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Alabama

Nate Oats identifies why Mark Sears is playing best basketball late in season

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•about 9 hours•

BarkleyTruax

NCAA Basketball: Alabama at Texas A&M
Jan 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oates talks with Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) prior to the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Mark Sears is averaging 32.5 points per game across Alabama’s last two matchups, including a 30-point performance that led the Crimson Tide over Kentucky over the weekend.

Scoring well above his 18.9 points per game average, Alabama head coach Nate Oats believes his star point guard is playing his best basketball of the season for a reason.

“I think he just wants to win,” Oats said of his star point guard. “He came back to try to win the national championship, He came back to try to play his way into the NBA. Winning solves a lot of that stuff. If you look, he’s not really forcing it, pressing it. He got stuck in the lane where, like in the past, I think he would have thrown up a bad shot. He kicks it out. I think Holloway hit a three off it, if I remember correctly. We got a good shot off the possession. 

“He’s trying to play the right way. He’s as coachable as he’s ever been. And his effort on defense has been through the roof, really, the last three, four weeks or so. So just a combination of let’s get him to lead, let’s play the right way on both sides of the ball and give us total effort on defense, and I think he’s been doing that, and I’m super happy with the way he’s been playing.”

Sears got a taste of the Final Four last season, and instead of taking his talents to the professional level made the decision to return to Tuscaloosa for one more season. Based on the Crimson Tide’s success this season, many are expecting them to find themselves right back in the mix this postseason.

Returning for his fifth season of college basketball for the 2024-25 season, Sears’ scoring total is down from 21.9 points per game last year. Still, he’s among the top 50 scorers in the country with his 18.9 average.

His return has played a major role in the Crimson Tide’s 22-5 record this season, which has them projected as a 1-seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament.

With Sears leading the charge, Alabama has a gauntlet ahead of them to finish the regular season. They’re set to host No. 24 Mississippi State on Tuesday night, and will take on No. 5 Tennessee, No. 3 Florida and No. 1 Auburn consecutively, all before the 2025 SEC Tournament begins.