Alabama Crimson Tide star guard Marcus Sears announced Wednesday afternoon he would be withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning to Alabama.
Sears was a projected 2nd round pick, but decided it was best for him to go back to school to further develop his skills. Sears will be playing his 5th year of college ball.
Alabama has to be thrilled by this news. Sears averaged 21 points and 4 assists while making the All-SEC 1st team for the Tide last year. He also led them to their first final-four appearances in program history.
Alabama Retains Best Player
Mark Sears was the engine of the Tide’s number-one-ranked offense in the country. He averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 assists, and shot an astounding 44% from 3-point land. Last year’s Bama team was also one of the fastest-paced and fun teams to watch teams in the nation. Sears being the point guard was a big reason for this.
Sears played his first two seasons at Ohio before transferring to Alabama in 2022. Sears was a big-time scorer for Ohio, and it was questioned whether or not it would translate to a power conference school. There is no doubt that it has. Sears has been incredible in his two years with Bama.
While there’s no doubt Mark Sears is a great player, he has also shown his ability to be a leader for the rest of his team. Watching Alabama this past season, it’s very clear that the rest of the team follows his lead. He provides a calming presence for a team that likes to run and play fast. Sears coming back is huge for Alabama.
Tide Poised to Make Another Run
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This past season, Alabama got to a place they had never been before, the Final Four. However, shortly after their loss to eventual national champion Uconn, things started to look a little grim. John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas, opening up the coveted Kentucky job. It was looking like head coach Nate Oats would leave Bama for Big Blue Nation. Then, all signs pointed for the team’s leading scorer Mark Sears to leave for the NBA.
Now here we are in May, and both Oats and Sears will be with the Tide for the 2024-25 season. With both of these guys back and a retooled team, there’s no reason why Bama shouldn’t be towards the top of the SEC and a Final Four threat again next year.
The New Look SEC
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The SEC will look a whole lot different next year with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. While these two schools are traditionally football schools, each has had success on the basketball court in the last few years. Texas has been a consistent team 20 win team for the better part of a decade while Oklahoma always seems to be a fringe tourney team come March.
Then you have John Calipari and his talented players going from Kentucky to Arkansas. Kentucky ended up getting Kentucky alum and BYU coach Mark Pope to take over as their head coach.
You add all these programs to the field of Tennessee, Florida, and Auburn, Alabama is going to have their hands full every other night during SEC conference play.
About the Author
Cory is an Oregon Duck alumni from the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been playing, watching, and following basketball + baseball his whole life. Follow Cory on X @cory_pappas1 for more breaking stories and game previews.
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