Oklahoma star Fears declares for NBA draft
Oklahoma freshman Jeremiah Fears is entering the NBA draft and forgoing his remaining college eligibility, he announced Wednesday on ESPN's "The Paul Finebaum Show," per Jonathan Givony.
"I was lucky to walk into a great situation at Oklahoma with a lot of opportunity," Fears said. "I had great teammates and coaches working with me every day to help a young freshman achieve his dreams."
Fears is widely projected to be taken in the lottery. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 boards, 4.1 assists, and 1.6 steals across 34 appearances during his lone season with the Sooners. He finished seventh in the SEC in both scoring and assists.
Fears was also second in the conference in free-throw attempts (215), but he committed the 12th-most turnovers in the NCAA. The 18-year-old was an SEC All-Freshman Team selection and named to the Wooden Award's midseason watch list.
He averaged 22.4 points and 5.4 assists over his last eight appearances, helping Oklahoma earn a berth in the Big Dance.
Fears tallied 20 points, five boards, four assists, and two steals in the Sooners' opening-round NCAA Tournament loss to UConn.