TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For the second year in a row, Alabama guard Mark Sears has declared for the NBA Draft while keeping the option open to return to school, per his social media pages.
Sears went through the NBA Draft process last season before withdrawing and returning to Alabama for his senior season, which ended up being a great decision. Sears saw a major uptick in production, becoming not only one of the best players in the SEC, but in all of college basketball.
Sears averaged 21.5 points per game, the most by an Alabama player in multiple decades. He did his scoring with incredible efficiency, shooting over 50 percent from the floor and over 43 percent from beyond the arc. His performance this past season earned him first team All-SEC and consensus All-American honors.
Because his freshman year of college was the 2020-21 season, Sears still has an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It's unclear whether Sears will stay in the draft or return to school, as his performance in the NCAA Tournament helped boost his stock tremendously. He averaged 24.2 points in the tournament while leading Alabama to its first Final Four in school history, and also won the Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional.
With Sears not officially staying in the draft yet, Alabama still has two open roster spots for next season. The Crimson Tide has lost five players from last year's team to the transfer portal: Kris Parker, Rylan Griffen, Davin Cosby, Sam Walters, and Nick Pringle. Nate Oats and his staff have already added two players from the portal as well.
The deadline for Sears to withdraw from the NBA Draft is May 29. The NBA Draft will take place on June 26 and 27.
Check out BamaCentral's 2024-25 Alabama basketball roster tracker for a complete breakdown on where the roster currently stands.