Sam Vecenie has ‘real concerns’ about Jeremiah Fears as NBA Draft prospect

The Athletic‘s NBA Draft analyst, Sam Vecenie, isn’t convinced that Oklahoma freshman Jeremiah Fears is ready for the next level. During Monday’s episode of Game Theory, Vecenie was brutally honest regarding his concerns about Fears’ game.

“I’m not a Jeremiah Fears guy,” Vecenie said. “I said this from the jump of the Jeremiah Fears hype train: I have him as a ‘this person should consider going back to school’ guy.”

Fears was a four-star prospect and the No. 71 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. However, Fears quickly exceeded expectations for the Sooners.

Fears is averaging 15.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 43.7% from the field and 26.1% from beyond the arc. Alas, Fears hasn’t nearly found the same success during SEC play that he enjoyed early in the season.

Vecenie said the 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists versus 3.7 turnovers per game through his last 10 outings. During that stretch, Fears is shooting 35% from the floor and 19% from 3-point range.

Vecenie also dug beneath Fears’ surface-level stats to gain a better understanding of how the Sooners’ star’s inefficiency is affecting OU’s success. Vecenie found that Fears has a -1.5 box plus/minus during conference play.

Box plus/minus is an advanced metric that estimates a basketball player’s contribution to the team when that player is on the court. The average is a 0.0. Thus, if an analyst solely looked at Fears’ BPM, they would conclude that he’s hurting the Sooners when he’s on the court.

Of course, nothing is that simple but the concerning statistic will certainly give NBA scouts something to think about before pushing in their chips on Fears.

It’s worth noting that not every analyst is as critical of Fears’ game. Last week, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony projected Fears to be the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

“What makes Fears special is the way he handles the ball, gets to spots on the floor out of pick-and-rolls, passes, draws fouls and scores in a variety of ways, helping keep the Sooners in the NCAA tournament conversation,” Givony wrote.

“Showing growth with his defense, decision-making and shooting would help cement his candidacy as a top-10 pick. Fears’ talent has been vividly displayed even when he has struggled from an efficiency perspective.”

NBA scouts will have plenty of more time to evaluate Fears. The 2025 NBA Draft isn’t until June 25.