What Tom Izzo had to say about Jeremy Fears following recent incidents
· Yahoo Sports
It's been quite a week for Jeremy Fears Jr. and the discourse occurring on social media surrounding whether or not he's a dirty player or not. On Friday, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo commented on the recent incidents surrounding his star guard.
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Izzo met with the media on Friday ahead of the Spartans' upcoming top 10 matchup against Illinois on Saturday night. As you would expect, Izzo was asked about Fears and where things stand after he took a costly technical foul in Wednesday's upset loss at Minnesota. This coming on the heels of Michigan head coach Dusty May calling out Fears and the Spartans for perceived dirty plays in their recent rivalry game.
Izzo responded stating he had "a come to Jesus meeting" with Fears and noted that Fears "understands what's going on." Izzo then defended Fears' character and stated that if he believed Fears was openly trying to hurt anyone, then he "wouldn't be here."
You can see the full clip of Izzo's response in the social media post below -- courtesy of Michigan State Content:
Tom Izzo spoke more on Jeremy Fears today.
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) February 6, 2026
“I had a come to Jesus meeting with him again and I think he understands what’s going on.”
“The way I look at is he’s a 3.1 student, he’s had no injuries, he’s done absolutely zero off the court. Never had a problem in the classroom,… pic.twitter.com/72DM2BSnwR
Izzo previously said directly after the Minnesota game that he may bench Fears for the next game against Illinois to help prove a point that losing his composure can't continue to happen. Izzo doubled down on that take on Friday, stating he is unsure if he'll start Fears or not on Saturday against the Fighting Illini. Things on that front, however, have gotten more complicated with primary backup point guard Divine Ugochukwu now out for the season with a foot injury -- which was suffered in that loss at Minnesota earlier this week.
Whether or not Izzo benches Fears on Saturday, it's clear that he's defending his star guard and will certainly not keep him on the bench for long in that game. This will hopefully be the last time this type of incident comes up and we can move on from this story after today.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Izzo comments on Jeremy Fears, held a 'come to Jesus' meeting with star PG