Conference USA Composite Schedule IN REVIEW

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1 UAB HOOPS INFORMATION Table of Contents, Credits Directory/Quick Facts This is UAB Basketball UAB Timeline Where are we going? SEASON OUTLOOK Outlook Team Roster Radio/TV Spotting Chart Roster Breakdown MEET THE BLAZERS Derrick Broom Reed Davis Demario Eddins Carldell Johnson Richard Jones Marvett McDonald Brandon Tobias Ernest Little Paul Delaney Frank Holmes Maurice Gibbs/Wen Mukubu...36 Michael Anderson Jr./ Lawrence Kinnard, III Roderick Ollie MEET THE COACHES Head Coach Mike Anderson Chris Giles Matt Zimmerman T.J. Cleveland Jeff Daniels Support Staff BARTOW ARENA Bartow Arena Attendance Records Blazer Locker Room The New Conference USA OPPONENT INFORMATION Non-conference Opponents Conference USA Opponents Conference USA Tournament...70 Tip-Off Classic Opponent SID Directory Records vs. All Opponents Conference USA Composite Schedule IN REVIEW Season Notebook Season Statistics Recaps & Box Scores Conference USA Standings & Honors THE RECORD BOOK Conference USA Statistics UAB All-Time The Records: Quick Glance Individual Career Top Individual Season Records Individual Game Records UAB 1,000 Point Club Team Season Records Team Single Game Records UAB Honor Roll UAB in the NBA All-Time Jersey Numbers All-Time Roster All-Time Results UAB in the NCAA UAB in the NIT THIS IS UAB March Madness This is UAB Campus Recreation Center University Administration Athletic Administration Athletic Staff UAB Head Coaches Academic Services Athletic Training Strength & Conditioning Proud Past, Bright Future Blazer Highlights UAB All-Americans UAB Greats Birmingham: The Magic City..152 Area Restaurants and Hotels..153 UAB Media Relations UAB Media Outlets Blazer Sports Network/ISP The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) administers its educational programs and activities - including admission - without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap, or Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex). Direct inquiries to the UAB Affirmative Action Officer, Birmingham, AL CREDITS The UAB Basketball Media Guide is a production of the UAB Athletic Media Relations Office. The guide was compiled, designed, written and edited by Jason Falls with special assistance from Chris Deal and Cindy Powell. Editorial assistance provided by Norm Reilly, Katie O Brien and Jeremy Hoffman. The UAB At A Glance section was designed by UAB Creative Services. All photos by Ashley Fleming, Steve Wood and Steve Connor. A special thanks to UAB Printing Services for their dedication and tireless efforts to make this publication possible. Cover design by Jason Falls. Copyright UAB Athletics Department. 1

2 ATHLETIC STAFF DIRECTORY Director of Athletics (Area Code 205) Watson Brown Senior Associate Athletics Director Lee Moon Senior Associate Athletics Director Brian Mackin Senior Associate A.D./Senior Woman Administrator Rosalind Ervin Associate A.D./Academic Affairs Judy Sackfield Associate A.D./Business Affairs Andy Hollis Associate A.D./Marketing Sam Miller Associate A.D./Media Relations Norm Reilly Associate A.D./Ticket Operations & Football Administration Matt Wildt Assistant A.D./Academic Affairs Tony Dollison Assistant A.D/Athletic Training Mike Jones Assistant A.D./Compliance Chad Jackson Assistant A.D./External Affiars E.J. Brophy Assistant A.D./Financial Affairs Dave Henze Assistant A.D./Operations and Facilities Reid Adair Director of Physical Development Stacey Torman Athletic Media Relations Associate A.D./Media Relations Norm Reilly Assistant A.D./Media Relations Katie O Brien (kobrien@uab.edu) Assistant Media Relation Directors Jason Falls (jfalls@uab.edu) (MBB Contact) Jeremy Hoffman (jhoffman@uab.edu) Media Relations Assistant Chris Deal (cdeal@uab.edu) UAB Media Relations Mailing Address: 105 Bartow West Tower rd Avenue South Birmingham, AL Overnight Shipping Address: th Street South (Bartow Arena) Birmingham, AL Athletic Media Relations Fax: Founded Enrollment ,697 National Affiliation NCAA Division I Conference Affiliation Conference USA Home Court Bartow Arena (8,500) President Dr. Carol Garrison Faculty Representative Dr. Johnny Scott Athletics Director Watson Brown Head Basketball Coach Mike Anderson Record at UAB/Years (.657)/Three Seasons Career Record/Years (.657)/Three Seasons Assistant Coaches Chris Giles, Matt Zimmerman T.J. Cleveland Overall Record C-USA Record/Finish /4th Postseason NCAA Second Round All-Time Record / 27 Seasons NCAA Tournament Appearances (1981, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 94, 99, 04, 05) NIT Appearances... 