Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

2017–18 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

2017–18 UAB Blazers men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record20–13 (10–8 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBartow Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee 16 2   .889 25 8   .758
Old Dominion 15 3   .833 25 7   .781
Western Kentucky 14 4   .778 27 11   .711
Marshall 12 6   .667 25 11   .694
UTSA 11 7   .611 20 15   .571
UAB 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
North Texas 8 10   .444 20 18   .526
FIU 8 10   .444 14 18   .438
Southern Miss 7 11   .389 16 18   .471
Louisiana Tech 7 11   .389 17 16   .515
Florida Atlantic 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
UTEP 6 12   .333 11 20   .355
Rice 4 14   .222 7 24   .226
Charlotte 2 16   .111 6 23   .207
2018 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2017–18 UAB Blazers basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by second-year head coach Robert Ehsan, played their home games at the Bartow Arena as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 20–13, 10–8 C-USA play to finish in sixth place. The defeated Florida Atlantic in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to Western Kentucky. Despite winning 20 games, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2016–17 season 17–16, 9–9 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Charlotte in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to Louisiana Tech.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Hakeem Baxter 0 G 6'2" 186 Senior Philadelphia, PA Graduated
Denzell Watts 1 G 6'2" 235 Senior Flint, MI Graduated
Javien Williams 10 G 6'4" 175 Freshman Birmingham, AL Transferred to Tallahassee CC
Dirk Williams 11 G 6'5" 178 Senior Homewood, AL Graduated
Tosin Mehinti 21 F 6'9" 244 Senior Lagos, Nigeria Graduated
Tyler Madison 22 G 6'4" 222 Senior Columbiana, AL Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Jalen Perry 21 G 6'3" 180 Junior Louisville, KY Junior college transferred from John A. Logan College.

Incoming recruits

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Makhtar Gueye
#64 PF
Lake Forest, IL ASPIRE Basketball Academy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) N/A Oct 24, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 75
Luis Hurtado
#83 SG
Weston, FL The Sagemont School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nov 17, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 68
Zack Bryant
PG
Jacksonville, FL Providence School of Jacksonville 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Aug 9, 2016 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Recruiting class of 2018

