2016–17 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 UAB Blazers basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by first-year head coach Robert Ehsan, played their home games at the Bartow Arena as members of Conference USA. They finished the 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.

2016–17 UAB Blazers men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record17–16 (9–9 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBartow Arena
2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Middle Tennessee †17–1 .94431–5  .861
Louisiana Tech14–4 .77823–10  .697
Old Dominion12–6 .66719–12  .613
UTEP12–6 .66715–17  .469
Rice11–7 .61123–12  .657
Marshall10–8 .55620–15  .571
UAB9–9 .50017–16  .515
Western Kentucky9–9 .50015–17  .469
UTSA8–10 .44414–19  .424
Charlotte7–11 .38913–17  .433
Florida Atlantic6–12 .33310–20  .333
Southern Miss6–12 .3339–22  .290
FIU3–15 .1677–24  .226
North Texas2–16 .1118–22  .267
† 2017 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2015–16 season 26–7, 16–2 in C-USA play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament to WKU. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to BYU.

Following the season, head coach Jerod Haase left UAB to accept the head coaching position at Stanford.[1] On April 4, 2016, the school hired Robert Ehsan, who had been an assistant under Haase at UAB, as head coach .[2]

Preseason

The Blazers were picked to finish in first place in the preseason Conference USA poll.[3] Chris Cokley and William Lee were selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.[3]

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Robert Brown4G6'5"195SeniorClermont, FLGraduated
Lionel Love45G6'3"165SophomoreHuntsville, ALWalk-on; left the team due to personal reasons

