Alabama, Gonzaga stars headline latest NBA Draft withdrawals

Alabama’s Mark Sears is withdrawing from the 2024 NBA Draft and will return to play for the Crimson Tide after helping his team to the Final Four this past season, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports.

Coming in at No. 80 on ESPN’s best-available board, Sears was a second-team All-American and a first-team All-SEC selection in 2023-24. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 50.8% from the field, 43.6% from three and 85.7% from the free-throw line.

“I got good feedback from the NBA,” Sears said, per Givony. “But I can still get better in a few areas. I want to show I am a dog on defense next season, continue to bring vocal leadership, and work on my body and get into better shape. NIL has changed basketball and NBA teams told me that age isn’t a factor in today’s game, so I was comfortable coming back to try and bring home a national championship to Alabama.”

Michael Ajayi, who transferred from Pepperdine to Gonzaga, also withdrew from the draft, according to Givony. The 6-foot-7 guard averaged 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds while shooting 47.0% from beyond the arc. He made the All-WCC First Team in his first year with Pepperdine.

Ajayi is ranked No. 75 in ESPN’s best available, and according to Givony, he’ll be “closely monitored” as a senior after earning some fans during the pre-draft process.

Both Sears and Ajayi participated in the 2024 NBA Combine.

Here are more of the latest draft decisions from early entrants ahead of the Wednesday night’s NCAA withdrawal deadline:

Withdrawing from the draft:

• Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell is returning to the Rebels for his super-senior season after averaging 16.2 points last season, per CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. Murrell is No. 77 on ESPN’s best available.
• Wooga Poplar, who is transferring from Miami, is returning to school. He’s visiting Oregon next week, according to Rothstein. He averaged 13.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in his junior season after helping Miami reach the Final Four the year before.
• Princeton guard Xaivian Lee is returning to school for his junior season, per Givony. He averaged 17.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists en route to a first-team All-Ivy League nod.
• Former Campbell guard Anthony Dell’Orso is transferring to Arizona for his junior season, according to Givony. He averaged 19.5 points and shot 38.0% from three.
• Malik Dia is transferring from Belmont to Ole Miss for his junior season, via Rothstein. He averaged 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds last season after starting his collegiate career at Vanderbilt.
• Jalon Moore is returning to Oklahoma for his senior season, via Rothstein. Moore began his career at Georgia Tech before playing at Oklahoma in his junior season.
• In case you missed it, Arizona guard Caleb Love is withdrawing from the draft for his super-senior season with the Wildcats.