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Has OU freshman Jeremiah Fears figured it out?

Bob Przybyloby:Bob Przybylo•about 14 hours•

BPrzybylo

Jeremiah Fears13
OU point guard Jeremiah Fears. (Bryan Terry - Imagn Images).

Seriously, you cannot blame OU basketball fans if they thought ‘here we go again.’ The initial three games in the SEC were telling a very familiar story.

Point guard looks like an all-conference player during the non-conference portion. Lights up the scoreboard, spreads the ball around, can’t wait until January and February.

Except, well, they fall apart. Scoring dips. Defensive effort is basically non-existent. And the team stumbles.

Grant Sherfield, Javian McCollum but not Jeremiah Fears, right? Sure was looking like that after a two-point outing on 1-for-11 shooting in a loss at Georgia.

However, Fears has bounced back. And he has bounced back in a way where you feel very comfortable the last two games are more indicative of who he is. That the last two games are a freshman simply figuring things out.

“It’s been good. I know last game he almost had a triple-double,” senior Jalon Moore said. “It’s been good seeing him get comfortable and showcase every aspect of his game, whether it’s rebounding, assists, scoring or passing. Seeing him get comfortable is big because we need him, need him in every game, especially going deep into SEC play. It’s been good seeing his growth.”

Fears found something in a loss against Texas and really returned to form in the 82-62 victory against South Carolina.

Because Fears scoring the ball is nice, no doubt. But Fears running the offense and doing everything else? That’s when he and OU are clicking the most.

He turned in one of his better overall games, period. Fears finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and just two turnovers.

Nine rebounds and eight assists are career highs in both categories.

“I’m really impressed in how… we’re all in this together,” head coach Porter Moser said. “For him to almost get a triple-double, that shows me that he’s focusing on other things besides scoring. You get nine rebounds, eight assists… how valuable that is.

“He looked better, coming into the game ready. I think he needed so much of that. To get a win… you need to win to stop that narrative. Now he can just get that off his, everybody’s back.”

Teams are going to try to be physical with Fears, try to bully him. You get it, all makes sense. But Fears can dish it right back, and he still has that something special that nobody can stop when he’s rolling.

OU needs him to be rolling, starting once again Saturday night (7:30) at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are coming off their initial SEC victory, a come-from-behind effort vs. UGA.

Scouting Arkansas

“They’re just—his teams are always going to play so incredibly hard. Watching them, that’s my takeaway, is their length—Thiero, Brazile, Aidoo—they’re just so long. Their athleticism of DJ (Wagner) and Johnell Davis, just their athleticism going downhill. They’re two powerful guards. We’re going to have to be really strong with the ball.” – Moser

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