NBA Draft 2025: Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears' has been NCAA's top rising star

Otega Oweh crushed the hearts of the Oklahoma Sooners for the second time this season, darting the length of the floor for a last-minute winner. Despite Oklahoma’s tight loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, freshman guard Jeremiah Fears nearly snatched the game himself. Performances like these rocketed Fears’s draft stock; he’s ranked 10th on Rookie Scale’s 2025 consensus board.

Fears imprinted himself throughout the game, elevating his game in the clutch. He tallied 28 points (10-22), five assists, four rebounds and three steals while recording his second single turnover game of the season. His relentless driving, quickness, touch and physicality shined all night, not fearing the moment as the youngest player on the court.

Down 10 with less than 90 seconds remaining, Fears attacked a switch in early offense. Despite his slighter frame, Fears loves bruising and initiating contact. He bumps Brandon Garrison and changes direction, holding his angle and finishing with touch for the and-one:

Almost all elite small guards in the NBA win with quick, explosive first steps. Fears shares this trait, making it difficult for him to guard on drives without fouling. Sudden acceleration forces Otega Oweh to foul Fears, who converts a tidy 84.5% of his free-throws:

Fears wasn’t shy bombing away from 3-point land against Kentucky despite making just 2 of his 11 attempts from long. Oklahoma trusted him late in the game, drawing up a play for him to run off movement. Down just six now, Fears curled off the screen, floated to his right and hit the clutch triple:

His defense helped Oklahoma crawl back late in the game. Fears helped his team tangle up the ball and he fired it down the court for a walk-in dunk. His Sooners now trailed by one point late in the second half:

Miraculously, Fears found the ball with a chance to give Oklahoma the lead. He won like a primary initiator, burning Oweh to the rim with the help of a slight ghost screen. Fears showcases it all here, earning a short-lived lead with his burst, footwork and an off-hand finish:

Driving is Fears’s primary method of offense and a major component of what makes him a lottery-quality prospect. Standing around 6-foot-3, Fears outruns, out-skills and outmuscles his opposition. He attempts an impressive 35.9% of his shots in the half-court at the hoop, demonstrating his exceptional rim-pressuring ability.

Fears drove aggressively off the catch against Kentucky, drawing hard closeouts despite his inaccuracy from deep. He leans into the floater here, hitting a difficult, leaning shot:

When he needs to, Fears will turn to his runner touch to score over towering defenders. He loves to knife through defenders like a halfback, discarding Collin Chandler, planting on two feet and finishing strong:

Despite his burst and touch, Fears hasn’t finished efficiently at the rim this season. His height and lack of vertical explosion in tight spaces contributed to him shooting 46.4% at the basket in the half-court this season. His huge volume (112 attempts) contributes to some of the struggles, but he can falter against bigger players.

This possession features positive and negative elements of Fears’s game, beginning with his excellent handling and change of pace. He pirouettes to his spot with the pivot against a switch, but the contest bothers him into a miss at the cup:

He generates leverage and power with his flexibility, bending to drive his defender back to the restricted area here. Still, he isn’t able to finish the play over his defense. Fears can sink these tough shots, but relying on challenging, acrobatic finishes isn’t easy:

Even with poor efficiency at the basket and from 3-point land, Fears’ efficiency hovers around 56% true shooting. It’s a solid mark for the freshman, especially considering his enormous usage rate. Fears carries a huge 32.1% usage rate, providing important context for some of his statistical trends.

His mid-range pull-up shooting bolsters Fears’s half-court efficiency, providing another possible NBA scoring option. Fears made an excellent 46.4% of his off-dribble 2-point shots, hammering the brakes to leave his defender in the dust before sinking the drifting shot:

Fears’s shooting projection seems murky on the surface. He has made just 27.5% of his threes this season. However, closer inspection paints a rosier picture of his shooting projection. Indicators like his free-throw percentage, mid-range and floater touch, and solid 3-point volume (7.6 per 100 possessions) all point towards improvement.

Off-ball shooting isn’t as much of an issue for Fears, as he shot 36.1% (22-61) on catch and shoot threes. He’s willing to fire confidently from well beyond the line, but teams are sometimes comfortable leaving him alone on the perimeter:

Players like Fears who excel at shooting off-dribble twos can often improve their off-dribble outside shooting. He’s shooting just 18.6% on his pull-up triples this season and teams will duck under screens against him, fearing his drives and choosing to give up the jumper. Even on the misses, it’s encouraging to see him shoot confidently:

His statistical shooting indicators predict possible growth — he’s one of five freshmen to shoot above 80% at the line with seven three-point attempts per 100 possessions and 30 made long-twos. All of the others — Cooper Flagg, Tre Johnson, Jase Richardson, Boogie Fland — point to the type of shooter Fears could become with mechanical improvement.

Fears has the ultimate green light at Oklahoma, he's comfortable stepping into shots whenever he has space. Here’s Fears’ second and only other made three of the night, jab stepping and rising up for the bucket:

His playmaking adds to his driving value; Fears notched an assist-to-turnover ratio north of 1.0 despite his huge usage. An excellent 28.6% assist rate helps capture his passing strengths, like this pick and roll feed under the basket:

He’s an excellent transition player on account of his speed, power and playmaking vision. When he collapses defenses on the run, he’s looking for teammates to feed when the help reacts to his scoring attempt:

Fears uses veteran moves like jail, putting defenders on his back to create advantages. He walls off his man here, moving the defense away from the shooter to create a wide-open triple:

Though Fears took care of the ball against Kentucky, he’s struggled with turnovers throughout the year. He sports a fairly high 20.5% turnover rate, resulting from rushed decisions and sped-up play. These kinds of plays are common for high usage freshman guards, like Fears driving into traffic and coughing up the ball:

His defense is also inconsistent, something most smaller freshmen scoring guards share. His quickness helps him against quick guards, but screens can wall off Fears without the strength to fight through them:

Fears doesn’t always react quickly defending off of the ball and his footwork on closeouts can look sloppy. He gives up an easy lane here after a soft closeout:

He still adds some value on defense with his event creation, logging an excellent 3.1% steal rate this season. A clear knack for the ball helps fears swipe loose balls away and nab deflections:

All prospects have weaknesses, especially ones as young as Fears. Even considering his problems with size and decision making, Fears displays traits suggesting star initiator upside. That’s an incredibly valuable piece for NBA teams, and he’ll have a chance to inflate his stock further in the NCAA Tournament.