2015–16 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

2015–16 UAB Blazers men's basketball
C-USA regular season champions
NIT, First Round
Conference Conference USA
2015–16 record 26–7 (16–2 C-USA)
Head coach Jerod Haase (4th season)
Assistant coach Robert Ehsan
Assistant coach Jeff Wulbrun
Assistant coach Turner Battle
Home arena Bartow Arena
2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
UAB16–2 .889  26–7  .788
Middle Tennessee †13–5 .722  25–10  .714
Marshall12–6 .667  17–16  .515
Louisiana Tech12–6 .667  23–10  .697
Old Dominion12–6 .667  25–13  .658
UTEP10–8 .556  19–14  .576
Charlotte9–9 .500  14–19  .424
Western Kentucky8–10 .444  18–16  .529
North Texas7–11 .389  12–20  .375
Rice7–11 .389  12–20  .375
FIU7–11 .389  13–19  .406
Florida Atlantic5–13 .278  8–25  .242
Southern Miss*5–13 .278  8–21  .276
UTSA3–15 .167  5–27  .156
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban.
† 2016 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2015–16 UAB Blazers basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by fourth year head coach Jerod Haase, played their home games at the Bartow Arena as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 26–7, 16–2 in C-USA play to win the C-USA 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]

Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2014–15 season 20–16, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated WKU, Louisiana Tech, and Middle Tennessee to become champions of the C-USA Tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed where they upset No. 3-seeded and No. 9-ranked Iowa State in the Second Round before losing in the Third Round to No. 11-seeded UCLA.

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Jarvis Calhoun5G6'0"165FreshmanTrussville, ALTransferred to John A. Logan College
C. J. Washington25F6'8"219SeniorAugusta, GAGraduated
Denzel Collins40G6'2"200SeniorSavannah, GAGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Deion Lavender5G6'3"180SophomoreAlton, ILTransferred from Southern Illinois. Under NCAA transfer rules, Lavender will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dirk Williams
SG		 Homewood, AL Tallahassee Community College 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) N/A 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: JR
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:

  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 27, 2014.

    Roster

    2015–16 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
    G 0 Hakeem Baxter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) Jr Philadelphia, PA
    G 1 Denzell Watts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)207 lb (94 kg) Jr Flint, MI
    G 2 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)175 lb (79 kg) So Bloomington, IN
    F 3 Chris Cokley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)216 lb (98 kg) So Savannah, GA
    G 4 Robert Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Clermont, FL
    G 5 Deion Lavender  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) So Alton, IL
    G 11 Dirk Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)175 lb (79 kg) Jr Homewood, AL
    F 21 Tosin Mehinti 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)213 lb (97 kg) Jr Lithonia, GA
    G 22 Tyler Madison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)225 lb (102 kg) Jr Columbiana, AL
    F 33 Thomas Smallwood 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)217 lb (98 kg) Fr Bordeaux, France
    F 34 William Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) So Plantersville, AL
    F 35 Lewis Sullivan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) So Hazen Green, AL
    G 45 Lionel Love (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)165 lb (75 kg) So Huntsville, AL
    Head coach

    Jerod Haase

    Assistant coach(es)

