Alabama’s Mark Sears will withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school for his final season of eligibility, he told ESPN on Wednesday.
“I got good feedback from the NBA,” Sears told ESPN. “But I can still get better in a few areas. I want to show that I’m a dog on defense next season, bring vocal leadership and work on my body and get in better shape. The NIL changed basketball and the NBA team told me that’s the age in today’s game. Not a factor, so I was comfortable coming back to try to bring a national championship to Alabama.”
The NCAA deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA draft and maintain college eligibility was Wednesday at 11:59 pm ET.
In addition to Sears, Alabama’s Zarin Stevenson also withdrew his name from the draft before the deadline, a source told ESPN. Stevenson averaged 5.3 points as a freshman last season.
Sears was one of the best players in college basketball in 2023–24, earning second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC honors. He led Alabama to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament with several big outings.
The Alabama native averaged 21.5 points (44% shooting from 3), 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists, leading one of the fastest and most potent offenses in the country.
Sears made a significant leap from the previous year, becoming a much more dynamic shooter and prolific overall scorer, something he said will carry over into his fifth season of college basketball.
“I’ve gotten better every year and next season will be no different,” Sears said. “I got a taste of the Final Four, and now I want to finish it and bring it home.”
Sears’ return to Tuscaloosa is a big boon for Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide, who enter the season as one of the early favorites to win the national championship.
Alabama returns another March Madness darling for Grant Nelson’s final season of eligibility, perhaps Sears’ strongest competition for preseason SEC Player of the Year, as well as part-time starter Latrell Wrightsel Jr.
The Tide reeled in Rutgers center Cliff Omorui, one of Portal’s top transfers, as well as USF wing and AAC co-player of the year Chris Youngblood, former five-star point guard Aiden Holloway and shooting guard Houston Mallett from Auburn. Pepperdine.
Oates will have several talented high school recruits in Darrion Reed, LaBron Fillon, Aiden Sherrell and Nas Cunningham.
“I’m very excited about the team we have coming in,” Sears said. “I’ve got to do a good job of getting these guys going in the right direction. I’m confident we can win the national championship.”
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.