8 (1980, 89, 91, 92, 93, 97, 98, 03) Letterwinners Returning/Lost /3 Starters Returning/Lost /2 Newcomers The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been an autonomous member of the University of Alabama system since 1969, and has had an intercollegiate athletic program since UAB is sometimes confused with the University of Alabama (Crimson Tide), which is located in Tuscaloosa; while this is inevitable, it is important to note that the two are indeed separate institutions. In addition, the UAB name is often altered by various media, opponents, merchandisers, etc. Please note that there are only two correct versions of our name, the acronym UAB, or the full University of Alabama at Birmingham. We are: UAB University of Alabama at Birmingham We are not: QUICK FACTS ABOUT OUR NAME Alabama-Birmingham, Ala.-Birm., Ala.-Birmingham, UA-Birmingham, U.A.B. 2

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4 Summer, 1977: Coach Gene Bartow is hired as UAB s first intercollegiate athletic director and head basketball coach. Preparations begin for the hiring of coaches and support staff, recruitment of student-athletes, establishment of the Golden 100 scholarship foundation, scheduling, etc. Through The Years With UAB Basketball association with the Sun Belt Conference. Nov. 24, 1978: The UAB men s basketball team plays its first game, a loss to Nebraska, before a crowd of 14,800 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. Center Stan Scales scored the first UAB basket on a driving layup with 18:06 remaining in the first half. Nov. 24, 1978: The Blazers loss to Nebraska was quickly forgotten as they earned their first victory in only the second game in the young program s history. UAB defeated San Francisco State, 67-51, in Birmingham, Ala. Gene Bartow was named the first athletic director and head men s basketball coach at UAB. Fall, 1978: UAB athletic teams begin intercollegiate competition for the first time; the university begins an 11-year March 6, 1980: UAB plays its first-ever postseason game, dropping a decision to Southwestern Louisiana in the opening round of the NIT. Jan. 7, 1980: The Blazers earn the program s 25th victory with an defeat over Virginia Commonwealth University. Feb. 12, 1981: UAB earns the 50th victory in school history, defeating UNC Charlotte, March 13, 1981: UAB defeats Western Kentucky, 93-68, in the NCAA Tournament. The win was the first NCAA Tournament win for UAB. March 15, 1981: The Blazer men s basketball team defeats Kentucky in the NCAA Mideast Regional, and reaches the NCAA Sweet 16. All-American Steve Mitchell concluded his UAB career as the leading scorer in school history with 1,867 points. March, 1982: UAB has its greatest year to date, adding to its amazing basketball success story. The Blazers defeated the Indiana Hoosiers and the Ralph-Sampsonled Virginia Cava-liers in the Southeast Regional, and reached the NCAA Elite Eight. The team would fall just short of the Final Four, losing to Louisville, The Southeast Regional in Birming-ham is the first of five NCAA Tournament events to be hosted by UAB ( 82, 84, 85, 87, 88). April, 1982: Oliver Robinson, the first player signed at UAB by Gene Bartow, became the school s first-ever All- American, as named by several publications. During his senior season, Robinson averaged 21.1 ppg and led the Blazers to a 25-6 record. March 6, 1983: The Blazers defeat South Florida, 64-47, in the Sun Belt Tournament, earning the program s 100th victory. Nov. 26, 1985: UAB defeats Missouri Baptist, 94-52, in Birmingham to earn the school s 150th victory in school history. The men s basketball team defeated Indiana and Virginia to make it to the Elite Eight. It is the deepest any UAB team has advanced in the NCAA Tournament. The team featured current Blazer assistant coach Chris Giles. March 15, 1986: With a loss to the Dean Smith and the North Carolina Tar Heels, UAB s Steve Mitchell concludes his career as the school s all-time scoring 4

