2020 3* PG Mark Sears

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

Since Cole initially started talking about him I have been researching him. He is every bit as good as Cole has been telling us. I personally wish we were recruiting him as I would not mind having him and Sharife both in next years class.  I don't think measurables is the reason, as Sharife has measurable issues also. I think we only have room for one PG in this class and Sharife has told Pearl he is coming to Auburn.  With players who have come in this year  plus players who are here and will return next year the priority is other positions, maybe if one of the players we are counting on goes someplace else we will have room and Auburn can offer. The problem with that is as TALENTED as Sears is I doubt he will be available. 

I have been following Auburn Basketball since I started at Auburn in 1969 and I have never seen us in a position where we have such a talented in state player who likes Auburn and we don't feel like we can recruit him because of the quality of other recruits we are recruiting. I trust Pearl but I will be disappointed if we don't recruit Sears, not just because of how talented he is but we need to lock down the state of Alabama.

[mustache eagle 2,388]

It’s crazy to think that CBP is elevating the Auburn talent level that a kid this talented isn’t recruited.  CBP has said a lot in the past that he wants kids to stay in this state.  Out of respect, I hope we show this kid some love even if we are only taking 1 PG.  I guess the size disadvantage could be these guys lack of size to play at the 2 in order to split time.

@cole256 this may be a loaded question and appears purely academic at this point assuming cooper is in the barn ... who’s better - sears or cooper?

[cole256 17,039]

8 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

It’s crazy to think that CBP is elevating the Auburn talent level that a kid this talented isn’t recruited.  CBP has said a lot in the past that he wants kids to stay in this state.  Out of respect, I hope we show this kid some love even if we are only taking 1 PG.  I guess the size disadvantage could be these guys lack of size to play at the 2 in order to split time.

@cole256 this may be a loaded question and appears purely academic at this point assuming cooper is in the barn ... who’s better - sears or cooper?

To be honest I've watched this kid literally grow from a child and his dad mentored me in sports so I'm not picking against him.....but to really be honest I think Cooper is great handling a ball but I think as he gets older and guys get bigger and faster he's going to be pretty regular. But that's just what I see so far and I don't know his character....he could be a tremendous leader and I just don't know. When they went head up I'm picking Mark that game all day. Mark basically had a triple double. 

I've seen many guards though and I just don't see a certain draft pick and one and done? I don't see it. He's not as good as Darius Garland was when he came out.....but we'll see. I don't think he's as good as people say but that's not me saying he's not good though

[mustache eagle 2,388]

3 hours ago, cole256 said:

To be honest I've watched this kid literally grow from a child and his dad mentored me in sports so I'm not picking against him.....but to really be honest I think Cooper is great handling a ball but I think as he gets older and guys get bigger and faster he's going to be pretty regular. But that's just what I see so far and I don't know his character....he could be a tremendous leader and I just don't know. When they went head up I'm picking Mark that game all day. Mark basically had a triple double. 

I've seen many guards though and I just don't see a certain draft pick and one and done? I don't see it. He's not as good as Darius Garland was when he came out.....but we'll see. I don't think he's as good as people say but that's not me saying he's not good though

It truly is a crazy world Auburn basketball finds itself in nowadays.  I love the idea of keeping these kids 2-3 years regardless of how good they are.  The continuity within the team would be helped.  The hard part for me with the comparisons to other players - I love watching Auburn play, but really am only a casual fan with the rest of the SEC and even less so with the rest of the country and almost non-existent with the NBA.  I had to google darius garland, then I remembered who he is.

I hope we show Mark some love.  He has family ties and is good enough to recruit casually at a minimum, particularly with inroads to the Alabama AAU teams.  

EDIT:  my last sentence got me thinking ... the whole AAU issues Auburn got slapped for when Ellis was here.  I did a casual review of the Alabama Fusion web page.  I did not see a single name on there that Auburn has been associated with.  We are not apparently recruiting Sears.  We didn't get a sniff with Watford ... which a lot of people have wondered why we were never associated there.  This scant casual talk about Colby Jones ... is it because he has only made waves this most recent season or because Auburn and this fusion team arent on speaking terms??? I know this has been shot down before, but is there an issue because they are a Nike team?  Which cant be, because AOT is Nike and we are trying to recruit there whole dang team.  

Makes me wonder if there is an issue with Auburn and this Fusion program?

