Joliet West’s Fears opts for farewell
Jeremy Fears waited and watched the news. His son, Jeremy Fears Jr., is one of the top sophomores in the country, recently ranked No. 21 by 247sports. com.
“Nothing is looking good,” the elder Fears said. “It doesn’t look like there will be much of a season — or a season at all.”
A decision had to be made: Stay at Joliet West and wonder if there will be basketball, or head to a nationally ranked prep school that could pretty much guarantee a full season.
The decision was made late Wednesday night. Fears is leaving Joliet West for La Lumiere, a prep school in La Porte, Indiana.
“Jeremy did not want to go for so long,” his father said. “He wanted to stay and win a state championship for Joliet. But the more he read and the more he saw, he thought there wasn’t going to be much here. He already missed his freshman year playoff run. These are years he can’t get back. He just wants to play. That’s it.”
The younger Fears had a tremendous summer, piling up scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Mississippi, Ohio, Kansas State, Creighton and DePaul.
He was the starting point guard for Joliet West last season as a freshman, helping the Tigers finish 29- 4. They were still alive when the coronavirus pandemic forced the Illinois High School Association to cancel the Class 4A state playoffs.
Joliet West was expected to be a top- 10 local team this season. But due to the coronavirus restrictions, the Tigers — if there is a season — will only be able to compete against teams in their pandemic region. The area isn’t particularly strong.
La Lumiere, a boarding school, will play against some of the best teams in the country: Oak Hill, Montverde, Sunrise Christian and more. And its games are often televised on ESPN. The Lakers were 22- 5 last season and played opponents from 11 states.
Fears has a younger brother, Jeremiah, currently in eighth grade in Joliet.
“La Lumiere is just an hour and a half away,” the elder Fears said. “Jeremy is only 15, so if I sent him far off, I would have had to go with him. Now I can focus on Jeremiah and get to Jeremy whenever I need to in a matter of hours. It makes sense.”
Expect Fears to be the first of many highly regarded prospects to transfer out of state.
“It’s crazy, but I do think more people are going to start leaving,” his father said.
The IHSA is hoping to get some clarity on winter sports from Gov. J. B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health around Oct. 28. It seems likely that winter sports — with practices currently scheduled to start Nov. 16 and games on Nov. 30 — will be delayed. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson hinted more than two months ago that he believed a mid- December start was likely for basketball.
Any actual decision would be helpful to other families like the Fearses, who have wondered for months what will happen.
“HE WANTED TO STAY AND WIN A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR JOLIET. BUT . . . HE THOUGHT THERE WASN’T GOING TO BE MUCH HERE. HE ALREADY MISSED HIS FRESHMAN YEAR PLAYOFF RUN. THESE ARE YEARS HE CAN’T GET BACK. HE JUST WANTS TO PLAY. THAT’S IT.” JEREMY FEARS, about his son, Jeremy Fears Jr., who is transferring from Joliet West to a prep school in Indiana