Incoming recruits
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Nate Darling
SG		 Hyattsville, Maryland DeMatha Catholic HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 65
Javien Williams
SG		 Birmingham, Alabama Woodlawn HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg)  
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:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster
2016–17 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Hakeem Baxter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)186 lb (84 kg) SrMaryland Eastern Shore Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 1 Denzell Watts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)235 lb (107 kg) SrCarman-Ainsworth High School Flint, Michigan
G 2 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)168 lb (76 kg) JrCentral Catholic High School Bloomington, Illinois
F 3 Chris Cokley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)229 lb (104 kg) JrSavannah High School Savannah, Georgia
G 5 Deion Lavender 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)192 lb (87 kg) RS SoSouthern Illinois Alton, Illinois
G 10 Javien Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrWoodlawn High School Birmingham, Alabama
G 11 Dirk Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)178 lb (81 kg) SrTallahassee Community College Homewood, Alabama
G 13 Nate Darling 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrDeMatha Catholic High School Halifax, Nova Scotia
F 21 Tosin Mehinti 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)244 lb (111 kg) SrGreenforest McCalep Christian Academy Lagos, Nigeria
G 22 Tyler Madison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)222 lb (101 kg) SrShelby County High School Columbiana, Alabama
F 33 Thomas Smallwood 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)240 lb (109 kg) SoLycée Général Saint John Perse Bordeaux, France
F 34 William Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)209 lb (95 kg) JrDallas County High School Plantersville, Alabama
F 35 Lewis Sullivan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)222 lb (101 kg) JrHazel Green High School Hazel Green, 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 3*
7:30 pm		 Lindenwood W 92–69 
Bartow Arena 
Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
November 11*
7:00 pm		 Arkansas–Pine Bluff
CBE Hall of Fame Classic		 W 86–66  1–0
 Bartow Arena (4,289)
Birmingham, AL
November 14*
7:00 pm		 Furman
CBE Hall of Fame Classic		 L 74–84  1–1
 Bartow Arena (3,682)
Birmingham, AL
November 17*
7:00 pm		 Troy W 74–51  2–1
 Bartow Arena (4,656)
Birmingham, AL
November 21*
8:30 pm, ESPN2		 vs. No. 5 Kansas
CBE Hall of Fame Classic semifinals		 L 63–83  2–2
 Sprint Center (10,071)
Kansas City, MO
November 22*
6:30 pm, ESPN3		 vs. George Washington
CBE Hall of Fame Classic 3rd place game		 W 81–74  3–2
 Sprint Center (3,527)
Kansas City, MO
November 27*
4:00 pm		 vs. No. 15 Saint Mary's L 63–76  3–3
 Orleans Arena (862)
Las Vegas, NV
November 29*
7:00 pm		 Alabama A&M W 75–45  4–3
 Bartow Arena (3,719)
Birmingham, AL
December 3*
7:30 pm, beIN		 Auburn
Rivalry		 L 70–74  4–4
 Bartow Arena (8,728)
Birmingham, AL
December 7*
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Stephen F. Austin W 84–73  5–4
 William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,650)
Nacogdoches, TX
December 10*
12:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Memphis L 55–62  5–5
 FedEx Forum (9,424)
Memphis, TN
December 18*
4:00 pm		 Southern W 75–74 OT 6–5
 Bartow Arena (3,436)
Birmingham, AL
December 21*
7:00 pm, LHN		 at Texas L 60–96  6–6
 Frank Erwin Center (9,106)
Austin, TX
December 28*
5:00 pm		 Miles College W 98–66  7–6
 Bartow Arena (3,572)
Birmingham, AL
Conference USA regular season
January 1
3:00 pm, CI		 at Middle Tennessee L 49–60  7–7
(0–1)		 Murphy Center (4,227)
Murfreesboro, TN
January 5
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at North Texas W 54–52  8–7
(1–1)		 The Super Pit (1,603)
Denton, TX
January 7
7:00 pm		 at Rice W 88–81 OT 9–7
(2–1)		 Tudor Fieldhouse (2,001)
Houston, TX
January 12
7:00 pm, CI		 WKU W 72–54  10–7
(3–1)		 Bartow Arena (3,745)
Birmingham, AL
January 14
1:00 pm		 Marshall W 94–78  11–7
(4–1)		 Bartow Arena (3,275)
Birmingham, AL
January 19
7:00 pm, beIN		 at Florida Atlantic W 80–78  12–7
(5–1)		 FAU Arena (1,706)
Boca Raton, FL
January 21
6:00 pm		 at FIU L 85–94  12–8
(5–2)		 FIU Arena (1,263)
Miami, FL
January 26
8:00 pm, ASN		 Louisiana Tech W 79–70  13–8
(6–2)		 Bartow Arena (3,642)
Birmingham, AL
January 28
7:00 pm		 Southern Miss W 87–43  14–8
(7–2)		 Bartow Arena (4,915)
Birmingham, AL
February 2
9:00 pm, CBSSN		 at UTEP L 59–63  14–9
(7–3)		 Don Haskins Center (6,248)
El Paso, TX
February 4
3:00 pm		 at UTSA L 67–82  14–10
(7–4)		 Convocation Center (1,145)
San Antonio, TX
February 9
7:00 pm, CI		 Charlotte W 82–69  15–10
(8–4)		 Bartow Arena (3,841)
Birmingham, AL
February 11
7:00 pm, ASN		 Old Dominion
Bartow Classic		 L 62–83  15–11
(8–5)		 Bartow Arena (4,185)
Birmingham, AL
February 16
6:00 pm, CBSSN		 at Marshall L 59–74  15–12
(8–6)		 Cam Henderson Center (5,637)
Huntington, WV
February 18
1:00 pm, CBSSN		 at WKU L 64–76  15–13
(8–7)		 E. A. Diddle Arena (3,553)
Bowling Green, KY
February 26
12:00 pm, CBSSN		 Middle Tennessee L 64–66  15–14
(8–8)		 Bartow Arena (3,371)
Birmingham, AL
March 2
7:00 pm		 Florida Atlantic W 79–59  16–14
(9–8)		 Bartow Arena (3,209)
Birmingham, AL
March 4
7:00 pm		 FIU L 56–68  16–15
(9–9)		 Bartow Arena (3,881)
Birmingham, AL
Conference USA tournament
March 8
5:30 pm, CI		 (7) vs. (10) Charlotte
First round		 W 74–73  17–15
 Legacy Arena (6,410)
Birmingham, AL
March 9
5:30 pm, ASN		 (7) (2) Louisiana Tech
Quarterfinals		 L 57–69  17–16
 Legacy Arena (4,005)
Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References
  1. "Jerod Haase leaves UAB after four seasons, heading to Stanford". AL.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. "UAB promotes assistant Ehsan to head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  3. "MBK: UAB Voted C-USA Preseason Favorite". Conference USA. October 6, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
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