College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 23-12; 12-6, Fourth in the American Athletic Conference and AAC tournament champions, lost in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

Head Coach: Andy Kennedy (Fifth Year; 101-37 at UAB, with two NCAA Tournament appearances)

Projected Starting Lineup

PG Tyren Moore – 5’11”, 180 5th-year Senior

G Efrem ‘Butta’ Johnson – 6’4″, 180 Junior

G Alejandro Vasquez – 6’4″, 205 5th-year Senior

F Christian Coleman – 6’8″, 205 Senior

F/C Yaxel Lendeborg – 6’9″, 240 Senior

Experienced Reserves

G Ja’Borri McGhee – 6’1″, 205 Junior

G Tony Toney – 6’2″, 190 Senior

G Marquis Hargrove – 6’3″, 190 Junior

W Greg Gordon – 6’5″, 210 Senior

F/C Bradley Ezewiro – 6’9″, 265 Junior

F/C Will Shaver – 6’10”, 260 Sophomore

Freshmen

G Reginald Kennedy, Jr – 6’1″, 180

W Makhi Myles – 6’6″, 200

It can be lots of fun to watch a team heat up late in the season and go on a run in March. That’s exactly what UAB did last season. This year, the Blazers are hoping to ride that momentum towards another conference title, and more.

On the morning of December 10, 2023, Birmingham woke up to find their team 4-5 after an 87-68 thrashing courtesy of Arkansas State. It wasn’t the start head coach Andy Kennedy and his squad had envisioned. Sure, UAB was trying to replace six key veterans who ran out of eligibility at the conclusion of a 29-win 2022-23 season, but still. Then, the Blazers got things rolling in the right direction.

An exhilarating overtime win over Drake was at the heart of six straight wins which carried UAB into the new year, and the Blazers held strong to finish the year on a 19-7 stretch. Along the way, they won three consecutive contests – each by 10+ points – to claim the American Athletic Conference tournament crown. UAB may have caught defending national runner-up San Diego State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, but their success leading up to that point isn’t something a team easily forgets.

Having proved to themselves what they’re capable of, five of the eight players who made up Kennedy’s rotation last year have returned. To support them, the coaching staff has swapped in a couple of new veterans for the guys who have graduated, and Kennedy & Co appear to have found seamless fits. It all looks good on paper; can the reworked Blazers tap back into the momentum they finished with in March?

The primary reason that UAB is thinking big this fall is that Yaxel Lendeborg, burgeoning folk hero and one of the best bigs anywhere in college basketball, has come back for a second season in Birmingham. By the end of his first campaign as a Blazer, the former junior college All-American was doing everything on the floor at a high level. A first-team all-conference pick and the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year in his debut, Lendeborg is capable of taking over the action at either end in a variety of ways. This year, Kennedy is going to lean into Lendeborg’s many talents and feature the fourth-year big man as one of the college game’s true headliners.

With his outstanding defense leading the way, things began to fall into place for Lendeborg last winter. As he settled in and his awareness sharpened last year, Lendeborg demonstrated the ability to facilitate as well as score out of the post. Over UAB’s final 23 games, Lendeborg averaged 16.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 52.2/39.3/85.2% on two’s, three’s, and freebies. He handed out four or more assists in four of the Blazers’ final seven games, and Lendeborg’s vision in finding guys who are open as the defense rolls towards him will be a major asset as he assumes a larger role on offense. Just as important as his passing, Lendeborg’s 111 offensive rebounds created myriad extra chances for his teammates. His 51 putback tries, per Hoop-Math, helped out even more directly, and Lendeborg’s growing threat as an outside shooter gives the Blazers exciting possibilities. As the anchor of UAB’s defense, Lendeborg may not have Trey Jemison’s huge frame, but his combination of mobility, strength, and great anticipation make him a serious pain for the other team to gameplan around. His penchant for swatting shots allows the Blazer guards to defend aggressively, and Lendeborg should only be better with a year’s experience.

It takes a bunch of guys coming up clutch to rip off a finish to the season like UAB enjoyed. Efrem ‘Butta’ Johnson clutch all year. The homegrown guard from Huntsville, AL, stepped into the spotlight last season and showed that he’s both a budding star and a guy who can get it done when all the chips are down. He hit what became the winning corner three-ball with 26 seconds left on the clock against Alcorn State. He scored a career-high 21 against South Florida to send UAB to the AAC tourney title game. His cold-blooded triple where the dragon’s flames lick out from halfcourt at Bartow Arena was the dagger needed to beat Florida Atlantic in overtime. Oh yeah, and Johnson scored the final 10 points for UAB all by himself to come back on UTSA, and added the game-winning jumper as time ticked down to cap it all off.

