Mark Sears wasn’t expecting to become a starter for Ohio as early as he did.
The sophomore spent the back half of last season as the Bobcats’ proverbial sixth man. He’d earned that distinction after excelling in four games during which starter Jason Preston was sidelined with a leg injury. Sears did well for himself, averaging 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and eight assists per game in that span.
Ohio coach Jeff Boals took notice as well. As the regular season wound down, Sears’ time on the court ticked up. By the time Ohio reached the Mid-American Conference Championship, Sears established that, with time, he’d be gunning for a spot in the starting rotation.
That time came sooner rather than later.
After Preston entered the NBA Draft in April, the Bobcats had a void to fill. They needed a point guard to take the reins. Boals went to Sears and made a proposition. If Sears put in the work, the spot in the starting rotation was his to lose.
“When JP had left, coach told me ‘It’s your time now, you gotta step up,’” Sears said. “That, and I also had to work for it. Nothing was given to me, so I just had to work hard.”
Sears didn’t waste a second. Instead of returning home, he stuck around Athens and went to work. He studied his game and focused on honing his weaker aspects. He claims to have put up 15,000 3-point attempts over the summer while attempting to perfect his jump shot.
The results speak for themselves. Not even a full year into his first season in the starting lineup, Sears has cemented himself as Ohio’s offensive heavyweight. He hasn’t scored less than 10 points in a game this season, and he totes the best field goal and 3-point percentage of Ohio’s usual starters.
Ohio University guard Mark Sears (1) shooting a three against Miami University guard Marr Avance (24) at Millet Hall on Tuesday Jan. 18th, 2022 (FILE).
Sears follows the ebb and flow of Ohio’s offense and vice versa. When he excels, Ohio excels. Over the course of Ohio’s nine-game winning streak, Sears has scored 20 points or more six times and is shooting an average of 52.9% from the field. Those stats have garnered him three of the four MAC Player of the Week awards he earned this season.
That’s not to say he’s been without low points. In both of Ohio’s losses this season — blowouts by LSU and then-No. 13 Kentucky — Sears made less than 25% of his field goal attempts and had his lowest scoring games all season.
Despite the lows, Sears takes his lumps and moves on. Following the losses to LSU and Kentucky, the sophomore went back to his business as usual.
“I think if you watch him, you’d think he's started for two years already,” Boals said. “Nothing fazes him. I think that's kind of his demeanor, who he is as a person off the court. And that's a great trait to have. Never get too high, never get too low.”
That cool demeanor is a trait Boals admires. Sears keeps his emotions in check on the court, and he often reacts to a turnover the same way he’d react to an easy 3-pointer. He goes with the flow, and that attitude pays dividends for both himself and the Bobcats.
Sears is a far cry from where he was last year. He’s grown from a bench player who was thrust into a starting role into a consistent offensive threat the Bobcats can rely on. If the rest of the team hits a slump, they rely on Sears to keep up production.
While Sears has torn through his sophomore year, Ohio is on its best stretch of games in recent memory. His growth from last season was expedited through necessity, but Sears is an asset Ohio has come to depend on.
“The crazy thing is, he's after whatever he’s after, but he's gonna get better and better,” Boals said.
