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Alabama Crimson Tide

Nate Oats offers insight into decision to bench Mark Sears

Bryce Lazenby

By Bryce Lazenby

Published:

Nate Oats has his Alabama Crimson Tide as a championship contender once again in 2024-25.

As of Monday night, the team has a 17-3 record are sitting at No. 4 in the AP Top 25. With that being said, Oats still made a drastic decision in the team’s last game on Saturday. The coach opted to bench star guard Mark Sears for the 2nd half of the game against LSU.

The move was not injury-related, so many were shocked to see the coach go that route. On Monday, Oats provided some clarification on Sears’ benching. Oats said he was trying to get Sears to “go a little harder,” and Sears responded by having an “unbelievable” practice on Monday

“That was kind of the point we were trying to make at halftime. Try to get some guys to go a little harder,” said Oats. “Sometimes you need somebody to push you. I think that’s part of my job as a coach, to push them way harder than they push themselves. It would be nice if everybody pushed themselves to their limit on their own, but that’s not just human nature.”

So, Oats is trying to utilize the benching as a motivation tactic. Sears reportedly responded well in his first practice following the game, so the star guard will likely be inserted back into the starting lineup for the next game.

During the 2024-25 season, Sears is averaging 18.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. The guard scored a season-high 27 points just 2 weeks ago in the team’s 94-88 win over Texas A&M.

Against LSU, Sears was held scoreless before being benched. The senior went 0-for-5 from the field and collected 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Without Sears, the Tide outscored the Tigers 40-33 in the 2nd half and escaped with an 80-73 victory. Aden Holloway led the team in points with 19 off the bench.

The Tide’s next outing will be on Wednesday at No. 14 Mississippi State.

Bryce Lazenby

Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.

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