Milwaukee Bucks working out eye-catching draft prospect as decision deadline looms

Wednesday, May 29 marks the deadline for withdrawal from the 2024 NBA Draft for incoming prospects. One of those prospects who is teetering on the fence of staying in the draft and returning to college basketball is Mark Sears. Sears is reportedly scheduled to workout with the Bucks today.

Should the workout go well, the Milwaukee Bucks may be able to convince Mark Sears that he will be drafted with one of their two picks, 23 or 33. The Milwaukee Bucks are also working out Dillon Jones of Weber State, who will be a candidate for the 33rd pick as well.

Mark Sears led the Alabama Crimson Tide deep in the 2024 NCAA March Madness tournament, advancing all the way to the Final Four before losing to the eventual champion UConn Huskies.

Sears averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, four assists and 1.6 steals per game. Sears shot 50.8 percent on field goals, 43.6 percent from the 3-point line and 85.7 percent from the free throw line. The numbers from the field and behind the arc are career highs.

During the March Madness Tournament, Sears scored 30, 26, 18, 23 and 24 points to help Alabama continue advancing to the Final Four. Across the five games, Sears stepped his game up to 53.2 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from the 3-point line and 82.6 percent from the free throw line. Being able to step up his game when the pressure is on is certainly a valuable trait.

Mark Sears certainly helped his stock during the March Madness tournament offensively, but also defensively, after the game on March 24 over upstart 12 seed Grand Canyon, Alabama head coach Nate Oats praised Sears’ defensive effort saying “This is as good of defense as Mark Sears has played all year.”

Two days earlier, after the Crimson Tide defeated Charleston in their opening tournament game, Sears said he “took it personal” when he heard people saying bad things about the Alabama defense.

At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, he is slightly undersized for the NBA but certainly fits the stature of some of the backup point guards standing out in the Eastern Conference of the NBA Playoffs, namely T.J. McConnell and Payton Pritchard.

McConnell is almost exactly the same size as Sears, and Milwaukee Bucks fans can certainly attest to the level of pest that McConnell was during the first round of the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers. Size is not the only similarity, as their shooting percentages are extremely close as well. Sears shoots a slightly lower field goal percentage but higher 3-point and free throw percentage than McConnell, albeit at the college level.

The Milwaukee Bucks potentially getting their own backup point guard who can pester opponent guards and fill the potential void that Patrick Beverly could create should he sign elsewhere would be a quality move

If the Bucks bring Beverly back, they could still draft Sears and then have Beverly teach him the artist’s ways of annoying opponents with tough, in-your-face defense.

Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated gave his thoughts on Mark Sears, saying he believes Sears should probably return to Alabama.