Basketball Entry 1 - The Davis Era Begins...

Ok, so it really began back in September when Coach Davis took the team to the Bahamas, but you know what I mean.

I've had a couple of chances to see practice and my first reaction is knee-jerk. Coach Anderson used to say his style of play was "Run and Execute". Coach Davis seems to run the exact opposite style, "Execute and Run". And we're not talking execute well enough to score. We're talking there is a correct way to breathe, walk, yell, turn, shoot, step, and rebound on the court.

And yes, I did say rebound. Something the southside hasn't seen much of in the last 4 years. Heck, I've even seen the practice free throw shooting, something you never saw in a Coach Anderson practice.

Player Notes:

1 - Maurice Gibbs - Guard - 6-2, 200 - SR - Carbondale, Ill./Moberly Area (Mo.) CC
Coach Davis has been riding him from Day 1. I've even heard him say a time or two "That's why a freshman will be starting over you". And it's very noticeable that Moe has had trouble picking up on Coach Davis's style of play. Not quite sure where he'll end up in the rotation, but I just don't see him starting much, if at all.

2 - Thurston Rawls - Guard - 5-7, 165 - FR - Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville
Can't say enough about him. He's worked hard to just walk on and may even get a little playtime throughout the year. Don't let his height fool you, he gets after it just as hard and fast as anyone else on the court. It will be a blast seeing him play in years to come.

4 - Paul Delaney III -Guard - 6-2, 200 - JR - Decatur, Ga./Chamblee
Expect Paul to do what Paul does best. Slash, Slash, Slash. He's already creating matchup problems in practice. The only person who can come even close to stopping him consistently is Vaden. Speaking of which, can we jump ahead a year for a second. With those two on the court at the same time, look for UAB to have one of the best backcourts in the nation.

11 - Andre White - Guard - 5-11, 180 - SO - Zion, Ill./Highland CC
Fast enough to give defenses trouble and picking up very quickly on Coach Davis' system. Look for him to come in and put up some big minutes early.

12 - Tyler Marsh - Guard - 5-10, 171 - FR - Miami, Fla./Bridgton (Maine) Academy
Being son of a coach won't get you any slack around here. Tyler's learning that everyday in practice. I don't see him getting many minutes this year, but he's definiately on my watch list to contribute in 2 years.

15 - Frank Holmes - Forward - 6-9, 210 - JR - Somerville, Tenn./Fayett-Ware
Frank is back and he's got a brand new bag. Slimmer, quicker, and making more shots than ever. But don't look for Frank to be jumping for many tipoffs. As a matter of fact, Frank may have to put up a pretty good fight to keep his starting position.

20 - Robert Vaden - Guard/Forward - 6-5, 225 - JR - Indianapolis, Ind./Indiana University
NCAA, how do I loath thee, let me count the ways. Sitting out for a year is possibly the most talented man in the NCAA. No kidding. He runs, jumps, shoots and plays like he knows exactly what's about to happen. Not only does he play, he makes others around him better. It will be terrible to see him on the sideline. But, just know that every day he sits is a day closer to having him play in green and gold for two years.

21 - Lawrence Kinnard - Forward - 6-8, 210 - SO - Memphis, Tenn./Raleigh-Egypt
Hard to imagine Lawrence being better? Don't worry, you won't have to imagine much longer. Still playing longer than he looks and still can hit that bank shot. And this year he'll get the start at the 3, which is where he's ment to play

22 - Mike Davis, Jr. - Guard - 6-3, 185 - JR - Bloomington, Ind./Blackhawk CC
If you're looking for a walk-on who can contribute right away, Mike Jr is your guy. But he'll have to earn his playtime just like everyone else. Asa matter of fact, he'll have to work twice as hard considering who the coach is.

23 - Taurus Dortch - Guard - 6-2, 185 - FR - Birmingham, Ala./Ramsay
Taurus "TD" Dortch has been outstanding thus far, much better than anyone had imagined coming out of high school. Look for him to challenge for playing time, if not a possible starting position.

24 - Wen Mukubu - Guard/Forward - 6-6, 205 - SR - Miami, Fla./Arkansas
Elevation is key. Wen could elevate whenever he wanted to under Coach Anderson. Now, he'll have to elevate consistantly to live up to Coach Davis' expectations. Look for him to step up and be the leader this year.

31 - Jeremy Mayfield - Forward - 6-10, 240 - FR - Irving, Texas/God's Academy
Mayfield is a force in the boards and plays much longer than his already lengthy 6-10 stature. When he rebounds, he just seems to pick it up. He's nearly unstoppable under the net. The only problem? Someone needs to remind him of that.

33 - Curtis Nickson - Center - 6-9, 245 - FR - Eutaw, Ala./Greene Country
Curtis is the typical center. Too bad he's acedemically inelegible to play. Hope he gets his act together soon.

35 - Howard Crawford - Forward - 6-8, 200 - FR - Eutaw, Ala./Greene Country
As I said earlier, the freshman look better than anyone anticpiated. Crawford is no exception. Again, look for him to come off the bench and give quality minutes for other players.

42 - Walter Sharpe - Forward - 6-9, 235 - SO - Birmingham, Ala./Mississippi State
Remember I said Vaden was possibly one of the most talented men in the NCAA. Well, Sharpe is right there with him. Unfortunatly, his puntuality still leaves much to be desired. On the court, he's the best player on the team. Especially when he wants to be. Now, if he could only keep himself out of trouble.

45 - Roderick Ollie - Forward - 6-5, 220 - SO - Moorhead, Miss./Indianola Gentry
Not the Ollie of last year, that's for sure. Much leaner, much quicker, and MUCH better around the bucket, look for him to step into the rollplayer postition early.

Football Entry 1 - Thundered by the Herd of Fans...

I wasn't looking forward to it. I didn't even buy my usual Sunday morning paper trying to avoid it. But as fate would have it, I sat down right next to the dreaded 'Snews. And wouldn't you know Section 13c stared my straight in the face, bearing the dreaded news from last night.

Somedays fate is a creul fellow.

I must commend SI (Steve Irvine) on the great job he's been doing covering the Blazers. I'm sure it's hard having to say the same things over and over about a program that's seems to lose it excitement at exactly the same time every year. But the first number on the page does set the tone of the game from Saturday.

O = Zero = Zip = Nada = Nothing

There was no excitement at Legion. There was no feeling. There were no casual fans.

There was the exact opposite of what so many Blazers have been working for for so long. And there's no one person to blame. Just like in the loss to Marshall. Coach Brown can't take all the responsibility, no matter how much he wants to protect his coaches and players from the tounge-lashings of upset fans. You win as a team, and you lose as a team.

Several fans would do good to remember that.

It's like those signs I see going to work saying it's "your team". Well, there are a lot of fans who seem to forget that it's their team too. Or at least they claim it to be their team. Maybe that's why 10 minutes into the game every week hundreds of fans seem to appear from nowhere. Suspiciously, it usualy just around the time that the Bama game ends. Makes you wonder how a program as young as our has survived.

And let's not forget the ones that harp on the fact that they want Coach Brown gone to the point it makes you sick. I, too, am not the biggest fan of Coach Brown at the moment. I'm just as tired of the mid-season collapses as the next person. But, on the other hand, I'm just as sick of all the Watson bashing that's been going on on-line. We all know that he's going to be here till at least the end of the season. Why not give it a rest? Is that just too much to ask? The man has busted his ass for a decade to get UAB Football to where it is today. He deserves better than fans trying to hang him out to dry. And he's earned his chance to be know as just coach and not coach and AD. And, at the end of this season, he deserves a shot at being UAB's next AD, dispite what others may think.