5 leader. Mitchell finished his career with 1,867 points. Jan. 2, 1988: The Blazers open the UAB Classic with a victory over Jackson State, earning the program s 200th victory. Dec. 3, 1988: UAB plays its first game in Bartow Arena. A crowd of 8,397 saw the Blazers defeat Vanderbilt, in the arena s dedication game. March 22, 1989: Blazer basketball reaches the NIT Final Four after defeating Connecticut, Eventually, the Blazers would defeat Michigan State for third place at Madison Square Garden. Feb. 10, 1990: UAB defeats South Florida, 82-64, to reach the 250-win milestone in the program s history : UAB begins competition in the Great Midwest Conference. Dec. 19, 1992: UAB defeats Prairie View A&M, , earning the program s 300th victory. March 18, 1993: In its only meeting with the in-state school, UAB defeats Alabama, 58-56, in the opening round of the NIT. UAB opened Bartow Arena in front of 8,397 people who saw the Blazers defeat Vanderbilt, March 24, 1993: The men s basketball team reaches the NIT Final Four for the second time in school history after defeating Southwest Missouri State, The Blazers would eventually win the third place game with a victory over Providence in Madison Square Garden : UAB becomes a founding member of Conference USA. Nov. 30, 1995: The Blazers defeat Prairie View A&M, , making it the 350th win in UAB men s basketball history. March 26, 1996: One era ends and another begins as coach Gene Bartow steps downs as head men s basketball coach. His son and assistant, Murry, is named head coach; Gene Bartow remains as director of athletics. Feb. 23, 1998: The Blazers defeat Norfolk State, , to earn the program s 400th win. March 11, 1999: UAB makes its 10th, and last, appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The team dropped a decision against Iowa in Denver, Colo. Feb. 5, 2000: A then-record 9,279 people jam into Bartow Arena to watch the nation s top-ranked team in Cincinnati defeat the Blazers, July 10, 2000: Gene Bartow announces his retirement as athletic director after 23 years of service to the university. Feb. 3, 2001: UAB earns the program s 450th victory, defeating Southern Miss, April 4, 2002: Athletics Director Herman Frazier and UAB President Ann Reynolds announce the hiring of Mike Anderson as UAB's third men's basketball coach. Nov. 22, 2002: Head coach Mike Anderson earns his first UAB victory with a defeat over crosstown rival Birmingham-Southern. March 15, 2003: In Mike Anderson s first year as head coach, he leads the Blazers to the Conference USA championship game for the first time in school history. UAB lost a hard-fought battle to tournament host Louisville, UAB upset No. 1 overall seed Kentucky in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, 76-75, to earn a Sweet 16 berth. March 19, 2003: UAB makes its return to postseason play with a victory over Louisiana Lafayette in the opening round of the NIT. UAB would go on to defeat Siena, before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual NIT Champions, St. John s. March, 2003: Anderson closes his inaugural season at the helm of the UAB program. Anderson finishes the season with a record of and a trip to the NIT. January 24, 2004: UAB battles rival Charlotte and comes away with a road victory for the program s 500th alltime win. March, 2004: The UAB men's basketball team shocks the college basketball world with its upset over top-seeded Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Blazers would finish the season with a overall record and ranked No. 23 in the country. Also, the Blazers' 12-4 record in Conference USA earned them a share of the first C-USA regular season championship. Head coach Mike Anderson was also named the 2004 Conference USA Coach of the Year. Feb. 5, 2005: A record crowd of 9,354 fans pour into Bartow Arena to see No. 9 Louisville narrowly escape with a win over the Blazers. March, 2005: Mike Anderson guides UAB to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and third consecutive postseason with an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Blazers open with an first-round spanking of SEC West Champion LSU. 5

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8 Edition of UAB Blazers Ready To Run "Fastest 40 Minutes In Basketball" laced with talent, depth, experience for upcoming season Talent... depth... experience... tenacity: All words to describe the stable of thoroughbreds Mike Anderson and the UAB Blazers have waiting for their call to the post in The Blazers are coming off a campaign in which they made their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and eye-popping postseason upset. They led the nation in steals for the third straight season something no other program has ever done. Astonishingly, only three players do not return for Any coach will tell you the key ingredient to winning in college basketball is players. Having players is Mike Anderson's business. And business