There’s more than just a highlight reel of late buckets to Johnson’s game, too. By adding reliable perimeter shooting and a good sense for keeping the ball moving and out of harm’s way, Johnson started 25 games as a sophomore. After earning his spot, Johnson kept on improving, and he averaged 12.9 points over UAB’s final 15 games of the year. He plays the game quickly, but there is also calm in Johnson’s approach. This year, it’s hoped that he can grow as a facilitator and playmaking lead guard. There are others on the roster who can do all of that, too, but good things seem to happen when Butta has the ball in his hands. The more he commands it and continues to grow, the better the Blazers should be.

He arrived in Birmingham with a reputation as a deep threat, and Alejandro Vasquez certainly is that. He’s also an increasingly well-rounded player who gives the Blazers another bucket-getter on the perimeter. When he debuted with St. Bonaventure four years ago, Vasquez was considerably more likely to be found launching from the outside than working his way to the cup, and his overall game needed work. Three Division I stops and some time in junior college later, Vasquez has evolved into a fairly complete scorer, and his value in keeping things flowing is going to be just as important this year as it was when he first arrived in Birmingham.

The lowlight of his season came in the AAC tournament, when he was tossed from the Blazers’ win over Wichita State for some extracurriculars following a made basket in the first half. He came back strong from the experience, though. Vasquez returned to score 16 against South Florida, and then led UAB to the AAC championship with 29 against Temple in the next game. For the first time in his career, more of his shots came near the rim last season than from distance. With opponents rightly concerned about his jumper, Vasquez can take tremendous advantage of hasty closeouts, and his toughness around the lane is something that Kennedy enjoys from his guards. If Vasquez can keep it up while scoring more efficiently inside, he’ll be even more dangerous in his final year of eligibility.

There’s more shooting on the way, as the Blazers are adding two veteran guards who racked up plenty of three-balls elsewhere last winter. In a perfect world, they will also assume a good deal of the team’s playmaking duties following the departure of star two-way point guard Eric Gaines.

Only 13 players in America took at least 100 mid-range shots and made better than Moore’s 51.3% rate last season, per Bart Torvik.

At Georgia Southern last year, Tyren Moore was en fuego. He averaged 17.0 points, and did so on wonderfully efficient shooting splits. Only 13 players in America took at least 100 mid-range shots and made better than Moore’s 51.3% rate last season, per Bart Torvik. Moore also ranked fifth nationally with 1.20 points per shot on pull-up jumpers and averaged 5.3 such attempts per game, per Synergy Sports. Across his two years as an Eagle, Moore knocked down 132 triples, and his 40.6% rate from deep last year made him a must-cover all over the halfcourt.

He may be on the smaller side for the AAC, but Moore is a good ballhandler who has the bursts of quickness and agility to find open spaces and get what he wants out of them. He’s also a helpful facilitator, and last season Moore became a genuine lead guard. In addition to leading Georgia Southern in assists, he improved as the season went on, Moore’s confidence at the controls rose. He dropped five different 30-pieces on the year, and over the Eagles’ final seven games, Moore went wild. Over that span, he averaged 24.1 points and 3.6 assists in 42.3% shooting from the land of trey. If Moore can be the same assertive shot-maker and distributor for the Blazers, it will go a long way towards keeping them strong.

While he’s not the same type of high-volume outside bomber, Ja’Borri McGhee knows how to put up points. An outstanding athlete, McGhee was a football star before choosing to focus on hoops. He runs through the paint with the same fearlessness that once allowed him to go over the middle as a wide receiver, and McGhee does a great deal of his best work close to the rim. At two different junior college powers the past two years, McGhee has shown that he can run a team while hunting his looks off the bounce. McGhee actually signed with the Blazers prior to last season, with the understanding that he would continue his development at the lower level. He will make some 100-mile-an-hour mistakes, but a lot of McGhee’s dynamism comes from his willingness to attack and attack some more. If he can prove that defenders must respect his jumper out to the three-point arc and that Kennedy can trust him as a primary ballhandler, McGgee should play a lot right away.

