The biggest thing working against Sears as a potential NBA player is his size. By a rough count, there are only 14 players in the league today who play consistent minutes at 6-1 or shorter. At that size, you have to be more than just a prolific shooter, scorer, or playmaker. You have to be able to hold your own on the defensive end. Even though Sears competes on defense, he'll be a constant target on switches at the next level. Can his strength and quickness hold up against bigger, more athletic matchups? Sears has a swift first step, but he is not a lightning-fast or explosive athlete. He plays below the rim, and even though he has figured out how to finish at the college level, doing so against defensive anchors in the NBA is a different story.
Getting paid neurosurgeon money to live in some of the coolest places in the world and play basketball for a living….I can think of worse things.
Trying to decide if I’d rather be a highly paid Euro ball player or backup QB in NFL. I think lean the former.
So our portal acquisition list is expected to be: corner, OT, WR In that order? Any other positions we're expected to attack through the portal? Maybe safety as well?
Holloway's splits before their loss in Tuscaloosa and after are nuts. Some of it was probably competition, some of it being a small freshman, but it's clear from some of the stats (FT%, for instance) that he just unraveled. First 18 games (through 1/20) - 113.3 off rating (Estrada was at 114.4) - 46.1% eFG% - 34.8% 3PT (Josh Hubbard at State was at 36.9%) - 81.8% FT (Sears was 81.9%) - 25.8% assist rate - 10.0% turnover rate - 3.7 assist to TO ratio (led SEC point guards) - 44.1% close 2 fg% (this was bad all year) Last 17 games (1/21 to end of season) - 88.9 off rating (last SEC pgs) - 34.2% eFG (last SEC pgs) - 21.7% 3PT (2nd last SEC pgs) - 70.0% FT - 17.6% assist rate - 15.0% turnover rate - 2.3 assist to TO ratio - 22.7% close 2 fg% (last SEC pgs)
Those first few weeks of play he looked really fucking good. But yeah, the last half of the year he was pretty fucking bad. I don’t know how to feel about him. I think there’s certainly potential. I’m not sure I’d really like another smaller guard again but I guess if we load up on size around him it’s not that important. If his 3 returns to form he’d be good in this offense but if not then he’s not good enough anywhere else to make up for that. His defense is nothing to write home about and he doesn’t finish well around the rim either which was something Sears did extremely well.
Taking Holloway is totally worth the risk. It would be such a great fuck you to all the aubs if Nate figures him out. And he's a talented kid that likes to shoot. Odds are he will do well at Bama.
Kind of my feeling. Worst case scenario is he's a good outside shooter who never figures out how to finish at the rim and he's just a guy. He is a talented shooter and talented shooters make shots under Nate, regardless of what happened other places. His easy very deep range, which has been noted since he was in high school, is another pretty important piece in our scheme.
ringer mock has sears in the first like I said earlier I think this draft will be much more unpredictable due to the lack of talent. Teams are just going to be throwing darts out there a lot earlier in the draft than usual. Nelson not on that one though. He is a second rounder on NBAdraft.net.
Apparently school is really hard for Nelson and a lot of folks in town think he's kind of ready to be done with it (this was from a month or so ago, pre-tournament). I don't mean that in a mean or flippant way, but he's just a small town kid who has never been great at school and college is just difficult for him (was at NDSU, too). Dunno where that fits on the priority scale of his, though.
How do you think that effects these guys? On the one hand, you could end up in the late 1st round. On the other hand, you might not get drafted at all. Does that uncertainty make them more or less likely to go? Or does it make discussions with specific organizations that much more important?
The way it was told to me his effort was never implied to be an issue, so..... conclusions can be drawn there.
I think mock drafts for the NBA are much less accurate than they are for the NFL. Much less of an industry around it, and the main mock draft guys are much less connected. They seem to be more personal opinions of a player's value rather than what they're hearing from real NBA people (which is kind of the opposite of the NFL mocks). As a result they seem to be much less reliable, especially outside the top 10 which most fans can predict most of. I think most players know these mocks are done by people who really don't know shit. Going through the process and getting the actual feedback is what most players rely on, so I think these days they have a pretty good idea of what their prospects are.
yeah I was about to say.... holy fuck basically all you have to do is show up with some of these majors. HES especially
Yea, it's possible he just really hates school and has no desire to deal with it anymore. Hard to imagine that in 2024 any major athlete can't find a track that is basically idiot proof.