is good. Couple a roster which includes 10 returning letterwinners, three of whom were starters, with Anderson's oft-heralded coaching prowess and the UAB Blazer men's basketball team could be primed for a fourth straight 20-win season and postseason appearance and third straight run to the NCAA's Big Dance. Every year, our goal is to win a national championship, Anderson said. I don't know when it's going to happen, but that's my goal. That's our goal as a program. As long as we keep working toward that, good things will happen. We have a group of coaches and players who want to win. We play an exciting brand of basketball that is fun for them to coach and play and we enjoy it. Chief among the enjoyable returning players for Anderson's club in will be one of the nation's top point guards in Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson and an often underrated, but equally as impressive slashing forward in Demario Eddins. The duo have combined to lead the Blazers to 44 wins and two NCAA Tournaments in their two seasons together. Both are already on UAB's all-time steals list while Eddins is already one of the most prolific scorers in school history with a season yet to play. Talent is certainly a quality those and a host of other Blazers possess. SENIOR FORWARD DEMARIO EDDINS Throw in fellow senior Marvett McDonald, who does plenty of throwing in of his own with 77 three-point field goals a year ago, at the off-guard position and remaining roster that includes four more seniors and three other veteran players and you can see from where the experience label comes. Add to that five new players, including two heralded freshman post players, a top-tier junior college guard and a major NCAA Division I transfer in Wen Mukubu, and there's your depth. SENIOR GUARD MARVETT McDONALD UAB's tenacity stems from Anderson's coaching style. For a team that has led the nation in steals in each of the last three seasons and forced an unheard of 20-plus turnovers per game from its opponents last year, tenacity is the name of the game. Anderson calls his team's play, "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball." This year, it will again be fast, but will also feature experience, depth and considerable talent. THE BACKCOURT UAB's backcourt in might be one of the more versatile and explosive ones in the country. Not only is depth prevalent with no fewer than six potential starting guards on the roster, but four of them are seniors. The combination of experience, depth and talent makes the Blazers' backcourt one of the more formidable ones around. At the head of the proverbial dragon, few point guards in the country are better than Squeaky Johnson. The tenacious defender has been called the best passfirst point guard in college basketball by some. After the senior from New Orleans led UAB to an upset of then-no. 17 Cincinnati in his sophomore season, Bob Huggins lauded Johnson as, "the best player on the floor," despite the fact Johnson failed to score a point. Squeaky doesn t have to score a point to beat you, Anderson said. He is like a coach on the floor. He helps you win. He never panics. Too many people get caught up in stats and don't notice a guy like him, but he can do nothing but take 10 charges and be the happiest guy on the floor. Already on pace to become UAB's all-time steals leader in just three seasons of play, Johnson is the leading returning assist man in Conference USA. He led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio for the second straight season in after leading the nation in that category in Perhaps the biggest upside to Johnson's game is that he has a wealth of untapped 8

9 potential as a scoring threat. In fact, in the final 13 games of last season, Johnson picked up his scoring, going for double figures in five of those contests after not hitting double digits all season. The threat opened the door for UAB to reverse a fourgame losing skid, close out the regular season with four straight wins and make a postseason run that included upsetting SEC West champ LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I think you will see him step his game up a little more this year because he has a nice shot, Anderson said. He can shoot the basketball. He can get to the free throw line and make things happen. When you lose the quality of players we did last year, you need some folks to step-up and I think Squeaky will do that. The Blazers will also be blessed with one of Conference USA's deadliest shooters in the two guard