Andy Toole remembers Mark Sears. The Alabama All-American was a freshman five years ago at Ohio University who stood out to the Robert Morris coach during a scrimmage between the teams.
“We were like, man, this guy is pretty good,” Toole said Thursday. “(Now), obviously, he’s at Alabama.”
One of the nation’s top players, Sears will provide a formidable challenge when No. 15 Robert Morris takes on No. 2 Alabama at 12:40 p.m. Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.
The 6-foot-1 fifth-year point guard averaged 18.7 points and 4.9 assists this season in earning first-team AP All-America recognition. Sears, who turned 23 in February, has scored 2,767 career points by averaging 16.7 during a decorated career that included two seasons at Ohio and three more at Alabama.
He is fourth in Alabama history with 1,876 points, which includes a single-season school-record 797 last year.
“I don’t think anybody predicted what he’s actually done here these last few years, but I knew he was going to be good enough to play for us,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of the Naismith Player of the Year semifinalist. “But even from his freshman year at Ohio to his sophomore year, he kind of came in and could score, but wasn’t known as a shooter, so he turned himself into a shooter. And now, he’s turned himself into first-team All-American.”
Sears has hit 33.8% of his shots from behind the 3-point arc this season (78 of 231) but is also a threat to penetrate and find an open teammate, something the Colonials are well aware of ahead of their Friday matchup.
“As cognizant as you have to be of him as a shooter and a playmaker, he can really just put two hands on the ball and move it quickly on time with the decisions that he makes,” Toole said. “You’ve got to just constantly be aware of him. And in talking to some SEC coaches, one of the things they said, which I thought was amazing, is they have some people when shots go up, when they shoot a shot not by him, they will have guys go and find him because he gets so many kick-out 3s.
“Just every layer of your defense is going to be stressed by him at all times.”
Another X-factor Sears brings to the Crimson Tide is NCAA Tournament experience. He has played in 10 tournament games, including fueling Alabama’s run to the Final Four last season. In 2024, he had 121 points in the tournament, which was second among all players.
He is motivated to surpass last year’s success and finish his college career as a champion.
“Still having that chip on your shoulder to want to get back,” said Sears, who also played in the tournament as a freshman at Ohio. “When you get in that tournament, you just want to have that competitiveness to make it farther than you did last year.”
Toole isn’t the only member of the Colonials familiar with Sears’ ability. Robert Morris senior guard Kam Woods was an AAU teammate of Sears during their time playing high school basketball in Alabama.
“He’s a great player. We all know that,” Woods said. “But it’s just like us, he’s human. Growing up with him, pretty good player. Went to Ohio. He played great and then transferred to ’Bama, and he’s been doing his thing. We’re just looking forward to the matchup. It’s a matchup that a lot of mid-majors in the country want, so we’re just taking it as a regular game, no matter the impact on the names.”
The names don’t get much bigger than Mark Sears in the current college basketball scene considering his All-American season. But his stats and accolades will fall a distant second if he and the Crimson Tide can end the season by lifting a NCAA championship trophy.
“It’s good to see guys that work hard get rewarded for their work, and I think Mark is a prime example of it,” Oats said. “I think the MAC got him a great start, got him some confidence that he could play at a high level in college, and he kind of took that, ran with it, and he’s done really well for his home-state team in Alabama.”