- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 422,651
- Reaction score
- 43
NEWARK, N.J. — Alabama basketball hasn't had to have 3-pointers from Mark Sears the same way it did to make its way to, and through, March Madness last season.
What the All-American dubbed "Mark's Madness" officially began in the Crimson Tide's 113-88 defeat to bounce No. 6 seed BYU in the Sweet 16 and advance as a No. 2 seed against the winner of Duke-Arizona in the Elite 8.
In the postgame, Alabama coach Nate Oats looked over at Sears with pride at the same podium where the Muscle Shoals native faced criticism just a day earlier for his worst year from deep since arriving at Alabama (28-8). However, in pregame shootaround, it looked like it might've been another quiet night around the perimeter for Sears.
SIX YEARS LATER: Can Nate Oats make Alabama a basketball school? Or does football loom too large?
REQUIRED READING: Nate Oats explains why Alabama basketball player did not make trip to NCAA Tournament in Cleveland
In the minutes before tipoff at Prudential Center, Sears stood the farthest out from the three-point line among his peers. He banked one, but after the initial swish, Sears missed three straight, firing shots off faster and with more fierceness following every bad bounce.
Apparently, Sears' pregame frustrations either left him undeterred or fueled a fire that would drown out the noise of the naysayers who believed he'd lost what helped him reach All-American status on the road to the Final Four.
Freshman Labaron Philon figures he knows the real game-changer, though.
All Sears could hear in his head was Oats' gravelly voice chirping at him for the slump.
"I'm gonna say this, but I think it's really Coach Oats," Philon said. "I heard him at shootaround say, 'Hit the mark!' like he was trying to tell him [Sears] that he was shooting poor. But really, he's giving him motivation to keep shooting the ball."
Thursday's shootaround wasn't a one-time occurrence, either.
"He does it all the time. You don't expect it. He'll just say some things about you, but, like, not in a negative way, just trying to see what your reaction is going to be and see how you can respond. But you know, sometimes we just giggle or we'll just conversate about it," Philon said.
Philon said he saw a shift in Sears against BYU.
"Once Mark came out today, it looked like he didn't care about what he was shooting, however much the percentage was, you know, he was just letting it go. And that's what we need," Philon said.
After Sears saw his first three splash a little over four minutes into the first period, he felt a "massive" wave of emotion.
"Every time I shot, I felt like it was going in. I just lost myself in the game and just let everything else happen," Sears said.
Sears hit his seventh 3-pointer on 10 tries with less than four minutes into the second half, marking more 3-point makes than he's had in any other game during the 2024-25 season.
With 8:32 left, he hit another trey for his first game with eight 3-pointers since Dec. 9, 2023, against Purdue. In the seconds that followed, Sears splashed another three for a career-high nine threes.
With his 10th 3-pointer, Sears brought Alabama's point total to 100 with a little over six minutes to play. UA's win over BYU marked its ninth time hanging over 100 points on an opponent in the 2024-25 season. He was just one trey shy of tying Jeff Fryer's record 11 threes made in a Loyola Marymount-Michigan NCAA Tournament showdown that Oats remembered watching as a freshman in high school.
BYU players didn't have many words when asked what was going through their mind when the shots from Sears just kept coming, simply saying they "came in with a gameplan." Sears' stat-line said it all by the time the buzzer sounded.
After not making more than one three in the last five games, Sears finished 10-for-16 from downtown with a two-point basket for 34 points on 11 makes. Down the roster, Alabama went 25-for-51 beyond the perimeter.
Considering Alabama's entire team had 13 threes in the first round against College of Charleston, 11 to bounce North Carolina from the Sweet 16, and 16 to deny Clemson in the Elite Eight on UA's historic 2023-24 run, Sears' 3-point shot being back like it never left is a bad omen for the potential three opponents that remain.
Sears is the first player in NCAA Tournament history to make eight 3-pointers and record at least seven assists.
Alabama plays again in Newark on Saturday in its second-straight Elite 8 appearance.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball HC Nate Oats nagged Mark Sears out of slump in time for Elite 8
Continue reading...