position. Senior Marvett McDonald averaged 10.8 points per game and hit 77 three-pointers in his UAB debut last season. The former junior college national champion at Southeastern Iowa Community College burst on the scene with 15 points in a hard-fought road victory at Marshall last year. He wound up starting 20 of the team's 33 contests and was the Chevrolet Player of the Game in the LSU win, lighting the Bayou Bengals up for 21 points on five-of-eight shooting from downtown. McDonald will provide both scoring from the off-guard position and an adequate backup for Johnson at the point as well. He averaged a pair of assists per game last season and dished out a season-high six in the road win at Saint Louis. Senior guards Richard Jones and Derrick Broom will again provide depth on the perimeter for Mike Anderson's club. Jones averaged 4.2 points in 32 appearances last year for the Blazers. He scored in doublefigures three times and went for nine in the season-ending loss to Arizona in the NCAA Tournament. Broom appeared in all 33 contests, scoring 3.5 points behind a career-best 29 three-point field goals. Sophomore Paul Delaney has a chance to emerge as a backcourt mainstay in for UAB. The Decatur, Ga., product returned to competitive basketball after missing his entire prep senior season with a broken foot last year and scored 3.1 points per game off the bench for the Blazers. His defensive tenacity won him SENIOR FORWARD BRANDON TOBIAS playing time and his above-the-rim play and slashing moves to the basket enamored him with the Bartow Arena faithful. Delaney hit 57.1 percent of his field goals last year and notched 30 steals on the season in just under 10 minutes of play per game. The lone newcomer to the backcourt will be junior college combination guard Maurice Gibbs. The 6-2, 195-pound guard was the second-leading scorer on last year's National Junior College Athletic Association national runners-up squad at Moberly Area (Mo.) Community College. A point guard with scoring ability and range, Gibbs shot 40-percent from three-point range and 56-percent from the field last year. SENIOR GUARD DERRICK BROOM Walk on Reid Davis is certain to be another fan favorite at Bartow Arena this year as well. The Birmingham native appeared in a career-high eight contests last year. Mike Anderson Jr., will don the Blazer uniform as well this year, after sitting out as a redshirt. All the returning players are going to be instrumental for us this year with the exodus of Ronell and Donell (Taylor)... you lost some pretty good players there, Anderson acknowledged. The returning guys in the backcourt are going to have to continue to take it to another level and give us even more. I'm talking about all of them - Squeaky, Marvett, Paul Delaney, Richard Jones, Derrick Broom and even a new guy like Moe Gibbs. When you talk about depth, it's there. Now we've got to get those guys in the mindset of getting in and giving us quality minutes and productive minutes, defensively as well as offensively." THE FRONTCOURT UAB's frontcourt under Mike Anderson has always looked a bit different than the traditional small forward, power forward and center alignment. Anderson's up-tempo style and frenetic defensive transition game dictates all five players be fast, active and energetic. The Blazers may have the most ideal frontcourt lineups in Anderson's tenure in Birmingham with four returning forwards, including Demario Eddins, who has already solidified himself as one of UAB's all-time greats. Add to that three talented newcomers to the wing and post corps and Anderson has to like his team's makeup down low. "There's one thing about it, we have never been known for size, Anderson admitted. But at the same time, if we're active down low, we can cause some problems. Sometimes our size comes back to haunt us, like in the Arizona game (in last year's NCAA Tournament). But again, we've got some depth and some talent down there and the potential to be a very good, active low post team. Eddins enters his senior season ready to write a final chapter on what has already been a career for the ages in the Green and Gold. He has started 90 of 99 games in his three years at UAB and already ranks 16th on the all-time UAB scoring list with 1,084 career points. His slashing style and versatility were hampered a bit last season by moving to the power forward position defensively where he would normally 9

