Tom Izzo says Jeremy Fears has “Mateen-type” leadership skills

Tom Izzo dropped several good quotes on The Drive with Jack on Wednesday, including an interesting comparison for Jeremy Fears.

It’s safe to say that the 2023-24 Michigan State basketball season will soon be forgotten. Unlike some previous seasons, this one was less than memorable with the No. 4 team in the country going from “national title contender” to “bubble team” in the span of a few months. A lot went wrong for the Spartans this year, including Tom Izzo losing his backup point guard and star freshman Jeremy Fears Jr. to a gunshot wound suffered over Christmas break.

Obviously this is something you never plan for as a coach, but Izzo went from having an embarrassment of riches in the backcourt to relying heavily on Tre Holloman to take that next step.

Fortunately, Holloman did take a step forward, but AJ Hoggard did not. The backcourt could have really used Fears in the second half of the season. Instead, he was sidelined on crutches for a while before participating in warm-ups and walk-throughs with the team.

Near the end of the year, he looked as close to full health as you can just a few months after getting shot in the thigh.

Jack Ebling asked Izzo about Fears on ‘The Drive with Jack’ on Wednesday and he had nothing but glowing remarks about his freshman point guard.

“He’s got those same Mateen-type quarterback skills and leadership skills. I don’t want to put too much pressure on (Fears) but I think he’s got those skills. He’s got to improve his shooting like Mateen did. But he can guard, he’s a really good athlete. He’s a solid 190-something pounds and he works. He works morning, noon, and night.”

Izzo went on to say that while Fears’ situation was less than ideal, he learned a lot by watching from the bench in a player-coach type of role.

Any time Izzo compares a player to Mateen, you can’t help but get excited. Fears feels like he’ll be special here.