Mark Christopher Sears (born February 19, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously played for the Ohio Bobcats.
 Sears with Alabama in 2023 | |
| No. 1 – Alabama Crimson Tide | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Southeastern Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | February 19, 2002 Florence, Alabama, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
editSears began his high school career at Muscle Shoals High School in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. In February 2019, he recorded 31 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in a 64–52 win over Bessemer City High School in the Class 6A Northwest Regional championship.[1] As a junior, he led the team to the Class 6A state semifinal. In August 2019, it was announced that Sears was no longer enrolled at the school.[2] He subsequently transferred to Hargrave Military Academy.[3] As a senior, Sears averaged 14 points, three assists and five rebounds per game and helped lead Hargrave to the Final 4 of the National Prep Championship with a 37–4 overall record. He committed to playing college basketball for Ohio.[4]
College career
editOhio
editAs a freshman, Sears came off the bench and began to see more minutes after Jason Preston was sidelined with a leg injury.[5] Sears averaged 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, earning MAC All-Freshman Team honors.[6] After Preston declared for the 2021 NBA draft following the season, Sears was named the team's starting point guard going into his sophomore season. In the offseason, he worked on improving his shooting by attempting 15,000 three-point shots.[5] On December 21, 2021, Sears scored 33 points in an 85–70 win over USC Upstate.[7] He scored a career-high 37 points on March 21, 2022, in a 91–86 loss to Abilene Christian in the College Basketball Invitational.[8] Sears was named to the First Team All-MAC after the 2021–22 season.[9] As a sophomore, he averaged 19.6 points, six rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. On March 30, 2022, Sears entered the transfer portal.[10]
Alabama
editOn April 8, 2022, Sears announced that he had committed to Alabama.[11] He averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Sears was named to the Second Team All-SEC. Following the season, he declared for the 2023 NBA draft before returning to Alabama for his senior year.[12]
Personal life
editSears is the son of Chad and Lameka Sears.[13] Sears is a Christian.[14]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Ohio | 24 | 5 | 19.5 | .467 | .279 | .851 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .0 | 8.5 |
| 2021–22 | Ohio | 35 | 35 | 35.7 | .444 | .408 | .884 | 6.0 | 4.1 | 1.7 | .1 | 19.6 |
| 2022–23 | Alabama | 37 | 37 | 29.8 | .406 | .345 | .847 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.2 | .1 | 12.5 |
| 2023–24 | Alabama | 37 | 37 | 33.6 | .508 | .436 | .857 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 1.6 | .1 | 21.5 |
| Career | 133 | 114 | 30.6 | .460 | .389 | .863 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 1.4 | .1 | 16.2 | |
References
edit- ^ Boyette, Daniel (February 20, 2019). "Muscle Shoals 64, Bessemer City 52: Trojans return to state for 1st time in 3 years". AL.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Craig (August 14, 2019). "Basketball standout Mark Sears is no longer enrolled at Muscle Shoals". TimesDaily. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Craig (August 19, 2019). "Former Muscle Shoals star Mark Sears transferring to Hargrave Military Academy". TimesDaily. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ "Ohio Men's Basketball Set for Season Opening Multi-Team Event at Illinois". Ohio Bobcats. November 24, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ a b Gleckler, Jack (January 20, 2022). "Men's Basketball: How Mark Sears stepped into his role as a starter". The Post. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ Harkins, Lukas (September 2, 2021). "Ohio Basketball: Mark Sears set for sophomore breakout to lead Bobcats". Heat Check CBB. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Sears carries Ohio over South Carolina Upstate 85-70". ESPN. Associated Press. December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ "Abilene Christian fends off scrappy Ohio in College Basketball Invitational quarterfinals". Abilene Reporter-News. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Postseason Awards Announced" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ Gleckler, Jack (March 30, 2022). "Men's Basketball: Mark Sears enters transfer portal". The Post. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ Kelly, Nick (April 8, 2022). "Alabama basketball lands Ohio transfer Mark Sears". Tuscaloosanews.com. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Cody (May 30, 2023). "Alabama guard Mark Sears to withdraw from draft, return for senior year". The Rookie Wire. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "Mark Sears". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Mercer, Kevin. "Mark Sears leads Alabama to its first-ever Final Four: 'Give all honor and glory to God'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved 4 April 2024.