BIG WEEK AHEAD FOR UAB BASKETBALL AS LINEUP BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 4, 2024

Andy Kennedy had plenty of opportunities to learn about his UAB men’s basketball team heading into the season, including preseason work against Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.

This week he’ll get the chance to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of his team during a busy opening week. The Blazers open the season on Monday night  at Bartow Arena against Vermont with tip-off scheduled for 6:30. UAB remains at Bartow Arena for games against Southern Miss on Thursday night at 6:30 and Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday afternoon at 2.

By the time that’s over with Kennedy and his coaching staff should have a pretty good handle on their team.

“I feel like we have a veteran team,” Kennedy said. “We're still replacing six of our 13 scholarship players. Last year we replaced 9 of our 13 scholarship players. This year I feel like there's less unknowns with this group, although almost 50 percent of our roster is new. I think the first game will teach us a lot about ourselves (and) the first week's going to be really educational. You know you start this journey back in June, so we've been together a long time and now we're ready for the games and the games come fast.”

One thing to watch during the first week and other early season games is the progression of point guard Ja’Borri McGhee, a transfer from South Plains College. Kennedy said he’s looking for “consistency (and) leadership” from his new point guard.

“I've said this over the last few years, there's three people that can never have a bad practice,” Kennedy said. “That's the head coach, that's your best player and that's your point guard. He's coming in here, having never played Division 1 basketball. He's also coming in as the point guard, i .e. the quarterback, i .e. the guy that is really dependent upon leadership and continuity and keeping the unit together. It's a tall task to ask for a young kid.”

McGhee played well in the team’s scrimmage at Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Mississippi native, who played his final two high school seasons in Winfield, Alabama, didn’t shoot the ball well at Western Kentucky but he had five assists, four rebounds, one blocked shot and no turnovers in 21 minutes.

Kennedy expects that McGhee could eventually be a special player. He also said that veterans like Tyren Moore, who transferred from Georgia Southern, and Efrem “Butta” Johnson can help fill minutes at point guard. Moore was excellent at Western Kentucky, contributing 15 points and three 3-pointers.

Monday is the first chance to see how the point guard rotation shakes out.