April 23, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Terrence Roderick, a 6-6, 185-pound combo guard out of American Christian Academy (Pa.), signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at UAB next season, announced head coach Mike Davis. The signing of the nation's 11th-ranked prep player according to Hoopscoop, caps what Davis terms as possibly one of the top recruiting classes in program history.

Roderick is expected to make an immediate impact as one of the top prep players in the country. Roderick selected UAB after receiving interest from Minnesota, Iowa, Xavier, Clemson, Kansas and Florida State, among others. He averaged 22.3 points and over seven rebounds a game during last season, on his way to earning Associated Press All-State accolades.

"Terrence is an exciting player and will make an immediate impact next season," Davis said. "He is going to bring an instant scoring threat. He is a big guard at 6-6 and has a great basketball IQ. We are very excited to welcome Terrence to UAB."

Roderick joins four other newcomers to the 2007-08 class. Two junior college players are among the five newcomers, including National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American forward Reggie Huffman and Ed Berrios, who led his team his team to the NJCAA National Championship game.

Also among the newest Blazers are early signees Keenan Ellis (Indianapolis, Ind./American Christian Academy), a prep school teammate of Roderick's, and Aaron Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Hubbard), who is listed among the top five point guards in the city of Chicago. When factoring in transfers Robert Vaden (Indiana), Walter Sharpe (Mississippi State) and Channing Toney (Georgia), Davis considers this year's newcomers as one of the top classes in the history of the UAB men's basketball program.

"I couldn't be happier about this year's recruiting class," Davis said. "My coaching staff did a wonderful job throughout the recruiting process in bringing this type of talent to UAB. When you mesh the newcomers with the guys we have coming back, I think fans, coaches and players alike have a reason to be excited."

Huffman returns to Birmingham after spending two years at Western Oklahoma Community College. While there, the Huffman High School graduate averaged a double-double of 18.5 points and 11.3 boards a game, on his way to NJCAA All-American accolades (second team). Furthermore, he ranked among the team leaders in field goal percentage (52.7 percent). Huffman was also tabbed all-conference and all-region in 2006-07, while also ranking 40th in the country in Junior College prospects according to CSTV.com.

Davis feels that Huffman is a player who can contribute immediately and bring the Blazers another strong inside presence.

"Reggie is going to be a great player," Davis said. "He is strong, athletic, quick and mature. He is going to step in and immediately help us next season. He is someone who has been in the Air Force and comes to us as a mature leader and that is something we need. We are excited to have him on this team."

Berrios is another junior college player who Davis expects to make an immediate impact on next year's team. The Bronx, N.Y. native was the starting point guard for Chipola, leading it to a 33-3 record and a berth into the 2007 NJCAA championship game. Berrios' numbers are modest, averaging nearly nine points and four assists per game, but Davis feels it does not tell the full story of Berris' leadership and knowledge of the game.

"Ed is a floor general," Davis said. "He helped his team reach the national championship game. You could see when he was on the floor, his teammates looked up to him and it seemed like every time he got the ball into the right players' hands. When trying to find a point guard, we wanted to find someone who is an extension of the coaching staff on the floor and that is exactly what Ed is to his team and coaches. He is the type of player who is willing to sacrifice his stats for the good of the team."

Ellis is listed as the 17th-best center in the nation according to Rivals.com, and No. 70 overall recruit in the nation according to Youth Prep Star Magazine. Last season, Ellis was listed as a Nike All-American, and picked UAB over other schools such as Cincinnati, Syracuse, Tennessee and Louisville, among others.

"Keenan is going to become a fun player to watch," Davis said. "We feel Keenan will have an instant impact. He's tall, can shoot, rebound, block shots and most importantly he has won everywhere he's been."

Like Ellis, Johnson should make an immediate impact as a Blazer. Johnson is a member of the top-25 Illinois players for the 2007 class, listed at No. 16 in the state according to rivals.com. Furthermore, he was listed as one of the top five point guards in the city of Chicago. Rivals described Johnson as an up-and-coming player who can take over in the scoring column and will help Davis immediately. Johnson chose to come to UAB over Marquette, UW Milwaukee and Evansville, among others.

"Aaron is a very quick and athletic player," Davis said. "He is another player who we feel will be able to help us out immediately. In this system, we need a floor leader and a smart player and we got both of those assets in Aaron.

"This is a big-time recruiting class and will take us to that next level at UAB," Davis continued. "Coach (Tracy) Dildy, Coach (Donnie) Marsh and Coach (Kerry) Rupp did an outstanding job during the recruiting process and we couldn't be more pleased. To be able to bring this kind of talent to Birmingham says something about our goals for this program. We want to win championships and we feel with this class, we certainly have the pieces in place to do so."