Sam Vecenie weighs pros, cons of drafting Jeremiah Fears

After only one year at Oklahoma, Jeremiah Fears is heading to the NBA. Alas, not everybody is convinced that Fears is ready for the next level. On the Game Theory Podcast, The Athletic draft expert Sam Vecenie provided an in-depth evaluation of Fears’ game.

“Here’s the upside swing though — unbelievable handle,” Vecenie said about Fears. “He can get into the paint almost at will. Great first step, like you said. Great change of pace, moves, in-and-out, dribbles and hesitations to get defenders reeling in space, strings together multiple moves super, super, well. Great against slower bigs. I thought he can get by bigger bodies playing with bend and getting low and out-leveraging them.

“He has no problem with physicality on the interior. He will go into the paint and take bumps and go and just get drilled and have no issue with it. I really, really respect the fact that he is able to handle those bumps in the way that he does. The real concern here is not a great finisher right now, not a great shooter right now.”

Fears entered college as a four-star recruit but quickly looked like one of the best freshmen in the country. He finished the year averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

However, as Vecenie mentioned, Fears’ efficiency left much to be desired. The 6-foot-4 guard only shot 43.4% from the field and 28.4% from beyond the arc. Additionally, Fears averaged 3.4 turnovers per outing.

While some scouts seem to believe Fears’ pros outweigh his cons, Vecenie doesn’t appear to be certain. Vecenie is especially critical of Fears’ defensive abilities.

“When he wanted to defend, he clearly had the quickness to stay in front of his man. I don’t think that it will go well with him in switches,” Vecenie said. “He’s just not strong enough right now. But, he also just allowed guys to beat him off the bounce pretty regularly. Then, when he got screened, it was dead. He would just stop playing.

“Off the ball, like ball watching, would just totally fall asleep on stuff. Just not a lot of margin for error, given his size and like strength levels, right? That’s the reality. He has a real chance to get attacked and a real chance to get hammered in screens.”

Jeremiah Fears’ defense didn’t prevent him from reeling All-SEC Freshman Team honors this past season and putting on a show in the SEC Tournament. Now, Fears will look to prove Vecenie wrong as he prepares for the next level.