Beyond the noise, Fears Jr. leads as a dominant playmaker, now recognized with All-Big Ten First-Team honors for his elite passing and scoring surge.
Jeremy Fears Jr has earned All-Big Ten First-team honors.
The player the nation loves to hate.
He plays for the coach the nation loves to hate. For a team the nation loves to watch in hopes of witnessing a rare loss. But all that noise is lost within the halls of the Breslin Center. Inside those walls, it’s something different.
It’s a team. A family.
And that family has a leader. Not Tom Izzo — but Jeremy Fears Jr.
Think of it like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Izzo is Splinter, the wise mentor who has always been there to mold the Spartans. Jeremy Fears sits in the role of Leonardo — the leader, the one the rest of the team follows.
That leadership didn’t go unnoticed.
Fears earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors as voted on by USA Today.
The junior point guard averaged a nation-best 9.1 assists per game this season. Fears currently sits fourth all-time in Big Ten history for assists in a single season — and the season may not be over yet.
As it stands, Fears has 281 assists on the year.
Sitting in third place is Michigan State legend Cassius Winston, who recorded 291 assists during the 2018–19 season. Ahead of both Spartans is current Purdue point guard Braden Smith, who owns both the first and second spots on the list. Smith recorded 292 assists during the 2023–24 season and followed that up with 313 assists in the 2024–25 campaign.
That puts Fears just 10 assists behind Winston for third place and only 32 assists away from tying Smith’s Big Ten record. One more than that would cement him as the best single-season passer in conference history.
And those numbers include potential Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament games.
But Fears’ rise didn’t happen overnight.
As a freshman, he soaked in everything around him. Playing in just 12 games and receiving no starts, Fears learned from afar — studying from the bench and picking up every detail he could.
His sophomore year was when things began to take shape.
Fears became a consistent starter for Izzo’s club, though he still understood his role within the offense. He averaged a modest 5.7 assists per game while attempting just five field goals per contest. His three-point attempts sat at only 1.1 per game, and he finished the season averaging 7.2 points.
It was a steady step forward, but nothing yet hinted at what was coming.
Then came his junior season.
This year, Fears became the leader of the team, and Izzo was ready to ride or die with his point guard. The result was an explosion onto the national scene.
While averaging a nation-leading 9.1 assists per game is impressive on its own, it only tells part of the story. As gifted of a passer as Fears is, his scoring ability has become just as dangerous.
Nearly every offensive statistic took a major leap.
His field-goal attempts jumped to 10.2 per game. Three-point attempts rose to 3.1 per game. Three-point makes climbed from 0.4 to 1.1 per contest. Two-point attempts increased from 3.9 to 7.1 per game.
Most importantly, his scoring more than doubled — climbing to 15.5 points per game.
That type of growth turned Fears from a facilitator into a complete offensive threat.
Because of that, he is more than deserving of the First-Team All-Big Ten honor — even if certain rival fan bases might disagree.
Fears has recently been under heavy scrutiny due to what critics call his “antics” on the court. Much of that criticism has come from Michigan players, coaches, and fans who have voiced their frustrations loudly. Ironically, those same critics often overlook similar behavior from their own side.
But the louder someone yells doesn’t make them right.
And regardless of the outside noise, nothing can take away the recognition Fears has earned this season.
On a quick side note, it’s also worth mentioning Fears’ teammate Jaxon Kohler. While Kohler did not make the First or Second Team All-Big Ten lists, he did receive votes and was named an honorable mention.
Which is somewhat surprising.
Kohler leads the best rebounding team in the conference in rebounds and sits second on the team in scoring, all while playing for the third-best team in the Big Ten. Yet somehow that production didn’t land him among the conference’s top 10 players.
Still, this article isn’t about complaining — whether about Michigan fans or Kohler’s absence from the list.
It’s about giving praise where it’s deserved.
Jeremy Fears Jr. has proven himself to be one of the best players in the conference and one of the most impactful point guards Michigan State has seen in years.
Perhaps even one of the most talented Spartans to come through the halls of East Lansing.
Congratulations to Jeremy Fears Jr. on an incredible season.
Now it’s time to chase records, shock the Big Ten, and see just how far this Spartan team can go.