Mark Sears

Born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Mark Sears attended the local high school and led the team to a regional championship as a junior before transferring to Hargrave Military Academy, where he reached the Final Four of the National Prep Championship. Sears started his collegiate career at Ohio, earning MAC All-Freshman Team honors in 2021. He was named First-Team All-MAC in 2022 as a sophomore and transferred to Alabama following the campaign. He was solid during his first season with the Tide but excelled as a senior, averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game while posting 51/44/86 shooting splits. Alabama made it to the Final Four as a two seed but lost to UConn. After testing the NBA waters, Sears returned for a fifth season to chase a championship. However, his shooting percentages regressed, and the Tide lost in the Elite Eight to Duke. Sears was a three-level scorer in college who could play off two feet and rarely turned the ball over. His range also expands well beyond the 3-point line, which bodes well for his transition to the NBA. Sears excels at attacking downhill or in the post with quick, decisive footwork. However, he will be undersized at the NBA level and will need to use his craftiness to be effective as a pro. Sears' offensive relentlessness and overall repertoire of moves are similar to Jalen Brunson (6'2", 190) and Payton Pritchard (6'1", 195), who've both excelled in different roles as score-first guards despite being undersized. Given his lefty three-point shot and potential sparkplug nature off the bench, it's also fair to compare Sears' future NBA role to Cameron Payne (6'3", 183).