Edited July 18, 2019 by mustache eagle

[cole256 17,039]

16 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

It truly is a crazy world Auburn basketball finds itself in nowadays.  I love the idea of keeping these kids 2-3 years regardless of how good they are.  The continuity within the team would be helped.  The hard part for me with the comparisons to other players - I love watching Auburn play, but really am only a casual fan with the rest of the SEC and even less so with the rest of the country and almost non-existent with the NBA.  I had to google darius garland, then I remembered who he is.

I hope we show Mark some love.  He has family ties and is good enough to recruit casually at a minimum, particularly with inroads to the Alabama AAU teams.  

EDIT:  my last sentence got me thinking ... the whole AAU issues Auburn got slapped for when Ellis was here.  I did a casual review of the Alabama Fusion web page.  I did not see a single name on there that Auburn has been associated with.  We are not apparently recruiting Sears.  We didn't get a sniff with Watford ... which a lot of people have wondered why we were never associated there.  This scant casual talk about Colby Jones ... is it because he has only made waves this most recent season or because Auburn and this fusion team arent on speaking terms??? I know this has been shot down before, but is there an issue because they are a Nike team?  Which cant be, because AOT is Nike and we are trying to recruit there whole dang team.  

Makes me wonder if there is an issue with Auburn and this Fusion program?

They haven't offered Mark but they definitely know who he is and communicate with him. We also lead with Jayden Stone I believe and he played for them. 

[mustache eagle 2,388]

I wish CBP would have asked me this last basketball season and I would have told him to skip Watford and go straight to Jones.  The kid is smooth and can play/shoot from everywhere.  Not afraid to pass the ball or shoot it.  Of course that is coming from me ... self-admitted know nothing ... I never saw Mark play.

I will say I was always more impressed with Jones than I was with Watford.  To me, Jones' game will translate to college better as a 2 than Watford will translate to college as a 3 - i dont think he is big enough to be a 4.  247 says he is 6-9, but I thought he was 6-7

Edited July 18, 2019 by mustache eagle

[Mikey 16,546]

21 hours ago, mustache eagle said:

We didn't get a sniff with Watford ... which a lot of people have wondered why we were never associated there.

The few remarks I've seen from Watford indicated that he didn't like Auburn, period. He never did like Auburn and never would is how it seemed. Maybe family or friends associated with UAT or whatever, who knows. The most neutral remark of Watford's that I read concerning Auburn was  a laugh followed by "No".

[akillshot 294]

Cole, what's up with Mark?

https://www.timesdaily.com/sports/high_school/muscle_shoals/basketball-standout-mark-sears-is-no-longer-enrolled-at-muscle/article_efef8975-865f-5ae9-9590-aa42e609f9db.html

Basketball standout Mark Sears is no longer enrolled at Muscle Shoals

• By Craig Thomas Sports Writer

Mark Sears, one of the top prep basketball players in the Shoals, is no longer attending Muscle Shoals High School, Muscle Shoals coach Neal Barker confirmed to the TimesDaily.

“He withdrew from our school,” Barker said.

Barker said he has not heard from Sears since the start of the school year and does not know what school Sears now attends.

Sears’ father did not respond to two text messages seeking comment.

Asked if he was surprised by Sears’ departure, Barker said “I’d heard some rumors.”

Sears, a 6-foot guard, has college scholarship offers from Elon, Missouri State, South Alabama and UAB.

Sears was a Class 6A second-team all-state player as a sophomore and a first-team all-state player as a junior. He has been the TimesDaily’s big-school boys basketball player of the year each of the past two seasons.

Last year as a junior, he averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game. One of his more notable performances came in a Northwest Regional final win over Bessemer City, when he had 31 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. That victory sent Muscle Shoals to the state semifinals.

Sears also played a significant role in the Trojans’ run to the 2016 Class 6A state championship game when he was an eighth-grader.

The Trojans return several contributors from last year’s state semifinalist team, but Sears is not an easily replaceable player.

“It’s just next man up for us,” Barker said. “It’s high school basketball, so you’ve got to go with the guys who are there.”

[AUGoo 2,659]

Have hoped to see us be interested.

Surprised at his offer list. 

Appears we are not the only ones delaying on the offering.

