May 8, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Alabama prep standout Earnest Little and junior college transfer Marques Lewis have signed national letters of intent to play basketball at UAB, head coach Mike Anderson has announced. Both players will begin attending school in the fall of 2003.

"I am very excited with this year's recruiting class," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "With the signing of these two athletes, we are getting two more players that fit into the things we are trying to do. We won't know how good they actually are until they get a chance to play, but both are very skilled, athletic forwards who have good size."

Little is a 6-9, 230-pound forward who played at Monroe County High School under coach Willie White. As a senior, Little averaged 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and four blocks per contest. Little was listed as the No. 6 player in southwest Alabama by the Mobile Press Register's "Super 16". He led his team to a class 4A runner-up finish in the region tournament and was named to the all-southwest region tournament team for his efforts. Little was also named MVP of the J.F. Shields Invitational and named to all-tournament teams at the Hub-City Classic and Clark County Invitational. Little chose UAB over Ole Miss, South Alabama and Jacksonville State, among others.

"Earnest is a young man who has his best basketball ahead of him," said Anderson. "He has good size, athletic ability, aggressiveness and his skill level will continue to get better. Most importantly, Earnest wants to be a Blazer."

Lewis, a 6-8, 250-pound forward, comes to UAB after playing the past season at Wabash Valley (Ind.) College under head coach Mark Nelson. While at Wabash, Lewis led the team with an average of 16.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. He also shot 63-percent from the floor and 71-percent from the charity stripe. He earned several accolades at Wabash including being named to the GRAC (Great Rivers Athletic Conference) all-conference team and received the third-most votes when he was selected to the all-region team. Lewis played one year at SW Missouri-West Plains J.C. before going to Wabash. He is a native of Milwaukee, Wisc. where he attended Milwaukee Bradley Tech High School.

"Marques will be a great addition to our team," said Anderson. "He is a skillful player who has size, scoring ability, can block shots and is a good rebounder. He is going to help us inside the paint."

Little and Lewis join twin guards Donell and Ronell Taylor, who signed during the early signing period, as part of the 2003 recruiting class. Donell is a first-team NJCAA All-American and Panhandle Player of the Year performer last season, while Ronell finished runner-up to his brother for the Panhandle Player of the Year and earned first-team all-conference accolades.