Mark Sears Making Himself At Home With Alabama
When the 2022-23 college basketball season started, Mark Sears was one of the many new faces that joined head coach Nate Oats at Alabama.
The junior point guard is no stranger to the Capstone as he is a native of Muscle Shoals before playing his high school basketball at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.
Sears also took the scenic route before suiting up for his home state's flagship institution. His first two years of college were spent at Ohio University, where he earned a handful of awards last season, including being named All-MAC First Team for the season and for the conference tournament.
That success led to him transferring to Alabama, where he's now the second-leading scorer on the No. 4 team in the country. Sears finding his rhythm on the court isn't too much of a surprise, but now it seems like he's really finding his rhythm at his new basketball home.
"I sure hope so, because man did he look good," Oats said about Sears having a defining "blue collar game" against Kentucky. "He was in there swarming loose balls, stripping guys... I thought he was outstanding."
Sears' best game was arguably his most recent one against the Wildcats, where he delivered a 16-point performance with six rebounds, four assists and a season-high six steals. Sears has earned the reputation of a tough guard with his play, but it isn't an extreme to say he's bought into the "blue collar" mentality Oats has crafted since his arrival in 2019.
With how Alabama is playing, the team is on its way to being one of the best in recent memory of the program, probably beyond that. And the crazy part about it is that many feel the team has not reached its peak as the team waits on the return of Nimari Burnett, who is still out with an injury. Even so, it is fair to think that the players new to the program, whether it's Sears, Dom Welch (who recently came back from injury himself) or Burnett (who only played nine games before going down with an injury).
Even Brandon Miller, who is proving every game that he deserves to be in the lottery conversation, could be more "blue collar" by improving with his offensive rebounding, at least that's what Oats has said before.
But to see a player fully integrate himself with the mentality of the program is something to marvel at. Not in the sense of a player finally becoming a team player, but with that player maximizing his full potential with that team. Mark Sears has long been a team player, maybe the second-best player for Alabama, but his performance against Kentucky could be the core memory that officially makes Sears "blue collar."
See also: Nate Oats Offers Injury Update on Nimari Burnett
Alabama Basketball No. 4 in AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, Ties Season High
