2012-13 Men’s Basketball 2012-13 Notebook Rod Rucker (6-5, 220, Jr., Elberton, Ga.) A junior college standout out at Northwest Florida State Community College ... the first signee by head coach Jerod Haase ... a first-team All-Panhandle Conference selection last season who was ranked as the No. 10 recruit among the class of 2012 junior college prospects, according to JucoJunction.com ... last season, he averaged 12.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game for the Raiders’ 31-2 season that ended with NWF State reaching the NJCAA national championship game ... during his freshman season in 2009-10, Rucker averaged 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest on his way to second-team all-conference honors. Blazers Will Need To Make Up For Key Personnel Losses • UAB head coach Jerod Haase and his staff will certainly to some key spots to fill as they will have to replace a pair of leaders in forwards Cameron Moore and Ovie Soko. • Moore finished last season with a teamleading 16.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per contest. As a result, he was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and also earned NABC All-District and All-Conference USA First Team accolades. • Soko, who transferred following his junior season, ranked fourth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.8 rpg). • Combined, the twosome averaged 24.4 points, 17.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest a year ago. That equates to approximately 40 percent of the scoring, 49 percent of the rebounding and 77 percent of the blocks of UAB’s total output last season. • Also departing from last season’s team was Beas Hamga (graduated) and Herb Harrison (transferred). Three-Year Series Signed With Tar Heels • The UAB men’s basketball team will play NCAA perennial power North Carolina in each of the next three seasons beginning with the 2012-13 campaign. • The Tar Heels will welcome the Blazers for the first of the three games on Dec. 1, 2012 in Chapel Hill, N.C. UNC will then make a trip to Bartow Arena for a game during the 2013-14 season, with UAB returning back to the Dean Smith Center in 2014-15.
Three-Point Streak Still Going • The Blazers continue to enjoy success from behind the arc. So much so, that UAB has made at least one three-pointer in 523 consecutive games. • The last time the Blazers played a game without a trey was on Dec. 18, 1996, against Chattanooga. UNLV currently holds the NCAA mark with a three-pointer made in 840 consecutive games. The Runnin’ Rebels have hit at least one three-pointer in every game since the NCAA adopted the three-point line in 1986.
Junior Quincy Taylor was a big reason why UAB won eight of its final 11 contests last season to finish fifth in C-USA.
Blazers Surge Toward End Of 2011-12 Season • UAB ended the season on a strong note, as the Blazers had a record of 7-1 during the month of February and finished with an 8-3 mark over its final 11 contests. • It was the second-best February stretch in program history, only bettered by the 9-0 record for the month of February during the 1981-82 campaign. • After beginning the season with a 5-11 record through the first 16 games, UAB closed the year with a 10-5 mark and finished in fifth-place in Conference USA (9-7). Unbeaten Against C-USA West • UAB dominated Conference USA West Division last season, recording a perfect 7-0 mark against those teams. • Of the seven victories over the West Division teams, three of those victories came on the road (at SMU, at Rice and at UTEP) and three at home (Houston, Tulane and Tulsa). The Blazers also defeated Tulane in the opening round of the 2012 Conference USA Tournament in Memphis, Tenn.
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One Of The Winningest Programs In NCAA • UAB ranks as one of the winningest programs in the nation. • The Blazers are ranked No. 26 among NCAA Division I all-time winningest programs in terms of winning percentage. • The Blazers have made a combined 25 postseason appearances, which includes 14 NCAAs and 11 NITs • UAB has had 29 winning seasons in the 35 years of existence, including 21 campaigns with at least 20 wins. “GB” = Gene Bartow • The men’s basketball team is sporting a new logo on its uniform. The studentathletes will sport the “GB” initials over a basketball to honor the Father of UAB Athletics, Gene Bartow, who passed away on Jan. 3 after a nearly three-year battle with stomach cancer. • All UAB teams for the remainder of the academic year will wear the commemorative patch on their uniforms to honor Bartow. • As the UAB Director of Athletics from 1977 until his retirement in 2000, Bartow developed an intercollegiate sports program from its infancy into one that featured 17 sports. • The “Founding Father of UAB Athletics” was at the helm of the UAB Men’s Basketball program for 18 seasons, 1978 to 1996, compiling a record of 366-203 (.643). He led the Blazers to 14 postseasons, 10 of which were NCAA Tournaments. • In 1997, UAB renamed its basketball venue, Bartow Arena, in his honor.