Joliet's Jeremy Fears Jr. Has Several College Hoops Suitors

JOLIET, IL —Last Tuesday, Joliet native and high school junior-to-be Jeremy Fears Jr. announced on Twitter that he had received an offer to play college basketball at University of Connecticut, adding to the standout point guard's already extensive list of college suitors.

Fears, who went to Joliet West as a freshman and now attends La Lumiere School in LaPorte, Indiana, currently is showing 16 college offers on Rivals.com, the college recruiting site, including: Illinois, Auburn, Gonzaga, DePaul, Maryland and Creighton. In June, Fears also announced he had received an offer from Indiana University after an unofficial visit to Bloomington.

Fears' father, Jeremy Fears Sr., told the Chicago Sun-Times last fall that his son transferred to hoops powerhouse La Lumiere due to uncertainty about the status of Illinois high school basketball during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Fears Jr. currently is ranked as the No. 23 overall player and the No. 6 point guard in the class of 2023 by recruiting website 247sports.com. He is ranked by ESPN at No. 40 in the class, while Rivals ranks him at No. 54.

Jeremy Fears Sr. was a high school star at Joliet Township. After graduating in 2004, he played collegiately at Ohio University and Bradley before playing professionally in Greece. After the recruiting trip to Indiana, the elder Fears described the strengths of his son's game to Indiana recruiting site InsidetheHall.com.

"He's a natural-born winner and leader," Fears Sr. said about his son. "He does not believe in losing. He will go play by play the entire game. He's just so vocal. It's contagious. He can change a culture (of a program)."

Fears senior described how his son, as a 14-year-old freshman, helped lead Joliet West to a 29-4 record in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season, after the team won just five game the previous campaign.

"With a 14-year old freshman leading the charge, they beat some city powerhouses. We were going to go to state for the first time in 20-something years if it wasn't for COVID," Jeremy Fears Sr. said. "Just his leadership is next-level when it comes to wins and losses and making guys better around him. His intangibles as a point guard and passing ability (are strong). He's electric with the ball. His understanding and IQ have always been high. His nickname is "Coach J" because of his IQ. He's a coach on the floor."

Fears Jr. plays for the Brad Beal Elite AAU team based out of St. Louis. In June, the team finished runner-up to Pennsylvania's Team Final at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina, one of the nation's elite AAU basketball tournaments.