The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Bench Making Waves Early On
11/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Irvine, UABSports.com
The rules dictate that UAB head coach Jerod Haase send five players out for the opening tip off. Technically, his team has five starters.
However, if you look at it from Haase’s point of view, the Blazers are not broken up into starters and reserves.
“I really look at it right now like we have 10 guys playing in the game,” Haase said. “There are going to be different guys producing almost every night. I truly don’t look at the guys as bench guys or starters.”
On Sunday, in a 61-55 victory over Jacksonville State at Bartow Arena, the five guys who didn’t start the game outscored the Gamecock reserves by 12 points. And the 33-21 tally marked the fourth consecutive time that UAB’s bench players outscored the opponent’s bench players. The Blazers outscored Auburn (40-8), Alabama State (44-42) and Troy (39-10) from the bench.
Obviously, sophomore forward Chris Cokley plays the biggest part in bench production. Cokley has a good start toward matching his Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year award he won as a true freshman. He scored 23 points in the win over the Gamecocks, marking the third time in four games that he led the team in scoring. But he is far from the only non-starter who is making big plays for the Blazers.
Lewis Sullivan grabbed the attention with his team-high 22 points in last Thursday’s win at Troy. But some others have done it more quietly. Junior college transfer Dirk Williams had seven key points at Auburn and hit double digits against Alabama State (10 points) and Troy (11 points). Tyler Madison helped energize the team, particularly in the first half against Auburn, and made some key plays in the win over Alabama State.
On Sunday, it was junior point guard Denzell Watts rather quietly playing a key role with five points, three assists and a steal in 17 minutes. Part of his production came in a key time during the second half. He hit the second of two free throws with 7:27 left and, following a Jacksonville State 3-pointer that tied the game at 50, muscled in a short jumper in the lane. About three minutes later, he was fouled on a fast break and hit both free throws to give the Blazers a 56-52 advantage.
After Sunday, the five players who started each of the first four games – Robert Brown, Nick Norton, Hakeem Baxter, William Lee and Tosin Mehinti – are averaging 30.9 points per game. The next five players in the playing rotation are averaging 40.1 points per game.
“The fact of the matter is we have10 guys we hope produce (points),” Haase said. “If we get all our guys producing to their potential, that becomes a pretty scary offensive team.”
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championship is set to return to Birmingham for the second consecutive year, marking the third time the Blazers will host the event. The men's tournament, as well as the women's semifinals and championship, will be played at Legacy Arena in downtown Birmingham, while the women's first round and quarterfinal action will take place at UAB's Bartow Arena.
UAB men's basketball home season tickets are on sale now and feature 16 regular season games. Lower level seats are in high demand and are priced at $215 per seat. UAB employee or active members of the National Alumni Society will receive a discounted price of $195. Upper level seats can be purchased for as low as $75. Click here to purchase your season tickets today, or call the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-8221.
For more information on UAB men’s basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), on Instagram (@blazerhoops) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABMensBasketball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
