May 2, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's basketball 2007-08 recruiting class is beginning to make national headlines, as CollegeHoopsUpdate.com ranked the Blazers as having the ninth-best class in the nation. UAB topped national teams such as Duke (10), Memphis (12), Texas A&M (13) and Georgetown (16), among others.

"This is a great recognition for our program, as well as the hard work our coaching staff has done throughout the year," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "Even though we are getting the program's name out there, we still have to prove we are among the elite on the court. But we are very excited to have the players who are coming in, as well as the returning players."

Davis signed a total of five players during the recruiting process. Two junior college players are among the five newcomers, including National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American forward Reggie Huffman. He joins Ed Berrios, who led his team his team to the NJCAA National Championship game.

Also among the newest Blazers are Keenan Ellis (Indianapolis, Ind./American Christian Academy), rated as the 17th-best center according to Rivals.com, Terrence Roderick (Philadelphia, Pa./Rise Academy), the nation's 11th-best prep player according to HoopScoop, and Aaron Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Hubbard), who is listed among the top five point guards in the city of Chicago. The national basketball website also factored transfers Robert Vaden (Indiana), Walter Sharpe (Mississippi State) and Channing Toney (Georgia), many of whom consider as three of the top transfers in the country.

The Blazers welcome back players such as first-team All-C-USA performer Paul Delaney III, Lawrence Kinnard, who was the team's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer last season, and Frank Holmes and Jeremy Mayfield, among others. When factoring all this in, Davis can't help but to be excited about the state of UAB basketball and where it is headed.

"We want to develop and produce a championship program and I think with the new additions, and the players we have coming back, the future of UAB basketball is very bright," Davis said. "Coach (Donnie) Marsh in particular did an outstanding job in pursuing Ed Berrios. In fact, our entire coaching staff did a terrific job in bringing this type of talent to UAB, so I am very happy with where we are at this point of the recruiting process."