10 guard players much heavier. The addition of Wen Mukubu, who sat our last season in his transfer year from Arkansas, and heralded freshman Lawrence Kinnard to UAB's forward corps will likely free Eddins up to be more of a scoring threat this year. Sometimes it happens that way with the way we play and Demario will have to be guarding those bigger players, Anderson cautioned. Hopefully, though, we'll have it where we can have some more guys out there with size so he can roam a little bit. He's a lot more effective when he can do that. The season not only saw Eddins take on the role of defensive presence in the post, but saw him emerge as the go-to player in the clutch for the Blazers. His last-second three-pointer against DePaul in the Conference USA Tournament drove a dagger through the Blue Demons and was the likely play which vaulted UAB off the NCAA Tournament's proverbial bubble. Eddins scored in double figures in 23 of his 33 games last year. He averaged careerbests in points (12.5), rebounds (4.8) and steals (1.7) in his junior campaign. Fellow senior Brandon Tobias will again be counted on for both on- and off-court leadership and valuable minutes in the post for the Blazers in He appeared in 32 games last season, starting seven, while recording averages of 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds. His six points off the bench against LSU in the NCAA Tournament gave the Blazers a muchneeded answer to LSU's Brandon Bass down low. Tobias' strength on the blocks and ability to defend against larger players will parlay him into an important factor in this year's success. Mukubu, a 6-6, 210-pound athletic forward who came off the bench for two seasons at Arkansas from , brings a long wingspan, defensive intensity and athleticism to the Blazer frontcourt. He was spectacular in last year's Green-Gold scrimmage, scoring 22 points on nine-of- 11 shooting while dishing out five assists. While the year off from game experience is always a question mark for transfer players, Mukubu's athleticism and quickness are sure to provide the Blazers with an additional weapon on the wings. He's one of those blue collar guys, Anderson said. He's one of those guys who gets dirty. He takes charges, gets SENIOR GUARD RICHARD JONES deflections and is just an active basketball player. He's going to do some things offensively that will get people excited... on fast breaks, catching alley-oops and whatnot. But I really want him to be one of those guys who will hopefully be one of our better defensive players. Junior Ernest Little proved to be ready to contribute significant minutes in the thick of Conference USA play last year as nowdeparted senior Marques Lewis battled injuries. Little was called upon to play a big role at Saint Louis and helped UAB snap a four-game losing skid with six points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots -- including one at the buzzer to seal the win -- in 26 minutes of play against the Billikens. Little's performance came in a stretch of nine contests in which he averaged 16 minutes per game. Little's scoring SOPHOMORE GUARD PAUL DELANEY (3.4) and rebounding (2.4) both elevated during his sophomore season and his maturation into a dominant defensive force inside should continue in Frank Holmes rounds out the returning post players for Anderson's club for the upcoming season. Holmes averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in his freshman season, but showed flashes of brilliance and displayed his impressive athleticism with a strong inside game. He went for six points and six rebounds (both seasonhighs) against Murray State. He grabbed four or more rebounds four times on the season despite playing just eight minutes per game. The newcomers to the Blazer frontcourt could be the X-factor for UAB this season. Lawrence Kinnard comes to UAB as one of the more heralded prospects for the Blazers in years. The 6-6, 186-pound slashing forward was rated as the 70th best high school prospect in the country by The Sporting News and came in at 18th nationally in Rivals.com's list of prep small forwards. The Memphis, Tenn., product led his Raleigh-Egypt squad to a state runnerup finish in Tennessee as a senior and his AAU squad has been one of the most dominant club teams in recent history. Lawrence Kinnard is a very heralded high school player who potentially has a chance to be a very good player for us, Anderson said. He gives us a versatile basketball player on our roster. Fellow freshman Roderick Ollie, an allstate small forward from Moorhead, Miss., and Indianola Gentry High School was the MVP of the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game last spring after averaging 23 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals per game as a senior. Roderick Ollie is one of those guys who, the more he's here, the better he'll get, Anderson said. He's very gifted physically. I think it's just a matter of getting that college competition. Kinnard and Ollie could see plenty of playing time early in Anderson's up-tempo system. However, as with most freshmen, Anderson will allow the duo to develop at their own pace. COACHING Few coaches in American can boast the accomplishments Mike Anderson has pro- 10

