Alabama star Mark Sears gets candid on overtime buzzer-beater vs rivals Auburn (EXCLUSIVE)
Alabama star Mark Sears considered entering the NBA after last season, but decided to return to Alabama to try to boost his draft stock. He had a great season, helping the Crimson Tide reach the Elite Eight in the March Madness Tournament.
One of Mark Sears' biggest highlights of the season came near the end of the regular season. The Crimson Tide were playing against their biggest rivals, the Auburn Tigers. The game went to overtime, and Sears hit a buzzer-beater to win the game for the Crimson Tide.
On Wednesday, Sportskeeda's Mark Medina posted an interview he did with Sears about his season and getting ready for the 2025 NBA draft. In the interview, Sears spoke about his buzzer-beater against Auburn.
"I remember we were up three. Then they had the ball. All I remember was (Johni) Broome shot a three, and he missed. They got a rebound and hit Broome, and he hit a crazy side-step three to tie it up. The arena went crazy. We had called a timeout. Coach (Nate Oats) drew up a play. It was to get me the ball at the elbow. Then Labaran (Philon) came off the pick and he hit me at the elbow."
"Grant (Nelson) was rolling to the rim so I had the option to hit Grant. but Broome stayed with Grant. So I was able to turn the corner and get the right angle. it was a top moment, for sure. It was really quiet. After I shot it, I heard myself say, 'that's game.' It was so quiet. It just felt good to see our rivals stunned."
Mark Sears is not projected to be drafted until the end of the second round of the 2025 NBA draft
Although Mark Sears returned to Alabama with the hopes of raising his draft stock, he is likely not high on the draft boards of most NBA teams. He is projected to be selected in the late second round of the draft at best. There is also a highly likely chance that he goes undrafted.
Sears took a step back this past season, averaging 18.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. Conversely, he averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game the previous year. As a result, while Sears had a great moment against Auburn towards the end of the season, it might not be enough to make him an NBA draft pick.