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OU guard Jeremiah Fears' approach not being questioned

Bob Przybyloby:Bob Przybylo•about 11 hours•

BPrzybylo

When you’re in such a loaded league like OU is this season in the SEC, every game is under a microscope. Right or wrong, that’s the way it works out.

For the last couple of weeks? That’s been OK for OU and freshman star Jeremiah Fears. After being bumped around by Texas A&M and Georgia, Fears had found his footing again.

Three straight top-notch performances. Only to come crashing back to earth Tuesday in the 75-68 loss at A&M.

It wasn’t just the zero points that were a concern. There were times where, maybe for the first time, it truly felt like Fears had no answer how to snap out of it.

“My whole thing? Put it behind him, learn from it, talked to him about it,” head coach Porter Moser said. “Talked about when you come back into a game, have your mind back in the game before your body. If you come out and then come back in, see what’s going on.

“Have your mind in the game before your body checks in. That’s a thing that older guys understand. Very confident he’ll bounce back against Vanderbilt and have a great game.”

Fears played 19 minutes with zero points, three assists and two turnovers. Fears has been in double-digits every game except for at UGA (2 points) and now in College Station.

The pressure is going to keep coming. With OU at 15-5 overall and 2-5 in the SEC, every game is going to pick up more importance.

It’s another Quad 1 opportunity coming Saturday vs. No. 24 Vanderbilt at 2:30 on the SEC Network. A good game there, and you can’t push Tuesday to the side.

The results might not always be there, and they certainly weren’t Tuesday. But if you ask Moser, Fears is still as locked in as ever. And maybe? As he is playing more and more against great competition, learning the value of a locked in approach.

“I think he’s handled it great,” said Moser about the usage rate pressure. “I really do. He’s a great teammate. He’s been great to study and film with and learn from. He tries so much to learn and address the things that he needs to get better at. That’s handling it.

“You’re not always gonna be A+ on production, but his approach is getting so much better. Sometimes when you’re young you focus on the outcome too much and the result, and that’s natural for anybody. I think his approach is really improving. And that shows me he’s handling it better. And he handles it really good.”

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