11 duced in his three seasons as a college head coach. Anderson has guided UAB to three straight 20-win seasons and postseason appearances. The Blazers have appeared in two straight NCAA Tournaments and are one of only two teams to pull off first-round upsets in both years. The Ray Meyer Conference USA Coach of the Year, Anderson has led the Blazers to upset wins over No. 1 overall seed Kentucky in the 2004 NCAA Tournament and SEC West Division Champion LSU in last season's Big Dance. He also guided UAB to the NIT Elite Eight in his rookie coaching campaign in He has amassed 65 wins in three seasons and has won 66-percent of the games he has coached in that span. His all-time postseason record, including the Conference USA Tournament, is The victories are in large part due to his pressure defense. An offspring of the "40 Minutes of Hell" made famous by his mentor, Nolan Richardson, at Arkansas where Anderson was a 17-year assistant, UAB's "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" has produced the national leader in steals in each of Anderson's three years. No other program has ever led the nation in steals for three straight years. "I've been how we ve done that a lot and, quite frankly, I don't know, Anderson laughed. I do know that it's not something we're going to change. We're going to continue to get after people defensively. The pressure we do put on people is hard to handle. Our guards extend the floor and make it more than a half court game. Our forwards, though, have to be in-tune to what's going on as well. It's really a read situation on defense. There are instincts involved, but there's a method to the madness. It's remarkable that we've led the nation in steals three straight years and that's something no one else has ever done, Anderson said. Nobody has been able to figure it out, neither have I and I'm not going to try to." Anderson's staff is arguably one of the best in college basketball as well. Top assistant Chris Giles, one of UAB's all-time great players, handles the post players and is well respected as one of the top recruiters in the South. Matt Zimmerman, who has overseen opponent scouting for the last three years, was an outstanding high JUNIOR FORWARD ERNEST LITTLE school coach in Arkansas before coming to UAB in Birmingham native T.J. Cleveland is the newest addition to the coaching staff. The Arkansas Razorback guard served as UAB's video coordinator each of the last three years and brings the experience of being one of the Southeastern Conference's top guards from In addition, former Montevallo head coach and a junior college teammate of Anderson s, Jeff Daniels joins the UAB staff this season as Director of Basketball Operations. With Jeff joining us, we have a tremendous group of coaches, Anderson said. They're in tune to what we're doing and we're all on the same page. They don't work for me, they work with me. It's a SOPHOMORE FORWARD FRANK HOLMES good situation. We've got a good staff that's in tune with one another. THE VERDICT Without question, UAB has one of the more experienced and talented teams it has seen taking the floor in Couple that with the knowledge that the Blazers are winners of 20 or more games for three straight years, have wins in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments and have seen the postseason in every year of the Mike Anderson era, and one can see why Blazer fans have reason to be excited about the upcoming season. Anderson's club will also face a new-look Conference USA this season which many feel the Blazers and fellow carryover Memphis will immediately rise to the top as the league's best teams. The new league will be no pushover, however, with recent NCAA teams Tulsa, UTEP and UCF, along with nationally-prominent programs in Marshall, Rice and SMU on board. UAB s non-conference schedule is one Anderson calls, the most difficult, yet exciting since I ve