[cole256 17,039]

On 8/13/2019 at 6:10 PM, akillshot said:

Cole, what's up with Mark?

https://www.timesdaily.com/sports/high_school/muscle_shoals/basketball-standout-mark-sears-is-no-longer-enrolled-at-muscle/article_efef8975-865f-5ae9-9590-aa42e609f9db.html

Basketball standout Mark Sears is no longer enrolled at Muscle Shoals

• By Craig Thomas Sports Writer

Mark Sears, one of the top prep basketball players in the Shoals, is no longer attending Muscle Shoals High School, Muscle Shoals coach Neal Barker confirmed to the TimesDaily.

“He withdrew from our school,” Barker said.

Barker said he has not heard from Sears since the start of the school year and does not know what school Sears now attends.

Sears’ father did not respond to two text messages seeking comment.

Asked if he was surprised by Sears’ departure, Barker said “I’d heard some rumors.”

Sears, a 6-foot guard, has college scholarship offers from Elon, Missouri State, South Alabama and UAB.

Sears was a Class 6A second-team all-state player as a sophomore and a first-team all-state player as a junior. He has been the TimesDaily’s big-school boys basketball player of the year each of the past two seasons.

Last year as a junior, he averaged 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game. One of his more notable performances came in a Northwest Regional final win over Bessemer City, when he had 31 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. That victory sent Muscle Shoals to the state semifinals.

Sears also played a significant role in the Trojans’ run to the 2016 Class 6A state championship game when he was an eighth-grader.

The Trojans return several contributors from last year’s state semifinalist team, but Sears is not an easily replaceable player.

“It’s just next man up for us,” Barker said. “It’s high school basketball, so you’ve got to go with the guys who are there.”

I imagine he may be looking to go to a school where he can get more exposure. I mean look at what he's accomplished already there.....how do you play any better than what he's already done?

[akillshot 294]

20 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I imagine he may be looking to go to a school where he can get more exposure. I mean look at what he's accomplished already there.....how do you play any better than what he's already done?

Thanks, that's what I figured in terms of exposure but thought maybe you knew where he was headed - in state, out of state. I agree he accomplished a great deal there but there is always the challenge of repeating at a state level. Many top level players come into college having won multiple state titles at their high school. No criticism of his decision because you have to make choices about what's best and go with it. 

[NoALtiger 3,849]

I don’t see how he’d get that much more exposure by transferring to a another school in-state, Muscle Shoals is plenty big and has had a lot of exposure with this run they’ve been on past few years. I don’t know what his plan is but I’d say it won’t simply be another state school. Just guessing obviously. 

[mustache eagle 2,388]

Going out of state so he can graduate early?

[cole256 17,039]

Going to Hargrave! Did all he can do and not enough people took notice so he decided to go get it

[cole256 17,039]

On 8/16/2019 at 10:01 AM, mustache eagle said:

Going out of state so he can graduate early?

He's already playing a year ahead

[ellitor 33,062]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

He's already playing a year ahead

What schools are on him the most right now?

[cole256 17,039]

8 hours ago, ellitor said:

What schools are on him the most right now?

Small schools, the biggest right now is UAB if I'm not mistaken

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

48 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Small schools, the biggest right now is UAB if I'm not mistaken

Is that because of his size?  I have seen his video clips and he is a player I think a lot of teams in the future may regret not having recruited him. 

[gravejd 3,267]

With the recent success of Harper and other smaller PG types I’m surprised size would be that big of a turnoff for schools

[cole256 17,039]

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3VUvBsDrIV/

Played first game, earned starting spot! First game two scholarship offers! I like where this is going!

Edited October 18, 2019 by cole256

[augolf1716 21,096]

6 hours ago, cole256 said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3VUvBsDrIV/

Played first game, earned starting spot! First game two scholarship offers! I like where this is going!

Which two schools?

[cole256 17,039]

16 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

Which two schools?

Stetson and Providence I believe. 

[augolf1716 21,096]

4 hours ago, cole256 said:

Stetson and Providence I believe. 

Stetson is only 30 minutes from me.

[doverstutts 1,643]

18 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

Stetson is only 30 minutes from me.

I remember Stetson beating us under Sonny ( I think it was Sonny)

[augolf1716 21,096]

19 minutes ago, doverstutts said:

I remember Stetson beating us under Sonny ( I think it was Sonny)

I was at the game it was played in Daytona and I think Sonny was there can't remember