Alabama Basketball: Tide continues to bolster roster with star Mark Sears return

The Alabama Crimson Tide are on the rise, and we aren’t talking football. On Wednesday evening, star guard Mark Sears announced he was removing his name from the 2024 NBA Draft and is  returning to Alabama for his fifth and final year of collegiate eligibility. 

Sears' unexpected return now forms the Crimson Tide into one of the most talented rosters in the entire country. Head coach Nate Oats is going all in, and the transfer portal additions have shown that. They have landed two of the highest-rated portal targets this off-season in Aden Holloway and Clifford Omoruyi. As well as Chris Youngblood and Houston Mallette.

Holloway joins after spending last season at rival Auburn. Holloway was the Tigers starting point guard and will now share the backcourt alongside veteran Mark Sears, who averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists last season, leading the Crimson Tide all the way to the Final Four alongside other key returners Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson, Latrell Wrightsell Jr, and Mo Dioubate.

Oats may now have the deepest team in the country, and how he chooses to manipulate the minute distribution will be extremely interesting. Youngblood led South Florida to one of the best seasons in program history, while Omoruyi was the catalyst for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last year, averaging 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game. 

The Crimson Tide will also have one of the highest-ranked freshman classes in the country in 2024, according to On3.com, landing five-star recruit Derrion Reid and four-star recruits Aidan Sherrell, Labaron Philon, and Naas Cunningham. 

There is no better time to be an Alabama Crimson Tide basketball fan than right now. They very well could be a top-three team in the rankings to start the year and may have the most talent in all of college basketball as they look to return to the Final four with National Championship aspirations.