2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by third year head coach Jerod Haase, played their home games at Bartow Arena. They were members of Conference USA. They finished the 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 first round before losing in the second round to No. 11-seeded UCLA.

2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball
Conference USA Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, round of 32
ConferenceConference USA
Record20–16 (12–6 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBartow Arena
Seasons
2014–15 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Louisiana Tech 15 3   .833 27 9   .750
Old Dominion 13 5   .722 27 8   .771
UTEP 13 5   .722 22 11   .667
WKU 12 6   .667 20 12   .625
UAB 12 6   .667 20 16   .556
Middle Tennessee 9 9   .500 19 17   .528
FIU 8 10   .444 16 17   .485
UTSA 8 10   .444 14 16   .467
North Texas 8 10   .444 14 17   .452
Rice 8 10   .444 12 20   .375
Charlotte 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
Marshall 7 11   .389 11 21   .344
Southern Miss* 4 14   .222 9 20   .310
Florida Atlantic 2 16   .111 9 20   .310
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban
2015 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

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The Blazers finished the 2013–14 season 18–13, 7–9 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the second round of the C-USA tournament to Charlotte.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Robert Williams 5 G 6'4" 210 RS Senior Greenville, MS Graduated
Thaddeaus Rideau 11 G 6'4" 168 Junior Port Arthur, TX Transferred to Midwestern State
K.C. Whitaker 12 G 6'6" 185 RS Sophomore Ashburn, VA Injured
Fahro Alihodzic 15 C 6'10" 240 Senior Vlasenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina Graduated
Preston Purifoy 24 F 6'5" 220 Senior Conway, AR Graduated
Rod Rucker 42 F 6'5" 220 Senior Elberton, GA Graduated
Jordan Swing 44 F 6'6" 200 Senior Birmingham, AL Graduated

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Hakeem Baxter 0 G 6'2" 170 Sophomore Philadelphia, PA Transferred from Maryland Eastern Shore. Under NCAA transfer rules, Baxter will have to sit out for the 2014–15 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

Class of 2014 recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
William Lee
PF
Plantersville, AL Dallas County High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nov 12, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 85
Lewis Sullivan
SF
Meridianville, AL Hazel Green High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jul 2, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 69
Nick Norton
PG
Bloomington, IL Central Catholic High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar 22, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 59
Jarvis Calhoun
PG
Trussville, AL Hewitt-Trussville High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Mar 2, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 59
Chris Cokley
PF
Savannah, GA Savannah High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Nov 2, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Denzel Collins
PG
Walterboro, SC USC Salkehatchie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Aug 3, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 6, 2014.

Class of 2015 recruits

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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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

Roster

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2014–15 UAB Blazers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Hakeem Baxter   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Philadelphia, PA
G 1 Denzell Watts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 207 lb (94 kg) So Flint, MI
G 2 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Bloomington, IN
F 3 Chris Cokley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Fr Savannah, GA
G 4 Robert Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Clermont, FL
G 5 Jarvis Calhoun 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Trussville, AL
F 21 Tosin Mehinti 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 213 lb (97 kg) So Lithonia, GA
G 22 Tyler Madison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Columbiana, AL
F 25 C.J. Washington 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Sr Augusta, GA
F 34 William Lee 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Plantersville, AL
F 35 Lewis Sullivan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Hazen Green, AL
G 40 Denzel Collins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Savannah, GA
G 45 Lionel Love (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Huntsville, AL
Head coach

Jerod Haase

Assistant coach(es)

