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Nate Oats says Mark Sears ‘knows what’s expected’ after 2nd-half benching vs. LSU
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Nate Oats said he had a “really good talk” after Tuesday’s practice with senior guard Mark Sears, and the Alabama head coach was confident that his star player knows what’s expected of him going forward.
The discussion came in the aftermath of last Saturday’s victory over LSU, when the SEC’s second-leading scorer did not play in the entire second half despite the game being close. The Crimson Tide still won, 80-73, even as Sears finished with 0 points in just 17 minutes.
“I’m proud of him. He’s doing what we’re asking him to do,” Oats told Next Round Live on Tuesday. “He’s 22 years old. He’s a grown man, as am I. The two of us talked through what’s expected. I think he knows exactly what’s expected. He knows I love him. He knows the whole team wants him here playing his best basketball.”
After the closer-than-expected win over LSU, Oats said he went with the players who he felt “gave us the best chance to win.”
Those were shocking words, considering what Sears has accomplished during his career at Alabama. Sears has helped the Crimson Tide get to the Sweet 16 in 2023 and led them to the school’s first Final Four appearance last season. But there he was on Saturday, on the bench during a conference battle in late January.
“I’ll just say this, and I’m not going to talk any more about playing time stuff, we went with the guys in the second half that I thought gave us the best chance to win this game, and we won the game,” Oats said after Saturday’s victory.
Now, it appears everything has been smoothed over between the head coach and his star player as 4th-ranked Alabama prepares to play at No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
