Why did Mark Sears transfer to Alabama? Crimson Tide basketball star began career at Ohio

As Mark Sears goes, so too does Alabama basketball.

The star point guard has emerged as the leading scorer for the top-scoring team in the nation during the 2023-24 college basketball season. Sears has led 4 seed Crimson Tide (25-11) to the Final Four for a matchup against No. 1 overall seed UConn (35-3) in Phoenix.

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The 6-foot-1 guard began his career at Ohio after being lightly recruited coming out of high school in Muscle Shoals High School. He has become a household name in his two seasons with the Crimson Tide and under coach Nate Oats, leading an offense that has led the nation with 90.6 points per game.

Sears has averaged 24.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 assists per game on 51% shooting from the field and 44.7% from 3-point range during Alabama's March Madness run. He also scored 23 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, in an 89-82 victory over Clemson in the Elite Eight. That helped Alabama advance to its first-ever Final Four appearance.

As Alabama looks to upset the defending champion Huskies and reach its first-ever championship game, here's a look back at Sears' transfer from Ohio to play for the Crimson Tide:

Why did Mark Sears transfer to Alabama from Ohio?

Sears told Nick Kelly of The Tuscaloosa News in February 2023 that, while growing up in Muscle Shoals, he considered Alabama a "dream school". As a seventh grader, Sears attended a Kentucky game at Coleman Coliseum and, even sitting in the nosebleeds as the Wildcats won 70-48, became addicted.

"Just ever since that day, I knew this was going to be one of the dream schools I was going to come to," Sears said.

Out of high school, the interest from Alabama never gained traction. Nor from Auburn. He got offers from UAB and South Alabama, but neither of them panned out either. In his first season at Ohio, Sears averaged 8.5 points and 3.3 assists per game on 47% shooting, but just 28% from 3-point range. In the offseason, he worked on improving his shot and showed improvement in his sophomore season with the Bobcats, averaging 19.6 points, six rebounds and 4.1 assists per game shooting 41% from three.

Following his strong sophomore season with the Bobcats, Sears decided he wanted to try his luck in the NCAA transfer portal. On April 7, 2022, Spears committed to the Crimson Tide over offers from Texas, Mississippi State, LSU, Memphis, Florida and Cincinnati. Said Sears at the time:

UA assistant Antoine Pettway, whom Sears has known since the eighth grade, played a large role in the recruitment. Oats' style of play also appealed to the guard.

“I really liked what Coach Oats was doing here,” Sears said. “The fast tempo, the way he gives freedom to guards, you can’t really beat that anywhere else.”

Mark Sears high school

Sears started his career at Muscle Shoals High in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As a junior, he led his team to the Class 6A state semifinal. After not receiving a ton of interest from colleges, Sears transferred to Hargrave Military Academy, an all-male, military boarding school in Chatham, Virginia, in the hopes of getting more exposure.

As a senior, he averaged 14 points, five rebounds and three assists per game, leading Hargrave to a 37-4 record and to the Final Four of the Prep National Championship. Sears' plan worked: His high school coach, Lee Martin, became an assistant at Ohio, and a scholarship soon followed.

Mark Sears recruit ranking

Sears, a three-star recruit, was lightly recruited out of high school, being ranked as the No. 218 prospect, No. 37 point guard and the No. 11 player in Virginia in the 2020 recruiting class by 247Sports Composite Rankings. Sears was one of five signees for the class for the Bobcats, but the only one with any star rating.

Mark Sears stats

Here is a year-by-year look at Sears' stats, both at Ohio and with Alabama.

• Career: 2,125 total points, 566 total rebounds, 464 total assists, 186 total steals, 16.1 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists per game and 47.1% shooting from the field

• 2023-24: 773 total points, 149 total rebounds, 146 total assists, 60 total steals, 21.5 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, 4.1 assists per game and 50.4% shooting from the field

• 2022-23: 463 total points, 131 total rebounds, 96 total assists, 43 total steals, 12.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game and 40.6% shooting from the field

• 2021-22: 686 total points, 210 total rebounds, 144 total assists, 59 total steals, 19.6 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game, 4.1 assists per game and 44.4% shooting from the field

• 2020-21: 203 total points, 149 total rebounds, 78 total assists, 66 total steals, 8.5 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists per game and 47.1% shooting from the field

Mark Sears in NBA Mock Drafts

Sears is the No. 90 overall ranked prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft, per ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo. He is not currently projected to go in the first round of their mock draft, nor of USA Today Sports' Jeff Zilgritt and Scooby Axson or Bleacher Reports' Jonathan Wasserman.

But he is someone who has a chance to boost his stock during the Final Four and into the NBA combine process. One draft analyst who is a fan of Sears — The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor — makes a strong NBA comparison.

"As a left-handed, 6-foot-1, 185-pound point guard, Mark Sears looks like Jalen Brunson, moves like Jalen Brunson, and plays like Jalen Brunson. Brunson is about an inch taller and was about 10 pounds heavier when he was drafted in 2018, but their games are extremely similar," O'Connor wrote.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why did Mark Sears transfer to Alabama? Crimson Tide basketball star began career at Ohio