Alabama’s Mark Sears Shows Upside in Recent Outbursts
On Saturday, Feb. 22, Alabama’s Mark Sears led his team to a big win over No. 17 Kentucky with his second straight game scoring 30 or more. He returned to school this season as one of the top lead guards in the nation, and while his season as a whole has been impressive, this recent uptick in productivity may be lifting him to another level. The control and patience he plays with may make up for his lack of elite size, and continuing this level of play through the end of the year could skyrocket him up draft boards.
Let’s take a closer look at Sears’ last two games and how these strong performances may have changed how he is viewed by NBA teams.
Through 26 games this year, Sears has averaged 18.9 points, three rebounds, 4.8 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting 41.2% from the field, 35.3% from three and 84.1% from the free-throw line. He has led Alabama in points and assists in each of their last three outings, despite the team having a 1-3 record over this span. Sears scored 18 points in the first game of this stretch but exploded with massive performances in each of his last two.
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Sears broke out with a 30-point showing in a 110-98 loss to Missouri. While the Crimson Tide defense struggled in this game, Sears led their offense to a high-scoring night. He finished with a season-high 35 points, two rebounds and five assists while shooting 12-of-20 from the field, 5-of-11 from three and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. His change of speed allowed him to carve up the defense and get into the lane, where he finished with soft touch. This game also highlighted his passing from inside the arc, as he was able to stay in control in traffic and fire quick passes out to open shooters.
Sears followed this game up with another strong showing on Saturday, Feb. 22, with another 30-ball against Kentucky. While leading Alabama to a 96-83 win, he finished with 30 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 8-of-17 from the field, 3-of-8 from three, and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. His live-dribble playmaking looked very impressive and allowed him to continue showcasing his left-hand touch while driving at full speed. Sears used great body control to attack in the half-court and in transition, either generating easy looks at the rim or drawing fouls to get easy points from the foul line.
With these back-to-back standout performances, Sears is proving that he can take over games at a high level. If he continues this trajectory, he could cement himself as one of the most dynamic guards in college basketball and significantly improve his NBA draft stock. As Alabama pushes toward the postseason, all eyes will be on Sears to see if he can sustain this elite level of play.
