Nate Oats Cites NIL as Aid in Mark Sears' Draft Decision

The Crimson Tide's All-American point guard withdrew from the NBA Draft yesterday, and Oats said today's college basketball rules helped him make that decision.

Mar 22, 2024; Spokane, WA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) talks to head coach Nate Oats during the first half in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Charleston Cougars at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama basketball received a massive boost on Wednesday as All-American point guard Mark Sears opted to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to the Crimson Tide for his fifth and final season of college basketball.

Speaking with Andy Katz, host of the March Madness 365 podcast on Thursday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats explained Sears' decision to return to school.

“Mark Sears, being from the state of Alabama, he’s super competitive," Oats said. "He got good feedback from the NBA, everybody I talked to liked him, but he wasn’t gonna get a guaranteed contract, it would’ve been a two-way. I think with the way NIL is working in college, a kid like him is much better off in college than on a two-way. The way college basketball rules are right now helped us a little bit.”

Oats mentions one of the biggest positives of NIL for college athletics — keeping student-athletes who are fringe draft prospects in school for longer. Sears was never going to grade as a top-tier draft prospect, he's limited by his size and age, but with NIL, the only way it would be worth it for him to stay in the draft would be if he got drafted in the top-45 range and got a guaranteed contract.

Knowing that he'd likely be on a two-way contract, splitting time between the NBA and the G-League if he decided to stay in the draft, he decided to come back to Alabama. He now has the opportunity to make money in NIL, possibly matching or even exceeding what he could have made on a two-way contract.

In addition to NIL, Oats also cited last season's Final Four run as a reason for Sears' return.

“I think the Final Four run helped," Oats said. "I think there are some guys that feel like there’s unfinished business that were on the team last year, that want to come back and finish it.”