Sears, Davis, Flagg named preseason All-America
Oct 21, 2024, 12:21 PM ET
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina’s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before choosing to return for another college season.Their decisions assisted their teams make top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and made both players some preseason honors, too.Sears was a near-unanimous selection for the Associated Press preseason All-America guys’s basketball group launched Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was ideal behind him, capturing 51 votes.Editor’s Picks 2 Related They were signed up with by Kansas huge man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard
Caleb Love
and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the last area, developing a six-man group that consists of only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.Sears was a crucial cog in the Crimson Tide’s very first trip to the Last Four a year ago, orchestrating among college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after balancing 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Department I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 helps and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with a minimum of 20 points.Sears exercised for NBA scouts throughout the offseason before choosing to go back to Alabama, making the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.”I saw the group that we had and I wished to belong of it, and bring home Alabama’s very first championship game in basketball, “Sears said.Across the state at competing Auburn, Broome made a quick choice about his future, revealing in
April that he would be back for a fifth season.The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after balancing 16.5 points and
8.5 rebounds while shooting almost 55 %from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome strove on his boundary shooting throughout the offseason and his return made Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking. “My primary goal is a group goal, which is to win the championship game, to make it as far as I can in March Insanity,”Broome said. “When a group shines, everybody shines individually.”Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his 5th season at North Carolina.The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after balancing 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA competition.
Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big male Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.”I know there’s more work to be done,”Davis stated.”I understand my jersey’s not increasing until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied however I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with lots of hype.
The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has actually been forecasted as the No. 1 overall choice in the NBA draft.Flagg has the abilities of a guard however can likewise play inside and has actually striven on his perimeter shooting, offering him the capacity to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He becomes part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center measured up to the billing, balancing 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA tournament.With Dickinson’s return and an influx of skilled transfers, Kansas is ranked No. 1 going into the season that starts Nov. 4. Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has actually ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after balancing 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers. Love checked the NBA waters this summertime before deciding to return.”He’s had an extremely effective college profession thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said.”He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get much better with this additional year, therefore I just encourage him to make the most of it.
“