What the All-American dubbed "Mark's Madness" officially began in the Crimson Tide's 113-88 defeat to bounce No. 6 seed BYU in the Sweet 16 and advance as a No. 2 seed against the winner of Duke-Arizona in the Elite 8.
In the postgame, Alabama coach Nate Oats looked over at Sears with pride at the same podium where the Muscle Shoals native faced criticism just a day earlier for his worst year from deep since arriving at Alabama (28-8). However, in pregame shootaround, it looked like it might've been another quiet night around the perimeter for Sears.
SIX YEARS LATER: Can Nate Oats make Alabama a basketball school? Or does football loom too large?
REQUIRED READING: Nate Oats explains why Alabama basketball player did not make trip to NCAA Tournament in Cleveland
In the minutes before tipoff at Prudential Center, Sears stood the farthest out from the three-point line among his peers. He banked one, but after the initial swish, Sears missed three straight, firing shots off faster and with more fierceness following every bad bounce.
Apparently, Sears' pregame frustrations either left him undeterred or fueled a fire that would drown out the noise of the naysayers who believed he'd lost what helped him reach All-American status on the road to the Final Four.
Freshman Labaron Philon figures he knows the real game-changer, though.
Alabama basketball's Mark Sears proves no need for 'concern' in Sweet 16 splash-fest vs BYU
You must be registered for see images attach
All Sears could hear in his head was Oats' gravelly voice chirping at him for the slump.
"I'm gonna say this, but I think it's really Coach Oats," Philon said. "I heard him at shootaround say, 'Hit the mark!' like he was trying to tell him [Sears] that he was shooting poor. But really, he's giving him motivation to keep shooting the ball."
Thursday's shootaround wasn't a one-time occurrence, either.
"He does it all the time. You don't expect it. He'll just say some things about you, but, like, not in a negative way, just trying to see what your reaction is going to be and see how you can respond. But you know, sometimes we just giggle or we'll just conversate about it," Philon said.
Philon said he saw a shift in Sears against BYU.
"Once Mark came out today, it looked like he didn't care about what he was shooting, however much the percentage was, you know, he was just letting it go. And that's what we need," Philon said.
After Sears saw his first three splash a little over four minutes into the first period, he felt a "massive" wave of emotion.
"Every time I shot, I felt like it was going in. I just lost myself in the game and just let everything else happen," Sears said.
Sears hit his seventh 3-pointer on 10 tries with less than four minutes into the second half, marking more 3-point makes than he's had in any other game during the 2024-25 season.
With 8:32 left, he hit another trey for his first game with eight 3-pointers since Dec. 9, 2023, against Purdue. In the seconds that followed, Sears splashed another three for a career-high nine threes.
With his 10th 3-pointer, Sears brought Alabama's point total to 100 with a little over six minutes to play. UA's win over BYU marked its ninth time hanging over 100 points on an opponent in the 2024-25 season. He was just one trey shy of tying Jeff Fryer's record 11 threes made in a Loyola Marymount-Michigan NCAA Tournament showdown that Oats remembered watching as a freshman in high school.
BYU players didn't have many words when asked what was going through their mind when the shots from Sears just kept coming, simply saying they "came in with a gameplan." Sears' stat-line said it all by the time the buzzer sounded.
After not making more than one three in the last five games, Sears finished 10-for-16 from downtown with a two-point basket for 34 points on 11 makes. Down the roster, Alabama went 25-for-51 beyond the perimeter.
Considering Alabama's entire team had 13 threes in the first round against College of Charleston, 11 to bounce North Carolina from the Sweet 16, and 16 to deny Clemson in the Elite Eight on UA's historic 2023-24 run, Sears' 3-point shot being back like it never left is a bad omen for the potential three opponents that remain.
Sears is the first player in NCAA Tournament history to make eight 3-pointers and record at least seven assists.
Alabama plays again in Newark on Saturday in its second-straight Elite 8 appearance.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball HC Nate Oats nagged Mark Sears out of slump in time for Elite 8
Continue reading...
