Oklahoma’s Fears in NBA lottery conversation

NORMAN — On some nights, Jeremiah Fears looks like a can’t-miss future NBA star.

On others, Oklahoma’s young floor general looks more like a true freshman who started college a year early and is still figuring things out.

The fluctuation is understandable, considering Fears reclassified and didn’t turn 18 until after he arrived on campus. Either way, the 6-foot-4 point guard, who averages 15.5 points per game and is projected as a lottery pick in many mock drafts, is moving too fast to dwell on his age.

“When I step on the floor, it’s basically like, I’m just playing a game I love,” he said. “That’s what I try to keep my focus on, and not really necessarily thinking about how old they are, how old I am.”

He might have improved his draft stock even more with a strong performance against a veteran Florida squad. A total of 29 scouts from 19 teams were credentialed for Tuesday night’s game. Fears had 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting and made four 3-pointers in a loss to the second-ranked Gators.

Though it was the team’s fifth straight defeat, Fears’ success was a welcome sight for Oklahoma coach Porter Moser.

“He was physically and athletically able to play with the Florida guys, and I thought it was good to see him have that kind of confidence,” Moser said. “We needed him to get a couple games like that to get us back going because he gives us a higher floor when he’s playing like that.”

Fears’ confidence comes, in part, from high-level experience. Last June, he won a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup, averaging 6.5 points and finishing third among all players with 3.0 steals per outing. The next month, he averaged 21.2 points for the Indy Heat’s Nike EYBL team in five games at Nike Peach Jam.

Once he arrived at Oklahoma, the school’s biggest recruit since Trae Young started off hot. He scored 26 points against Arizona in November to put the Sooners on the national radar. He drained a 30-footer, drew a foul and completed a four-point play with 11.5 seconds left to lift the Sooners to an 87-86 victory over Michigan in the Jumpman Invitational in December.

None of the early big moments surprised Pete Kaffey, the AZ Compass Prep coach in Arizona who helped Fears prepare for the early jump.

“Jeremiah was just born to be special,” Kaffey said. “He was born to have an NBA jersey. He was born to be one of those guys that people talk about. And he does all the right stuff. And he’s not going to stop building until he’s an All-Star in the league.”

Fears has been a key to Oklahoma’s wins in the Southeastern Conference. He scored 21 points in a victory over Vanderbilt and 16 each in wins over Arkansas and South Carolina.

He’s had some rough stretches, too. He scored a season-low two points on 1-for-11 shooting in a loss at Georgia and went scoreless at Texas A&M on 0-for-5 shooting in another defeat. He just shot 5-for-15 in a home loss to LSU that will make it much more difficult for the Sooners to reach the NCAA Tournament.

And even when he has success, there are some reminders of his youth — he scored 20 points in a loss to Texas, but had six turnovers.

Moser said some mistakes are a given for such an aggressive player. He gives Fears credit for a successful season, considering he was playing with Team USA and the Indy Heat EYBL squad while most incoming freshmen were specifically preparing for college.

“Now he’s thrown into unequivocally the best college basketball league we’ve seen,” Moser said. “And yes, there’s ups and downs like every player. But how he’s handling it? He’s a great teammate. He’s been great to study film with. … He tries so much to address the things that he needs to get better at. So that’s handling it.”

Fears made an educated decision to skip his senior season of high school. He had good guides — his father, Jeremy Fears, played college basketball at Ohio and Bradley. His older brother, Jeremy Fears Jr., is a redshirt freshman at Michigan State.

Jeremiah Fears said his brother has been a key figure in his growth, whether it be from support or by playing with him over the years. They played together on their AAU teams and practiced against each other.

“He was always stronger than me, bigger than me,” Jeremiah Fears said. “So just being able to go up against him and battle against him every day was truly a blessing.”

Fears said he learned during his time at Compass Prep how hard other high-level players work. Kaffey said he would motivate his pupil to round out his game by bringing up his brother’s defensive prowess.

“I always used to make the little remarks about, ‘Hey, man, you’re not your brother.’ … And Jeremiah, being the kid that he is, being like one of those kids who wants to be the best at everything — he took that on as a challenge,” Kaffey said.

Kaffey said had Fears stayed in high school, AZ Compass Prep might be the nation’s top high school team right now. Kaffey felt helping to position his star to reach his goals was more important.

“Last year, he did all the right stuff, was always in the gym, was always the first one at team meetings, went to sleep on time, did all the right stuff,” Kaffey said. “So I knew maturity-wise, he was ready to go.”