been here. The Blazers open in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass., against UMass. The home slate includes top-25 programs Oklahoma State and Old Dominion, Colonial power Virginia Commonwealth and Sun Belt favorite Western Kentucky. Road dates for the Blazers this season include visits to Big 10 upstart Minnesota, Big 12 darkhorse Nebraska and former C- USA, now Big East contenders DePaul and USF. You look at our non-conference schedule and we've got our work cut out for us, Anderson said. You add the unknown element of our new conference opponents and it's an exciting schedule. For the fans, it's without a doubt one of the more exciting schedules we've ever had at UAB. The competition is unbelievable. If we don't get our brains beat out, it will put us in position to compete for a conference championship and the postseason again. However difficult the challenge presented by the schedule and the new-look Conference USA, Mike Anderson knows his team has the ingredients for another successful run this year. With the returning talent, considerable depth, volumes of experience and an ever-present tenacity on his teams, Anderson's Blazers are ready to run in

12 UAB MEN S BASKETBALL NUMERICAL ROSTER # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year GP/GS Points Reb. Hometown (Previous School) 0 Squeaky Johnson G Sr. 33/ New Orleans, La./Marion Abramson/Salt Lake CC 1 Maurice Gibbs G Jr Carbondale, Ill./Carbondale/Moberly Area (Mo.) CC 4 Paul Delaney III G So. 28/ Decatur, Ga./Chamblee 5 Marvett McDonald G Sr. 33/ Memphis, Tenn./Northside/Southeastern Iowa JC 12 Reed Davis G Sr. 8/ Birmingham, Ala./Altamont 13Michael Anderson* G R-Fr Birmingham, Ala./Hoover 15 Frank Holmes F So. 30/ Somerville, Tenn./Fayette-Ware 21 Lawrence Kinnard F Fr Memphis, Tenn./Raleigh-Egypt 23 Demario Eddins F Sr. 33/ Chicago, Ill./Winchendon Prep 24 Wen Mukubu* G/F Jr Miami, Fla./Miami Beach/Arkansas 25 Ernest Little F Jr. 29/ Mobile, Ala./Monroe Country 31 Richard Jones G/F Sr. 32/ Oklahoma City, Okla./Douglass 42 Derrick Broom G/F Sr. 33/ Cartersville, Ga./Woodland 44 Brandon Tobias F Sr. 32/ Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Dillard 45 Roderick Ollie F Fr Moorhead, Miss./Indianola Gentry * Redshirts UAB MEN S BASKETBALL ALPHABETICAL ROSTER # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year GP/GS Points Reb. Hometown (Previous School) 13Michael Anderson* G R-Fr Birmingham, Ala./Hoover 42 Derrick Broom G/F Sr. 33/ Cartersville, Ga./Woodland 12 Reed Davis G Sr. 8/ Birmingham, Ala./Altamont 4 Paul Delaney III G So. 28/ Decatur, Ga./Chamblee 23 Demario Eddins F Sr. 33/ Chicago, Ill./Winchendon Prep 1 Maurice Gibbs G Jr Carbondale, Ill./Carbondale/Moberly Area (Mo.) CC 15 Frank Holmes F So. 30/ Somerville, Tenn./Fayette-Ware 0 Squeaky Johnson G Sr. 33/ New Orleans, La./Marion Abramson/Salt Lake CC 31 Richard Jones G/F Sr. 32/ Oklahoma City, Okla./Douglass 21 Lawrence Kinnard F Fr Memphis, Tenn./Raleigh-Egypt 25 Ernest Little F Jr. 29/ Mobile, Ala./Monroe Country 5 Marvett McDonald G Sr. 33/ Memphis, Tenn./Northside/Southeastern Iowa JC 24 Wen Mukubu* G/F Jr Miami, Fla./Miami Beach/Arkansas 45 Roderick Ollie F Fr Moorhead, Miss./Indianola Gentry 44 Brandon Tobias F Sr. 32/ Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Dillard * Redshirts 12

13 Blazers Radio-Television Chart 13

14 UAB ROSTER BREAKDOWN BY STATE Alabama (3) Michael Anderson Jr. (Birmingham) Reid Davis (Birmingham) Ernest Little (Mobile) Florida (2) Wen Mukubu (Miami) Brandon Tobias (Ft. Lauderdale) Georgia (2) Derrick Broom (Cartersville) Paul Delaney III (Decatur) Illinois (2) Demario Eddins (Chicago) Maurice Gibbs (Carbondale) Louisiana (1) Carldell Squeaky Johnson (New Orleans) Mississippi (1) Roderick Ollie (Moorhead) Oklahoma (1) Richard Jones (Oklahoma City) Tennessee (3) Frank Holmes (Sommerville) Lawrence Kinnard (Memphis) Marvett McDonald (Memphis) BY HEIGHT 6-9 (2) Frank Holmes, Ernest Little 6-8 (1) Lawrence Kinnard 6-7 (2) Demario Eddins, Brandon Tobias 6-5 (4) Derrick Broom, Richard Jones, Wen Mukubu, Roderick Ollie 6-2 (3) Paul Delaney, Maurice Gibbs, Marvett McDonald 6-1 (1) Reid Davis 5-11 (1) Michael Anderson Anderson 5-10 (1) Carldell Squeaky Johnson BY CLASS Seniors (7) Derrick Broom, Reid Davis, Demario Eddins, Carldell Squeaky Johnson, Richard Jones, Marvett McDonald, Brandon Tobias Juniors (3) Maurice Gibbs, Ernest Little, Wen Mukubu Sophomores (2) Paul Delaney, Frank Holmes Freshman (3) Michael Anderson, Lawrence Kinnard, Roderick Ollie 14