Alabama basketball star Mark Sears declares for 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining college eligibility
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - Alabama Crimson Tide star guard Mark Sears has announced that he is entering the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility.
“I would like to thank God for blessing me with an amazing gift that has allowed me to play the game that I love, basketball,” Sears said in a social media post Wednesday. “His blessing has provided innumerable opportunities and I am truly appreciative of God’s blessings, lessons, and provisions along the way. After much consideration and deliberation, I have decided to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility.”
Sears, who is native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, originally played for the Ohio Bobcats from 2020-2022 and was named to the MAC All-Freshman team in 2021 and was named First-team All MAC in 2022. After two years with the Bobcats, Sears transferred to the Tide and played the last two seasons in the crimson red.
In his two seasons in Tuscaloosa, Sears appeared in and started all 37 games in both the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. In his first season with the Tide, Sears averaged 12.5 PPG and was named Second-team All SEC.
Sears became a focal point on the offensive side of the floor for the Crimson Tide, averaging 21.5 PPG in his second season in Tuscaloosa and played a major role in the Crimson Tide’s first ever run to the NCAA Final Four.
By maintaining his college eligibility, Sears is allowed to return to school next season if he decides to not go into the NBA or is not drafted.
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Under a new rule that was implemented in 2019, players who enter the draft are allowed to hire an agent without losing their college eligibility. The agent will then help them get a better understanding of where they might go in the draft; first round, second round, etc.
Players are allowed to go all the way through the NBA Draft process by participating in the NBA Draft Combine and NBA Draft Day. If a player is not drafted, then they are allowed to go back to school if they choose to. However, if a player enters the draft and is selected, they are not allowed to return to school.
In order to be able to return to school, players must have participated in the NBA Draft Combine and must inform their school’s athletic directors by 5 p.m. Monday after the draft. If a player decides to return to college, they have to terminate all agreements that they made with an agent.
Under previous rules, if a player hired an agent or if they were part of NBA Draft Day, they were not allowed to return to college.
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