How Fears' Ball Distribution Has Benefited MSU
The Michigan State Spartans added another tally mark to their win column for the season as they took down the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday by a score of 86-69. On the backs of many star performances, not much could have been done without the maestro himself, redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
Fears has been elite this season when it comes to the assists statistic. He not only added more to his long list of assists on the season in MSU's victory on Saturday when he dished out a game-high eight assists, but is also a threat on offense himself.
Fears also put some points up on the board for MSU, dropping 13 points in 23 minutes of play. The offensive leader for MSU was sophomore forward Coen Carr, who led the Spartans to victory with his career-high 17 points.
On the season, Fears has averaged 7.3 points a game, and his rebounding skills have elevated him to the top-five status among the Big Ten. He also ranks fourth in average assists per game, with 5.7.
MSU needs a player of Fears' caliber, as he has shown he does not care only about his individual performance and cares more about what he can do to help the team win. That is what Fears has done all season, and it has been shown in his assist numbers.
While Fears may be in a role that sees him passing the ball more to the more experienced shooters, he can also find ways to hurt opponents when he is open enough to shoot the ball. As Fears' collegiate career continues, fans should fully expect him to utilize both his shooting and passing skills.
As a top-five assist leader in the conference, Fears has averaged the least amount of minutes of the five. This means that he has focused on that portion of his game and finds more success in a shorter amount of time on the court than the other leaders. He is also one of two freshmen in the top five in that category as well.
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Dominic Minchella holds a communications degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is a former MLB writer and joins our team ad an NFL/College team reporter on Sports Illustrated