He was the first basketball player on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, appearing on the December 20, 1954, issue during his senior season in college.

[4] Born and raised in Watsonville, California, Sears graduated from its high school in 1951 and played college basketball at nearby Santa Clara University.

Sears would miss several games due to breaking his jaw after a fight with George Lee of the Detroit Pistons.

He would eventually leave the Knicks, breaching his contract to join the San Francisco Saints of the American Basketball League (ABL).

Sears spent the 1961–62 season with the San Francisco Saints in the short-lived American Basketball League (ABL).