Robert Ehsan

Richie Riley

Jeff Wulbrun


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

Roster

Schedule

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[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/07/2014*
7:00 pm
UNC Pembroke L 71–72 
Bartow Arena (2,133)
Birmingham, AL
Non-conference regular season
11/15/2014*
7:00 pm
Louisiana–Monroe
Battle 4 Atlantis Opening Round
L 65–74  0–1
Bartow Arena (2,403)
Birmingham, AL
11/17/2014*
7:00 pm
Young Harris W 94–81  1–1
Bartow Arena (2,071)
Birmingham, AL
11/20/2014*
7:00 pm
South Florida L 71–73 OT 1–2
Bartow Arena (2,501)
Birmingham, AL
11/23/2014*
2:00 pm
Jackson State W 58–50  2–2
Bartow Arena (2,023)
Birmingham, AL
11/26/2014*
6:00 pm, AXS TV
vs. No. 2 Wisconsin
Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals
L 43–72  2–3
Imperial Arena (2,633)
Nassau, BAH
11/27/2014*
8:30 pm, AXS TV
vs. No. 18 Florida
Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round
L 47–56  2–4
Imperial Arena (2,408)
Nassau, BAH
11/28/2014*
9:30 pm, AXS TV
vs. No. 22 UCLA
Battle 4 Atlantis 7th place game
L 76–88  2–5
Imperial Arena (517)
Nassau, BAH
12/04/2014*
7:00 pm, ASN
Morehead State W 58–48  3–5
Bartow Arena (3,029)
Birmingham, AL
12/07/2014*
2:00 pm, ASN
Illinois State L 74–78  3–6
Bartow Arena (2,234)
Birmingham, AL
12/14/2014*
7:00 pm, ASN
UNC Asheville W 79–71  4–6
Bartow Arena (2,146)
Birmingham, AL
12/18/2014*
8:00 pm, CBSSN
LSU L 70–79  4–7
Bartow Arena (6,054)
Birmingham, AL
12/22/2014*
7:00 pm, ASN
at Chattanooga L 67–83  4–8
McKenzie Arena (2,609)
Chattanooga, TN
12/27/2014*
6:30 pm, ESPN2
at No. 20 North Carolina L 58–89  4–9
Dean Smith Center (19,124)
Chapel Hill, NC
Conference USA regular season
01/04/2015
2:00 pm
at Middle Tennessee W 54–49  5–9
(1–0)
Murphy Center (3,605)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/08/2015
7:00 pm
Florida Atlantic W 66–57  6–9
(2–0)
Bartow Arena (2,385)
Birmingham, AL
01/10/2015
2:00 pm
FIU W 70–53  7–9
(3–0)
Bartow Arena (2,806)
Birmingham, AL
01/15/2015
7:00 pm, ASN
at Louisiana Tech L 71–74  7–10
(3–1)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,815)
Ruston, LA
01/17/2015
7:00 pm
at Southern Miss W 63–56  8–10
(4–1)
Reed Green Coliseum (3,493)
Hattiesburg, MS
01/22/2015
7:00 pm
Charlotte W 81–76 OT 9–10
(5–1)
Bartow Arena (3,029)
Birmingham, AL
01/24/2015
4:30 pm, ASN
Old Dominion W 81–68  10–10
(6–1)
Bartow Arena (4,127)
Birmingham, AL
01/29/2015
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at UTEP L 69–71  10–11
(6–2)
Don Haskins Center (7,455)
El Paso, TX
01/31/2015
2:00 pm
at UTSA W 65–57  11–11
(7–2)
Convocation Center (1,252)
San Antonio, TX
02/05/2015
8:00 pm, CBSSN
Louisiana Tech W 80–60  12–11
(8–2)
Bartow Arena (4,068)
Birmingham, AL
02/07/2015
2:00 pm
Southern Miss W 78–68  13–11
(9–2)
Bartow Arena (3,786)
Birmingham, AL
02/12/2015
7:00 pm
at North Texas L 64–67  13–12
(9–3)
The Super Pit (2,611)
Denton, TX
02/14/2015
7:00 pm
at Rice L 73–82 2OT 13–13
(9–4)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,647)
Houston, TX
02/19/2015
7:00 pm
at WKU W 71–66  14–13
(10–4)
Bartow Arena (3,892)
Birmingham, AL
02/22/2015
7:00 pm
Marshall W 72–54  15–13
(11–4)
Bartow Arena (4,068)
Birmingham, AL
02/28/2015
2:00 pm, ASN
Middle Tennessee W 100–95 3OT 16–13
(12–4)
Bartow Arena (4,761)
Birmingham, AL
03/05/2015
6:00 pm
at Florida Atlantic L 59–62  16–14
(12–5)
FAU Arena (1,005)
Boca Raton, FL
03/07/2015
7:00 pm, ASN
at FIU L 66–70  16–15
(12–6)
FIU Arena (951)
Miami, FL
Conference USA tournament
03/12/2015
6:00 pm, ASN
(4) vs. (5) WKU
Quarterfinals
W 53–52  17–15
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (6,922)
Birmingham, AL
03/13/2015
5:30 pm, CBSSN
(4) vs. (1) Louisiana Tech
Semifinals
W 72–62 OT 18–15
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (6,429)
Birmingham, AL
03/14/2015
2:30 pm, FS1
(4) vs. (6) Middle Tennessee
Championship
W 73–60  19–15
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (8,279)
Birmingham, AL
NCAA tournament
03/19/2015*
11:40 am, truTV
(14 S) vs. (3 S) No. 9 Iowa State
Second Round
W 60–59  20–15
KFC Yum! Center (N/A)
Louisville, KY
03/21/2015*
11:10 am, CBS
(14 S) vs. (11 S) UCLA
Third Round
L 75–92  20–16
KFC Yum! Center (21,760)
Louisville, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region S=South.

References

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  1. ^ "UAB Athletics Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.