The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazer Basketball Inks Memphis Prep Star Kinnard
11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Lawrence Kinnard, a 6-6, 186-pound, small forward from Memphis, Tenn., and Raleigh-Egypt High School, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for UAB. Kinnard is the only fall signee for Mike Anderson's club in the November early signing period to date.
Kinnard is a top-100 prospect according to several recruiting services. He is ranked as the 18th best small forward prospect in the nation according to Rivals.com. That service also has him ranked as the 74th-top overall prospect in the country. The Sporting News recent listing of the Hot 100 Senior Stars had Kinnard as the 70th-best college prospect in the nation.
"We're very excited about the signing of who we think is one of the premier players in the country," Anderson said. "He was one of those guys we zeroed in on as a `must sign' recruit. He has tremendous basketball savvy and is a very versatile player. His style of play fits what we do. We are very excited about him becoming a member of the Blazer Basketball family."
Kinnard averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks per game as a junior at Raleigh-Egypt High School. He led his club to a SportsMed Tournament title last year in Huntsville, Ala. Raleigh-Egypt will participate in that tournament again over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The signing of Kinnard gives Anderson some relief for the 2005-06 season as the Blazers will lose three seniors to graduation this year. Twins Ronell and Donell Taylor and forward Marques Lewis are all seniors on this season's Blazer team.
