It didn't end the way he hoped. Legendary careers often don't. Because life isn't a movie and Fairy Tales are purely fiction. But Mark Sears will leave Tuscaloosa as the most accomplished player in the history of Alabama basketball, a player who had a seminal impact on the best three-year run in program history.
Sears used up the remainder of his March Magic on Thursday night, connecting on 10 three-pointers and leading the Crimson Tide to a record-setting night against BYU in the Sweet 16. Against Duke in the Elite Eight, Sears scored just six points on 2-of-11 shooting.
But Alabama has played in only three Elite Eight games in program history. Sears has played in two of them, with a career-defining performance against Clemson last year in leading the Crimson Tide to the Final Four for the first time in program history.
In the end, Sears' resume stands alone. Alabama may have had "better" players throughout history. Guys like Brandon Miller and Collin Sexton most recently. Hollywood Robinson and Robert Horry longer ago. Probably a host of others. None of them have a resume that can stack up against what Sears did during his three seasons for his home-state school.
Sears finishes second in Alabama history in scoring behind Reggie King, in one less season. He's one of two Alabama players to be a 1st team All-American, with Brandon Miller being the other. Sears won nine NCAA Tournament games during his Alabama career, more than any other player.
After transferring from Ohio, Sears was part of what is arguably the best team in school history in 2022-23. He was the second-leading scorer behind Miller as Alabama won the SEC regular season and tournament titles and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the first 1-seed in the history of the program.
The following year, Alabama made the tournament as a 4-seed with Sears as the unquestioned best player on the team. He then led the Crimson Tide to the program's first Final Four with a performance against Clemson in the Elite Eight that will never be forgotten.
And this year, Alabama made the tournament as a 2-seed and advanced to the Elite Eight for just the third time ever, with Sears leading a historic shooting night in the Sweet 16 that is likely to remain in the record books for quite some time.
The poetic ending would have been Sears cutting down the nets, hoisting the national championship trophy as confetti rained on top of him.
Instead, it ended in Newark in a disappointing loss to Duke. But this is not the end for Alabama basketball. The table has been set for this program to get further, to reach new heights. And it's players like Sears who have made that possible. He showed what the Crimson Tide can be.
And when that day comes that Alabama is finally the last team standing when all is said and done, it'll be because of Sears and the foundation he helped lay in Tuscaloosa.