Have Eyes Set On A Former Illinois Commit, Who Will Reclassify To 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Top-50 basketball recruit <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/db\/jeremiah-fears-178192\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremiah Fears<\/a> is again on the open market and garnering major attention from some of the top programs in college basketball.<\/p>\n<p>Fears, a Joilet (IL) native, decommited from Illinois on July 1 and will reclassify to the class of 2024, <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KedPrince4\/status\/1807839933559640242\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to Kedric Prince of IlliniGuys.com<\/a>.\u00a0 While Illinois has an open scholarship for the 2024-25 season, the Illini backcourt is crowded with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/kylan-boswell-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kylan Boswell<\/a>,\u00a0<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/international\/players\/kasparas-jakucionis-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kasparas Jakucionis<\/a><b>,<\/b><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/ty-rodgers-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Ty Rodgers<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/dra-gibbs-lawhorn-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"in-content-ad advertisement\">\n<div id=\"native_top\" class=\"ad ad-component advertisement\" data-ad=\"native_top\" data-position=\"top\" data-sizes=\"300,250,fluid,11,11\" data-google-query-id=\"CJHHtdKUjIcDFcgvTwgdD1kFLw\">&#8220;First and foremost, I would like to thank the Illini nation for all the love and support they have given me and my family during my recruitment and after my commitment,&#8221; Fears\u00a0<a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_wio8fl\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jeremiahfears2\/status\/1807845690166632835\" target=\"_blank\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" data-uw-original-href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jeremiahfears2\/status\/1807845690166632835\" aria-label=\"wrote on his X\/Twitter account - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\" data-uw-original- target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote on his X\/Twitter account<\/a>. &#8220;I&#8217;d like to express my appreciation to Coach Underwood and his staff for their open communication and trust in me as a prospective next great guard to perform at State Farm Center. Please trust my full intention was to enter Champaign in the class of 2025 and help contribute to the continued ascension in the BIG10. With that said, after further consideration and meaningful conversations with my family, I&#8217;ll be reopening my recruitment and exploring other opportunities.&#8221;<\/div>\n<h2 data-ad=\"native_top\" data-position=\"top\" data-sizes=\"300,250,fluid,11,11\" data-google-query-id=\"CJHHtdKUjIcDFcgvTwgdD1kFLw\">Two Blue Bloods Have Eyes Set On A Former Illinois Commit, Who May Reclassify To 2024<\/h2>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the 6-2 guard officially visited Michigan after committing to the Illini. He made the trek to Ann Arbor on February 3.<\/p>\n<p>While it is unknown why Fears recommitted from the Illini, there is some speculation that it had to do with the Illini signing of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/db\/will-riley-163196\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Will Riley<\/a> on June 23, per <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/illinois\/did-the-signing-of-will-riley-lead-to-illinois-commit-jeremiah-fears-changing-plans-01j1swfmmcap?utm_source=RSS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sports Illustrated&#8217;s Zachary Draves.<\/a> 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 &#8220;left out in the cold.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Jeremiah Fears Profile<\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Here is what<a  href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/Player\/Jeremiah-Fears-46125648\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 247Sports Brandon Jenkins<\/a> said about Fears game:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>Who Is Looking At Fears<\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>According to<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/teams\/kentucky-wildcats\/news\/kentucky-reaches-out-to-jeremiah-fears-as-potential-reclass-option\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Jack Pilgrim of On3<\/a>, just a few hours after reopening his recruitment, the former Illinois pledge received a call from the Kentucky Wildcats. New Wildcats coach <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/coaches\/mark-pope-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Pope<\/a> saw a lot of Fears during his stint with Team USA as he scouted the Argentina event.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s still the same,&#8221; <a  href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/article\/kentucky-basketball-recruiting-jeremiah-fears-illinois--233452348\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope told Chris Fischer of 247Sports last week<\/a>. &#8220;I think we had a pretty good feel of where we were a couple of weeks ago, and it&#8217;s just been confirmed more than anything else. There could be a hundred different reasons why a 13th scholarship would fit. We&#8217;re still kind of floating with it, and we&#8217;ll see. We&#8217;ll spend a ton of time this summer out on the road, including some international things. There&#8217;s always unique things that happen there late. And there&#8217;s also interesting things that always happen late in the States. So, we&#8217;ll kind of play it by ear.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Fears Linked To Michigan State<\/h3>\n<p>Michigan State is<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/michiganstate\/msu-recruiting\/huge-news-for-elite-tom-izzo-msu-basketball-target-and-brother-of-spartan-pg-01j1t5kv8vv7\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> considered a possibility for Fears<\/a> because his older brother, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/jeremy-fears-jr-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremy Fears Jr<\/a>., is on the squad. However, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/coaches\/tom-izzo-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tom Isso<\/a> doesn&#8217;t appear to have any scholarships available, though things can change.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Providence, another finalist before choosing Illinois, could very well be, as it appears they have a few openings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.\u00a0 While Illinois has an open scholarship [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":84522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[3772,4136,776,805,866],"class_list":["post-84496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-college-basketball-recruiting","tag-illinois-fighting-illini","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-michigan-state-spartans","tag-michigan-wolverines"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}