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

0.406 – Free Throw Attempts Per FG Attempt (18th)

33.1% – Team 3FG Percentage (220th)

33.1% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (24th)

34.8% – Opponent 3FG Percentage (249th)

4.6 – Blocks Per Game (34th)

A unique story coming out of the same JuCo power – South Plains (TX) College – where McGhee played last season, Christian Coleman just kept getting better and better in his UAB debut. Coming out of high school, he was a 6’1″ guard without many opponents to pursue a basketball career. He worked retail, took classes, and suddenly sprouted. Now standing 6’8″, Coleman is a springy, high-energy forward who will dunk absolutely anything he gets his hands on inside. It took Coleman a bit to get rolling a year ago, and he scored in double figures just twice over the Blazers’ first 16 games. Over the next 19 contests, Coleman figured things out, averaging 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and nearly a block per game. He put up 15 points in back-to-back games in the AAC tournament semifinals and title game, and Coleman did his work efficiently. Nearly a third of Coleman’s made field goals were dunks last year, and he’s a great target for lobs when the UAB guards cruise the lane. His length translates on defense, too, and Coleman combines with Lendeborg to give opponents a lot to contend with near the rim.

Birmingham will be Bradley Ezewiro’s fourth collegiate stop in four years, and since he’s coming off of a career season at Saint Louis, the Blazers are glad to have him. Capable of operating as the biggest guy on the floor or alongside another, quicker big, Ezewiro should fit with both Lendeborg and Coleman depending upon what Kennedy needs. Last year, Javian Davis had his own career year playing a burly, fairly traditional post-up role next to them, and Ezewiro brings similar attributes. He does a great job of attracting attention deep in the post, and Ezewiro has both the touch and strength to finish effectively in traffic. He feasted at the charity stripe a year ago too, earning nearly five attempts there per contest and raising his rate to a solid 70.8% mark. He doesn’t really step far outside of the paint at either end, but Ezewiro’s value in setting granite screens and cleaning the glass should allow his new teammates to be at their best.

A bit of a wild card for this team, Greg Demani Gordon has arrived to be a matchup problem on the wing. At Iona last year, he put up big numbers and made a huge impact on the glass for a 6’5″ wing player. He can shoot the ball, but doesn’t shoot it from the outside much, and UAB would love to see Gordon knock down more than 51.6% of his freebies, because he’ll be getting to the line with regularity. Gordon plays a physical game and relishes an opportunity to crash his way through the paint. He will post up smaller opponents, and Gordon threw down 21 dunks in 24 games as a Gael, shooting 54.8% from the floor overall. He left Iona before the end of the year for personal reasons, and is hoping to lock in and roll deep into March with the Blazers. With shooters around him and UAB in need of his size and skillset on the perimeter, Gordon ought to play some big minutes in a variety of Kennedy’s rotations.

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

N – McNeese/Illinois State – November 24

vs Arkansas State – December 15

@ High Point – November 15

vs Vermont – November 4

N Longwood – November 22

Veteran guards Tony Toney and Marquis Hargrove will help out in the backcourt, too. An aggressive defender who will occasionally throw down some aggressive dunks, Toney knows how to make just the right sort of ruckus to bring the Blazers’ energy level up. Entering his fifth season in Birmingham, Toney’s physical approach also contains plenty of savvy, and he’s seen just about every trick opponents might throw at him. Lendeborg’s once and future teammate from Western Arizona junior college, Hargrove redshirted and practiced with the Blazers last year. A combo guard who knows how to get buckets, he should add more firepower off of Kennedy’s bench. Third-year sophomore Will Shaver will be looking to expand his role in the post. He’s got the size and frame to become a force inside, and Shaver is a local product who will have plenty of fan support for all the strides he makes. Rangy Makhi Myles and playmaking guard Reginald Kennedy, Jr, will look to crack the lineup as freshmen, but it won’t be easy on this deep, experienced team.

Many observers felt that the Blazers should have been an NCAA Tournament contender without needing an automatic bid last year, and those expectations have solidified this summer. Kennedy has led his group to 22 or more wins in each season since he arrived in Birmingham, and as the roster again reflects, he has the attention of quality players no matter where they’re to be found.

This will be a team that can score in a variety of ways, and there are proven guys who can take turns leading the way from game to game. UAB gets to the line regularly, but will need to shoot it more consistently from the outside and guard the three-point arc more fiercely this year. They’ll be tested by some of the best teams outside of the power conferences before AAC play begins, and that variety should prepare the Blazers for another run come March. This is a squad that feels confident to challenge Memphis atop the American, and UAB will be heard from when tournament season rolls around again.