East Lansing, Mich. – When Jeremy Fears Jr.’s name was left off the six Moneyball Pro-Am rosters that were released Sunday afternoon, many wondered if the Michigan State point guard was still deep in the recovery process from a gunshot wound he sustained late last year.
Turns out, Fears’ exclusion from the annual summer basketball league was merely precautionary. Fears revealed on Tuesday, during an interview with Sports Psychology Solutions founder Linsday Huddleston, that he is “100 percent” healthy.
“Jeremy Fears Jr. is A-OK,” Fears told Huddleston during the interview, which took place at Holt High School during the first day of Moneyball action. “(I’m) 100 percent, no restrictions. I’m able to practice, participate, play in games and play in scrimmages. Right now, obviously, a certain number of players can play on the (Moneyball) teams and with everything that went on, I’m kind of like an alternate sub.”
Fears said that he plans to appear in a handful of games as a substitute this Moneyball season, which runs through Aug. 1. He is unsure which games he will play in.
The rising sophomore also revealed to Huddleston that he received a medical redshirt for the time he missed last season as a result of the injury. Fears, a former four-star prospect, now has four years of eligibility remaining after playing in just 12 games last season.
Fears averaged 3.5 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per game prior to his injury. He dished out a career-best 10 assists in what would be his final game of the year, a home contest against Stony Brook on Dec. 21.
Fears sustained the gunshot wound two days later, when he returned home to Joliet, Illinois, for holiday break. In the early morning hours of Dec. 23, an unknown shooter opened fire inside the home of one of Fears’ friends, which resulted in a bullet striking Fears in the leg.
Fears admitted that it took him a few months to come to terms with the injury, which forced him to step away from basketball for the longest period of time since he began playing as a four-year-old.
“It was hard, but I just (tried to) understand that I have a bigger picture,” Fears said. “This is for the long run. Obviously the team missed me this year and I feel like I could have helped, but I have to be able to help the team later. This is a bigger picture.”
Fears credited his family for keeping him motivated during those first few months. His father, Jeremy Fears Sr., regularly called Fears and made sure to visit him on campus with his mother and three younger siblings.
“That was big,” Fears said of his family’s support. “Just that motivation and that extra push. They were still coming to games even though I wasn’t playing. That was a big sign of support. Like, I’m not playing but they’re still supporting the team, still supporting me. It motivated me to just keep working, keep pushing and eventually the sun’s going to shine.”
Fears spent the next few months rehabbing and recovering on Michigan State’s campus. He transitioned from using crutches, to walking, to jogging underwater in that time. By March, Fears was participating in layup lines and portions of workouts, but he still wasn’t healthy enough to play.
“Right before March Madness was kind of a tough time for me, just understanding that I was close to moving and feeling like I was healthy, but also, at the same time, knowing I wasn’t going to be out there to play with my guys one last time,” Fears said. “That was a tough time for me, but I was able to push through and still support the team in any way I could.”
Fears supported the team by working closely with coaches and attending every practice and film session to help review concepts with his teammates. During games, the vocal Fears could be heard shouting plays to his teammates and providing insight during huddles.
While he would have rather been playing, Fears said that his time on the bench provided him with a unique perspective, one he plans to carry with him into next season.
“It’s been a different view, just watching on the bench, being able to see the good things and then obviously some mistakes that other players make that I know, next year and in the future, I can maybe prevent or see from a different read or a different option,” Fears said. “Just really seeing it from a whole different view, from a coach’s view … so it’s actually been helpful.”
During his time off, Fears said that he worked on “everything” to prepare for his eventual return to the court this summer. Now that team activities have resumed, Fears has noticed the most improvement in his jumpshot.
Last season, Fears displayed the court vision and leadership that made him a highly-touted high school player, but he shot just 16.7 percent from three on 0.5 attempts per game in limited action. An improved jumper would go a long way for Fears and Michigan State this season.
“I’ve been working a lot on my shot,” Fears said. “I only really could chair shoot and form shoot for (several) months, so that was really a big aspect and a big step that I was able to take.”
Fears also noted that his conditioning is in a better spot than he originally thought. He credited the work he put in during his rehabbing period for helping him remain in shape.
“Right now, actually, I’m kind of up and moving, up to speed,” Fears said. “I want to thank (strength and conditioning) coach (Lorenzo) Guess and Nick Richey, our trainer. They did a great job of making sure I was lifting everyday, I was riding the bike, I was walking or jogging, just making sure my body was up to date.”
Now healthy, Fears is primed to take over as Michigan State’s starting point guard this fall. It’s an opportunity he’s grateful for after working his way back to full strength over the past six months.
“(I’m) just really looking at it like, ‘I have another opportunity,'” Fears said. “It could’ve gone way worse, but I have another opportunity to still be here, do something I love, play the game of basketball. This is just a challenge in life that you have to get over. It happens, you can’t control it. You can’t do whatever (about it). It happened and I just (have to) move on, try to move forward and keep getting better and, you know, just do right.”
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