Michigan State basketball player Jeremy Fears shot in leg

Last updated: 2023/12/23 at 11:25 PM

BigP Published December 23, 2023

John Fanta

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

Michigan State freshman guard Jeremy Fears was shot in the leg late Friday night/early Saturday morning near his hometown of Joliet, Illinois, the Spartans program announced.

In a story first reported by Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press, Fears suffered a non-life-threatening injury to the leg.

“Jeremy underwent surgery this morning and is resting comfortably,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said in a statement. “While there is much we still don’t know, my focus is supporting Jeremy on his road to recovery.”

Fears, a four-star recruit out of Joliet West High School who was named Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year and was rated in the top 30 nationally by recruiting services, is averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 assists in 15.3 minutes per game.

Fears was in Joliet spending Christmas break with his family when the incident occurred.

A message from FOX Sports with the Joliet Police Department has not been returned, but the department posted a statement on its Facebook page Saturday afternoon saying that officers found two people shot in a residence at 3:44 a.m. Saturday. The agency identified the victims only as a 19-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man. Fears is 18, according to the Michigan State team website.

The woman had been shot in the pelvis, and the man had been shot in the thigh. Their wounds were not life-threatening. Investigators believe the victims were inside the residence along with others when a male suspect armed with a handgun entered through the front door and opened fire before fleeing. The suspect’s motive is unknown. He was still at large as of Saturday afternoon.

Fears posted a photo on his Instagram story of himself lying in what appears to be a hospital bed. The photo’s caption described the shooting as a “minor setback.”

Fears was coming off his best game as a Spartan in the assists column, posting 10 dishes to only one turnover in Michigan State’s 99-55 win over Stony Brook on Thursday.

The Spartans are off for the next week before hosting Indiana State in their non-conference finale on Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.