Nov. 15, 2007
Glenn Wilkes Classic Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's basketball team, fresh off its 86-49 win over Stetson in the opening round of the Glenn Wilkes Classic last Tuesday night, will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to play three more games as part of the event. The Blazers will take on Florida State on Friday night (7:15 p.m. CT), followed by Georgia Southern on Saturday (1:15 p.m. CT) and Rhode Island on Sunday (1:15 p.m. CT).
Friday and Sunday's contests can be heard live on the radio on WUHT 107.7 FM, while Saturday's game will be broadcast live on WJOX 100.5 FM.
Scouting Florida State
Florida State is coming off a 92-67 victory over Georgia Southern in the opening round of the Glenn Wilkes Classic Monday night. The Seminoles enter Friday night's game against UAB with a 2-0 record on the season.
The Seminoles are led by Isiah Swann's 20 points per game average. Swann also leads his team in three-point field goal percentage (53.3) and minutes per game (30.1). He is one of four Seminoles to average double figures through the opening two games this season.
Toney Douglas ranks second on the team with 14.0 ppg, while Jason Rich (11.5 ppg) and Julian Vaughn (10.0 ppg) each contribute double digits a game. Uche Echefu leads the team with 6.0 rebounds a game, to go along with seven points per contest.
Head coach Leonard Hamilton is in his seventh season at the helm of the Seminole program, and in his 20th season as a head coach. Hamilton has compiled an 87-71 career record and is 287-281 overall.
UAB-Florida State The Series
UAB and Florida State will meet for just the third time in UAB lore, with the Seminoles holding a 2-0 advantage. Friday night's contest will mark the first meeting between the two teams in nearly 27 years, dating back to an 89-87 FSU win on Feb. 20, 1980 in Tallahassee, Fla. The Seminoles also defeated the Blazers during the inaugural UAB basketball season in 1978-79, when Florida State won by an 85-66 count.
Scouting Georgia Southern
The Georgia Southern Eagles face UAB on Saturday afternoon, and will enter play at the Glenn Wilkes Classic with an 0-1 record this year. The Eagles had to travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to open tournament play at Florida State, with the Seminoles taking a 92-67 decision on Nov. 12.
The Eagles had four players reach double figures, led by Louis Graham, Willie Powers and Matt Fields who accounted for 13 points apiece. Julian Allen contributed 10 points to go along with a team-leading eight rebounds in the contest.
Georgia Southern connected on just 36-percent of its shots against the Seminoles, and went 3-of-21 (.143) from three-point range.
Head coach Jeff Price is in his ninth season at the helm of Georgia Southern's men's basketball program. He boasts a record of 122-83 during his coaching tenure with the Eagles.
UAB-Georgia Southern The Series
UAB and Georgia Southern will meet for sixth time in UAB lore, with the Blazers holding a 5-0 advantage. Saturday's meeting between the two schools is the first time the teams have met on the hardwood since a 21-point (94-73) UAB victory on Nov. 24, 2003 in Bartow Arena. The Blazers have won all five contests by an average margin of victory of 16.2 points a game.
Scouting Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Rams enter the Glenn Wilkes Classic with a 2-0 mark on the young season. The Rams defeated Florida Atlantic, 90-63, at home on Nov. 9 in the opening round game of the Glenn Wilkes Classic. Rhode Island followed that contest with a road victory over Brown, 75-61, on Nov. 14.
The Rams boast four players averaging double-digit points, led by Keith Cothran and Jimmy Baron, who each average 17.0 points a game. Cothran also leads the team with six steals, while Baron's 41.7-percent shooting from deep is best on the team.
Will Daniels is another solid contributor, collecting an average of 16.5 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per game. Lamonte Ulmer is another double-digit scorer, with an average of 10.0 ppg. Both Cothran and Ulmer have come off the bench in the Rams' opening two contests.
As a team, Rhode Island is shooting 52.5-percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from three-point range. Through two games, the Rams have recorded 23 steals (11.5/game) and forced opponents into 47 turnovers (23.5/game).
Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron is in his seventh season guiding the Rams, and 21st season as a head coach. He has compiled an 87-95 overall record at Rhode Island, and has a career head coaching record of 293-297.
UAB-Rhode Island The Series
UAB and Rhode Island will meet for just the third time in school history, with the two teams splitting the first two matchups. The fourth game of the Glenn Wilkes Classic will be the first time the two teams have met on the hardwood since the Rams defeated the Blazers, 76-72, at Rhode Island on Feb. 21, 1995. UAB won the only other meeting, taking a 71-63 decision in Bartow Arena on Jan. 22, 1994.
Scouting UAB
UAB is coming off back-to-back impressive victories to start the 2007-08 season. The Blazers opened the campaign with an 86-63 season-opening victory at Georgia State on Nov. 10. UAB followed that performance with an 86-49 win at home against Stetson.
Junior guard/forward Robert Vaden leads the Blazers in scoring, averaging an impressive 22.5 points a game. He also leads the team in three-point shooting (11-of-18, 61.1 percent) and minutes played (32.5).
Vaden is not the only offensive threat, as four other Blazers also average double-digit points. Junior forward Reggie Huffman has been impressive through UAB's opening two contests. The junior college All-American is second on the team in scoring 1ith 17.5 ppg, and leads the squad with an average of 8.5 rebounds per game. He is shooing a team-best 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the floor.
Junior forward Lawrence Kinnard and senior guard Paul Delaney III each contribute 10.5 ppg, while sophomore forward Walter Sharpe collects 10.0 ppg. Delaney also leads the team with an average of 6.0 assists a game and is second in rebounding with 7.0 boards per contest.
As a team, the Blazers are scorching the nets, averaging 59.4 percent shooting from the floor and 46.9-percent from three-point range. UAB is also outrebounding opponents by seven boards a game (35.0-28.0), which all results in a +30.0 win margin (86.0-56.0).
Head coach Mike Davis enters his second season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program. Davis, who is in his eighth season as a head coach, boasts a career record of 133-95 (.581) and five postseason appearances, including the 2002 national championship game. He is now 17-16 (.515) at UAB.
