Uab Basketball
The team is currently coached by Mike Davis.
History
The UAB Blazers, in effect, started their entire athletics program with the creation of a men's basketball team in 1978. Setting high standards from the start, UAB hired former UCLA, University of Illinois and Memphis head coach Gene Bartow.
Known to many as the "Father of UAB athletics", Bartow led the Blazers to almost instant success. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 13 appearances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance.
UAB has also appeared in the NIT a total of 9 times, including 2 appearances in the NIT Final Four. After only 29 years of basketball, UAB has had 26 winning seasons including memorable wins over Kentucky, Indiana, Louisville, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Virginia, Villanova, Cincinnati, UConn and Memphis, among others.
Coaches
Players
Retired Jerseys
Since UAB established its basketball program, only 3 jerseys have been retired and now hang in the rafters of Bartow Arena.
It was decided early on in UAB's basketball program that such an honor would only be bestowed on those players that earned AP All-American honors and graduated from UAB.
In the NBA
UAB has also seen a number of its players move on to a professional career in the NBA. Some of UAB's highest NBA draft picks include:
Oliver Robinson (2nd Round/1st Pick/24th Overall) to the San Antonio Spurs
Walter Sharpe (2nd Round/2nd Pick/32nd Overall) to the Seattle SuperSonics
Steve Mitchell (2nd Round/12th Pick/36th Overall) to the Washington Bullets
Reginald Turner (2nd Round/20th Pick/47th Overall) to the Denver Nuggets
Other former Blazers to move on to the NBA include:
Larry Spicer
Keith McCord
Glenn Marcus
Norm Anchrum
Jerome Mincy
Chris Giles
Donnie Speer
Cliff Pruitt
Lex Drum
McKinley Singleton
Archie Johnson
Alan Ogg
Stanley Jackson
Donell Taylor
Post-Season
In less than 30 years, the UAB Blazers have made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and 9 NIT appearances.
UAB is 9-13 (.409) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 12-9 (.571) all-time in the NIT.
Facilities
UAB Blazers Men's Basketball vs. The 8,508-seat arena is named after Gene Bartow, the coach who largely built the school's men's basketball program from scratch over the last quarter of the 20th century.