Not even a year after Ohio guard Jeremy Fears helped lead the Bobcats to a Mid-American Conference Tournament championship, the sophomore point guard has taken a leave of absence from the Ohio men's basketball team.
After a rocky start to his second season with the Bobcats, in which Fears has dealt with personal problems and a nagging back injury, he will not appear on the Bobcats bench for the remainder of the season. The former All-MAC Tournament team member met with coach Tim O'Shea around 4 p.m. yesterday and discussed what his future would entail.
We had a good talk
and he (O'Shea) relieved me from the team for personal reasons Fears said. I'm going to take these last games off and try to take care of some personal business.
Fears talked with O'Shea in his office in the Ohio basketball suite for 37 minutes before he spoke with a sports psychologist for another 30. He arrived back in Athens a short time before the meetings after spending the previous five days at home in Joliet, Ill.
Fears attended a funeral for a family member and spent the rest of the time with his family figuring out what he wanted to do while he was absent from the team's games against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.
After the meetings, O'Shea released a statement.
Jeremy Fears has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons for the remainder of this year O'Shea said. I consider this a privacy issue for Jeremy and will have no further comments.
Fears averaged 11 points and 3.6 assists per game for the Bobcats last season, but his playing time and numbers fell during this season. He has been handling fatherhood and homesickness, and rumors have abounded about him transferring to a school closer to home. He will remain on scholarship the rest of this school year and will remain on campus as he finishes up his classes.
I will be here supporting and cheering the team
and I will finish out this year and see what the next step is
Fears said. I'll definitely be exploring my other options
preferably back home
but I just want to find the right fit.
Though there has been talk of chemistry problems, Fears said there were no conflicts in the locker room.
There were a few different reasons
mainly personal
why I decided on leaving
Fears said. But everybody's cool and know what's going on; there are no conflicts
and that's about it.
Fears' former roommate and teammate, forward Leon Williams, declined to comment on Fears' reasons for leaving the team.
The Bobcats will be back in action at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Oxford to take on the Miami RedHawks.
