What Nate Oats said about Mark Sears' upcoming NBA draft decision
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mark Sears has until Wednesday, May 29, to decide whether he will stay in the 2024 NBA Draft or withdraw and return to Alabama for a fifth year of college.
Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats was asked where things stand with Sears’ decision at a Yea Alabama event on Tuesday evening and said he expects the wait to last another week.
“We just kind of met with him to see where he’s at,” Oats said. “He’s got two more workouts – he’s gonna work out for Houston and Milwaukee – and we’ll get the feedback. It’s gonna go right up to the last day because he’s got the workout with Milwaukee on the 29th. If the feedback’s not a guaranteed contract, I think he’d love to come back here and try to win a national championship. But obviously, his ultimate goal is to play in the NBA.
“We’ve told him, if he gets great feedback, then he’s gonna get a guaranteed contract and we’re all happy and he stays in the draft. He’s already graduated college and achieves his lifelong goal to play in the NBA. If we feel like it’s more of a two-way (contract), then I think he’s gonna be back here and we’re gonna try to win a national championship with him.
“He’s in a great spot either way, and we’re in a great spot, too. We take a kid that transferred to Ohio, and we’re either gonna get him back and try to win the national championship or we’re gonna help him get to the NBA. So we’re all in a good spot with him.”
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Sears declared for the 2024 NBA Draft on April 17 and did so while maintaining his eligibility – meaning he can choose to return to the Crimson Tide for a fifth and final season in advance of the May 29 deadline. Sears went through the draft process a year ago but didn’t earn an invite to the 2023 NBA Combine before choosing to return to Alabama in 2023-24.
It proved to be a wise decision as Sears was Alabama’s leading scorer this season during the program’s first-ever Final Four run. Sears averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from 3-point range in 37 straight starts. He also started 37 games in a row as a junior at Alabama in 2022-23.
Scoring 20 points in 26 games this past season, which is a new school record, Sears set the Alabama single-season mark for points (797). Before the Crimson Tide’s NCAA Tournament run, Sears was named First Team All-SEC and a consensus second-team All-American.
Sears attended the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago but missed some time due to a minor injury. He is one of three Alabama players currently in the draft, along with Aaron Estrada and Jarin Stevenson – who also has until May 29 to decide if he will return to Tuscaloosa.
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