September 19, 2024
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Jeremy Fears Jr. reportedly gets extra year of eligibility after shooting

Former Joliet West star played in 12 games as freshman at Michigan St.

By J.T. Pedelty
Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr., left, and Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler react near the bench during a game against Indiana State, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr., left, and Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler react near the bench during a game against Indiana State late last December in East Lansing, Mich. (Al Goldis/AP)

Jeremy Fears Jr. reportedly has been granted an additional year of collegiate eligibility after playing only 12 games his freshman season with the Michigan State Spartans because of a Dec. 23, 2023, shooting in Joliet while he was home over Christmas break.

Fears Jr. is a point guard at Michigan State University, a 2023 Joliet West graduate and a former Herald-News Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

According to 247Sports reporter Justin Thind, the NCAA has granted Fears a medical redshirt for last season, during which he played a dozen games before the Dec. 23 incident. According to Thind, Fears Jr. was granted “a special exemption.”

Fears, then 18, was shot in the leg and a 19-year-old woman was shot in the pelvis in the 300 block of St. Jude Avenue in Joliet. The suspect fired a gun inside the residence, striking the two victims, and then fled the scene, police said. No arrests have been announced in the case.

Fears averaged 15.3 minutes per game for the Spartans before the injury and has been working his way back to full strength in team workouts.

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