2017–18 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

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.

2017–18 UAB Blazers men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record20–13 (10–8 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBartow Arena
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Middle Tennessee162 .889258  .758
Old Dominion153 .833257  .781
Western Kentucky144 .7782711  .711
Marshall126 .6672511  .694
UTSA117 .6112015  .571
UAB108 .5562013  .606
North Texas810 .4442018  .526
FIU810 .4441418  .438
Southern Miss711 .3891618  .471
Louisiana Tech711 .3891716  .515
Florida Atlantic612 .3331219  .387
UTEP612 .3331120  .355
Rice414 .222724  .226
Charlotte216 .111623  .207
2018 C-USA Tournament winner

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

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Hakeem Baxter0G6'2"186SeniorPhiladelphia, PAGraduated
Denzell Watts1G6'2"235SeniorFlint, MIGraduated
Javien Williams10G6'4"175FreshmanBirmingham, ALTransferred to Tallahassee CC
Dirk Williams11G6'5"178SeniorHomewood, ALGraduated
Tosin Mehinti21F6'9"244SeniorLagos, NigeriaGraduated
Tyler Madison22G6'4"222SeniorColumbiana, ALGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Jalen Perry21G6'3"180JuniorLouisville, KYJunior college transferred from John A. Logan College.

Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 1 Zack Bryant 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrProvidence School Hastings, Florida
G 2 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)166 lb (75 kg) SrCentral Catholic High School Bloomington, Illinois
F 3 Chris Cokley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)238 lb (108 kg) SrSavannah High School Savannah, Georgia
G 4 Anderson McCoy (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)166 lb (75 kg) JrAncilla College Indianapolis, Indiana
G 5 Deion Lavender 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS JrSouthern Illinois Alton, Illinois
G 10 Luis Hurtado 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)213 lb (97 kg) FrThe Sagemont School Mérida, Venezuela
F 11 Makhtar Gueye 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrAspire Academy Rufisque, Senegal
G 12 Hunter Reynolds (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)161 lb (73 kg) FrChristian Academy of Knoxville Knoxville, TN
G 13 Nate Darling 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoDeMatha Catholic High School Halifax, Nova Scotia
G 21 Jalen Perry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrJohn A. Logan College Louisville, Kentucky
F 23 Lewis Sullivan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)223 lb (101 kg) RS JrHazel Green High School Hazel Green, Alabama
F 33 Thomas Smallwood 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)243 lb (110 kg) JrLycée Général Saint John Perse Bordeaux, France
F 34 William Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)206 lb (93 kg) SrDallas 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

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