Alabama basketball’s Mark Sears ‘only unanimous’ preseason All America first team pick for CBS
Video: Alabama basketball freshman Derrion Reid wins dunk contest with trick shot
Alabama basketball freshman Derrion Reid won Friday night’s dunk contest at the Final Four reveal with the help of mascot Big Al.
Alabama basketball‘s Mark Sears is projected to have another major run in his last lap with the Crimson Tide.
Back in May, the grad student announced he would return to Tuscaloosa and forgo the NBA draft. The decision has boded well so far, as Sears was the only unanimous All-America first team pick for CBS Sports when the network’s preseason rosters dropped on Monday morning.
Gary Parrish, Kyle Boone and David Cobb of CBS heralded Sears for the 2023-24 season that proved his best yet.
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To lead an unlikely Alabama team to the Final Four, the 22 year-old, 6-foot-1 combo guard averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 assists and led commanded the Crimson Tide’s efforts from the arc, sinking 43.6 percent of three-point attempts.
The returning leading scorer for the SEC, Sears took it up a notch in NCAA tournament play with averages of 24.2 points and 3.6 assists per game.
Sears, who was named Alabama’s third consensus All-American in history this year, is the Crimson Tide’s only preseason All-American. He’s joined on CBS’ first team by Duke forward Cooper Flag, the lone freshman on the roster, as well as Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), RJ Davis (UNC) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton).
Selections for the 2024-25 CBS Preseason All-America Second Team were headlined by Auburn forward and center Johni Broome. The senior was accompanied by Caleb Love (Arizona), Alex Karaban (UConn), Braden Smith (Purdue) and Kadary Richmond (St. John’s).
Third team picks featured Wake Forest shooting guard Hunter Sallis, who the Crimson Tide will face in a charity exhibition on Friday in Birmingham, plus Houston’s L. J. Cryer, Marquette’s Kam Jones, Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV and Arkansas’ Johnell Davis.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
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