College recruiting information (2018)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tamel Pearson
#31 C
Chicago, IL Morgan Park High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) N/A Sep 4, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 79
Ryan Boyce
SF
Memphis, TN East High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oct 13, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jude Akabueze
C
Lagos, Nigeria North Marion High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Nov 19, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2017–18 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Zack Bryant 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Providence School Hastings, Florida
G 2 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Sr Central Catholic High School Bloomington, Illinois
F 3 Chris Cokley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Sr Savannah High School Savannah, Georgia
G 4 Anderson McCoy (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Jr Ancilla College Indianapolis, Indiana
G 5 Deion Lavender 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Southern Illinois Alton, Illinois
G 10 Luis Hurtado 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Fr The Sagemont School Mérida, Venezuela
F 11 Makhtar Gueye 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Aspire Academy Rufisque, Senegal
G 12 Hunter Reynolds (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 161 lb (73 kg) Fr Christian Academy of Knoxville Knoxville, TN
G 13 Nate Darling 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So DeMatha Catholic High School Halifax, Nova Scotia
G 21 Jalen Perry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr John A. Logan College Louisville, Kentucky
F 23 Lewis Sullivan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 223 lb (101 kg) RS Jr Hazel Green High School Hazel Green, Alabama
F 33 Thomas Smallwood 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Jr Lycée Général Saint John Perse Bordeaux, France
F 34 William Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Sr Dallas County High School Plantersville, Alabama
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2017*
7:00 pm
Morehouse W 84–69 
Bartow Arena (3,203)
Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
November 10*
7:00 pm
Jacksonville W 96–67  1–0
Bartow Arena (3,106)
Birmingham, AL
November 13*
7:00 pm
Chattanooga
Cayman Islands Classic campus site game
W 89–47  2–0
Bartow Arena (2,985)
Birmingham, AL
November 16*
7:00 pm
LeMoyne–Owen W 81–57  3–0
Bartow Arena (2,828)
Birmingham, AL
November 20*
4:00 pm
vs. Richmond
Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals
L 50–63  3–1
John Gray Gymnasium (650)
George Town, Cayman Islands
November 21*
4:00 pm
vs. Buffalo
Cayman Islands Classic consolation round
L 91–96 OT 3–2
John Gray Gymnasium (404)
George Town, Cayman Islands
November 22*
11:00 am
vs. Iowa
Cayman Islands Classic 7th place game
L 85–95  3–3
John Gray Gymnasium (1,020)
George Town, Cayman Islands
November 26*
3:00 pm
Mississippi College W 90–53  4–3
Bartow Arena (3,222)
Birmingham, AL
November 30*
7:00 pm, Stadium
Memphis
Bartow Classic
W 71–56  5–3
Bartow Arena (4,920)
Birmingham, AL
December 5*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Troy W 90–78  6–3
Trojan Arena (3,213)
Troy, AL
December 9*
3:30 pm, SECN
at Auburn
Rivalry
L 80–85  6–4
Auburn Arena (7,965)
Auburn, AL
December 16*
2:15 pm
vs. Alabama A&M
BHM JAM
W 90–58  7–4
Legacy Arena (7,209)
Birmingham, AL
December 20*
7:00 pm
New Orleans W 74–67  8–4
Bartow Arena (3,229)
Birmingham, AL
December 23*
2:00 pm
Mississippi Valley State W 74–57  9–4
Bartow Arena (2,783)
Birmingham, AL
Conference USA regular season
December 30
4:00 pm, Stadium
Middle Tennessee L 60–63  9–5
(0–1)
Bartow Arena (4,143)
Birmingham, AL
January 4, 2018
6:00 pm
at Florida Atlantic W 75–44  10–5
(1–1)
FAU Arena (1,091)
Boca Raton, FL
January 6
6:00 pm
at FIU W 75–64  11–5
(2–1)
FIU Arena (515)
Miami, FL
January 11
7:00 pm
Southern Miss W 86–75  12–5
(3–1)
Bartow Arena (3,351)
Birmingham, AL
January 13
4:00 pm, Stadium
Louisiana Tech W 74–62  13–5
(4–1)
Bartow Arena (3,743)
Birmingham, AL
January 18
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at WKU L 69–77  13–6
(4–2)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,643)
Bowling Green, KY
January 20
6:00 pm
at Marshall L 78–86 OT 13–7
(4–3)
Cam Henderson Center (6,740)
Huntington, WV
January 25
7:00 pm, beIN
UTEP W 85–78  14–7
(5–3)
Bartow Arena (3,013)
Birmingham, AL
January 27
7:00 pm, ESPN3
UTSA L 70–82  14–8
(5–4)
Bartow Arena (4,259)
Birmingham, AL
February 1
6:00 pm
at Charlotte W 76–64  15–8
(6–4)
Halton Arena (3,266)
Charlotte, NC
February 3
6:00 pm
at Old Dominion L 60–65  15–9
(6–5)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,481)
Norfolk, VA
February 8
7:00 pm
North Texas L 60–67  15–10
(6–6)
Bartow Arena (3,383)
Birmingham, AL
February 10
7:00 pm
Rice W 61–56  16–10
(7–6)
Bartow Arena (3,703)
Birmingham, AL
February 15
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Louisiana Tech L 60–73  16–11
(7–7)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,562)
Ruston, LA
February 17
4:00 pm
at Southern Miss W 87–69  17–11
(8–7)
Reed Green Coliseum (2,405)
Hattiesburg, MS
February 24
6:00 pm, Stadium
at No. 24 Middle Tennessee L 54–79  17–12
(8–8)
Murphy Center (9,717)
Murfreesboro, TN
March 1
7:00 pm, beIN
Marshall W 91–77  18–12
(9–8)
Bartow Arena (3,156)
Birmingham, AL
March 4
7:00 pm
WKU W 101–73  19–12
(10–8)
Bartow Arena (4,363)
Birmingham, AL
Conference USA tournament
March 7
9:00 pm, Stadium
(6) vs. (11) Florida Atlantic
First round
W 83–72  20–12
The Ford Center at The Star (5,198)
Frisco, TX
March 7
9:00 pm, Stadium
(6) vs. (3) WKU
Quarterfinals
L 70–98  20–13
The Ford Center at The Star (2,531)
Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[1]

References