Just saw this mock. These guys have been really accurate in the past. Spoiler 2024 NBA Mock Draft: 1. Mark Sears - Selected by the Detroit Pistons * Position: Point Guard * School: Ohio University * Analysis: Mark Sears, the explosive point guard out of Ohio University, has taken the basketball world by storm with his exceptional court vision and lightning-fast handles. His ability to facilitate and score at will makes him an ideal cornerstone for the Pistons' rebuilding efforts. 2. Grant Nelson - Selected by the Houston Rockets * Position: Power Forward * School: Duke University * Analysis: Grant Nelson, the versatile forward from Duke University, has impressed scouts with his combination of size, athleticism, and basketball IQ. With his knack for scoring in the paint and defending multiple positions, Nelson projects to be a valuable asset for the Rockets as they look to bolster their frontcourt. 3. Jordan Wu - Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans * Position: Shooting Guard * School: University of Southern California * Analysis: Jordan Wu's lethal scoring ability and defensive tenacity make him an ideal fit for the Pelicans' backcourt. With his smooth shooting stroke and relentless work ethic, Wu has the potential to become a franchise cornerstone for New Orleans. 4. Xavier Monroe - Selected by the Orlando Magic * Position: Small Forward * School: Gonzaga University * Analysis: Xavier Monroe's polished offensive game and defensive versatility make him an intriguing prospect for the Magic. With his ability to score from all three levels and lockdown defenders on the other end, Monroe has the potential to develop into a star in Orlando. 5. Isaiah Washington - Selected by the Sacramento Kings * Position: Center * School: University of Memphis * Analysis: Isaiah Washington's imposing presence in the paint and elite shot-blocking ability make him an enticing prospect for the Kings. With his raw athleticism and burgeoning offensive skill set, Washington has the potential to anchor Sacramento's defense for years to come. 6. Aiden Patel - Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers * Position: Power Forward * School: University of Michigan * Analysis: Aiden Patel's combination of size, skill, and basketball IQ make him an intriguing prospect for the Cavaliers. With his ability to score in the post and stretch the floor with his outside shooting, Patel has the potential to thrive in Cleveland's frontcourt rotation. 7. Elijah Chen - Selected by the Toronto Raptors * Position: Point Guard * School: University of Kentucky * Analysis: Elijah Chen's lightning-fast speed and playmaking ability make him an ideal fit for the Raptors' up-tempo style of play. With his knack for breaking down defenses and finding open teammates, Chen has the potential to be a dynamic floor general in Toronto. Publisher: NBADraftExperts
I forgot when he committed there was some type of transcript issue that kept him from enrolling right away.
We believe in Nate,” Byrne said Thursday. “We believe in the job that he’s done. The kids like playing for him. We’ve had a few kids go in the transfer portal in the last few days – we were anticipating that. It’s the world we’re in right now. The way he has developed our program, young men wanna play for him. Kids have a real affinity for him as their coach. “He’s ahead of the curve offensively and preaches defense all the time. Recruits his tail off. He and I talked twice yesterday, and a lot of the conversation was about recruiting and where we are right now. Byrne continued, “We’re really proud of him, we knew he wanted to be our coach for hopefully the rest of his career and we stepped up. But the thing I love so much about him is I said, ‘Nate, if we’re gonna invest in you at this level, I want you to make that same commitment back to us.’ … I said, ‘Our fanbase wants to know that you are just as committed to the University of Alabama as we are to you.’ And he’s like – you know Nate – ‘Shoot, yeah.’”
We’ve raised a lot of money for the arena,” Byrne said. “Our donors have been really good for it. That is a priority for us in what we have to do. We also are in very challenging, turbulent waters right now. NIL is a reality. We have to pay attention to that. “If you really talk to most coaches, they’re not gonna be as concerned about the gameday and what that looks like. I mean, they want it to be good, don’t get me wrong. But they’re much more concerned about their classroom, which for a basketball is the gym. So we’ve got some things we’re working on to address in a much shorter timeframe and will benefit our men’s basketball program, benefit our women’s basketball program, too. “We were able to talk a little bit more about it because during the season, I didn’t bother him a whole lot about that because I want him to be focused on his team. But we had already started talking about that, and we just had a couple more conversations once the news. But he made it very clear to me he wanted to be here, and I think his actions once again back up his words.”