    Robert Ehsan

    Richie Riley

    Turner Battle

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    Schedule

    Date
    time, TV    		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    November 6*
    7:00 pm    		 Cal State East Bay W 99–59 
    		Bartow Arena (3,553)
    Birmingham, AL
    Non-conference regular season
    November 13*
    8:30 pm, SECN+    		 at Auburn L 74–75  0–1
    		 Auburn Arena (9,121)
    Auburn, AL
    November 16*
    8:00 pm, ASN    		 Alabama State
    Emerald Coast Classic    		 W 72–70  1–1
    		 Bartow Arena (4,833)
    Birmingham, AL
    November 19*
    7:00 pm    		 at Troy W 79–63  2–1
    		 Trojan Arena (2,887)
    Troy, AL
    November 22*
    4:00 pm, ASN    		 Jacksonville State
    Emerald Coast Classic    		 W 61–55  3–1
    		 Bartow Arena (3,939)
    Birmingham, AL
    November 27*
    8:30 pm, CBSSN    		 vs. Illinois
    Emerald Coast Classic semifinals    		 L 58–72  3--2
    		 The Arena at NWFSC (2,222)
    Niceville, FL
    November 28*
    2:30 pm, CBSSN    		 vs. Virginia Tech
    Emerald Coast Classic 3rd place game    		 L 77–82 OT 3–3
    		 The Arena at NWFSC (2,222)
    Niceville, FL
    December 1*
    8:00 pm, ASN    		 Georgia State W 64–57  4–3
    		 Bartow Arena (3,709)
    Birmingham, AL
    December 5*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Illinois State W 74–61  5–3
    		 Redbird Arena (5,093)
    Normal, IL
    December 13*
    7:00 pm    		 Seattle W 79–73  6–3
    		 Bartow Arena (3,587)
    Birmingham, AL
    December 16*
    7:00 pm    		 USC Upstate W 96–54  7–3
    		 Bartow Arena (3,395)
    Birmingham, AL
    December 19*
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at South Florida W 79–68  8–3
    		 USF Sun Dome (2,671)
    Tampa, FL
    December 22*
    7:00 pm    		 Hiwassee W 116–43  9–3
    		 Bartow Arena (3,455)
    Birmingham, AL
    December 29*
    2:30 pm, ASN    		 Stephen F. Austin W 76–66  10–3
    		 Bartow Arena (3,956)
    Birmingham, AL
    Conference USA regular season
    January 3
    2:00 pm, ASN    		 Middle Tennessee W 78–67  11–3
    (1–0)    		 Bartow Arena (4,279)
    Birmingham, AL
    January 7
    7:00 pm    		 UTSA W 104–82  12–3
    (2–0)    		 Bartow Arena (3,747)
    Birmingham, AL
    January 9
    1:00 pm, CBSSN    		 UTEP W 87–80  13–3
    (3–0)    		 Bartow Arena (4,287)
    Birmingham, AL
    January 14
    6:00 pm, CBSSN    		 at Old Dominion W 72–71 OT 14–3
    (4–0)    		 Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,162)
    Norfolk, VA
    January 16
    6:00 pm    		 at Charlotte W 74–72  15–3
    (5–0)    		 Dale F. Halton Arena (4,477)
    Charlotte, NC
    January 21
    8:00 pm, CBSSN    		 Rice W 82–70  16–3
    (6–0)    		 Bartow Arena (5,535)
    Birmingham, AL
    January 23
    7:00 pm    		 North Texas W 78–57  17–3
    (7–0)    		 Bartow Arena (6,835)
    Birmingham, AL
    January 28
    6:30 pm, FS1    		 at WKU L 62–69  17–4
    (7–1)    		 E.A. Diddle Arena (3,892)
    Bowling Green, KY
    January 30
    11:00 am, CBSSN    		 at Marshall W 81–78  18–4
    (8–1)    		 Cam Henderson Center (7,085)
    Huntington, WV
    February 4
    7:00 pm, ASN    		 FIU W 74–69  19–4
    (9–1)    		 Bartow Arena (6,664)
    Birmingham, AL
    February 6
    7:00 pm    		 Florida Atlantic W 104–67  20–4
    (10–1)    		 Bartow Arena (6,211)
    Birmingham, AL
    February 11
    7:00 pm    		 at Southern Miss W 80–77 2OT 21–4
    (11–1)    		 Reed Green Coliseum (2,895)
    Hattiesburg, MS
    February 13
    1:00 pm, FSN    		 at Louisiana Tech L 76–85  21–5
    (11–2)    		 Thomas Assembly Center (5,213)
    Ruston, LA
    February 21
    5:00 pm, CBSSN    		 at Middle Tennessee W 77–67  22–5
    (12–2)    		 Murphy Center (7,822)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    February 25
    7:00 pm    		 Marshall W 95–91  23–5
    (13–2)    		 Bartow Arena (7,190)
    Birmingham, AL
    February 27
    11:00 am, FSN    		 WKU W 71–67  24–5
    (14–2)    		 Bartow Arena (7,510)
    Birmingham, AL
    March 3
    6:00 pm    		 at FIU W 77–60  25–5
    (15–2)    		 FIU Arena (1,166)
    Miami, FL
    March 5
    11:00 am, ASN    		 at Florida Atlantic W 73–70  26–5
    (16–2)    		 FAU Arena (729)
    Boca Raton, FL
    Conference USA Tournament
    March 10
    12:00 pm, ASN    		 (1) vs. (8) WKU
    Quarterfinals    		 L 77–88  26–6
    		 Legacy Arena (9,797)
    Birmingham, AL
    NIT
    March 19*
    10:00 pm, ESPNU    		 (7) at (2) BYU
    First round – St. Bonaventure Bracket    		 L 79–97  26–7
    		 Marriott Center (8,420)
    Provo, UT
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    References

    1. ↑ "Jerod Haase leaves UAB after four seasons, heading to Stanford". AL.com. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
    2. ↑ "UAB promotes assistant Ehsan to head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
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