The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Picked To Finish Second, Delaney Named All-Conference USA
10/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 11, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ------ UAB senior guard Paul Delaney III was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA team, while the Blazer men's basketball team was picked to finish second along with the Houston Cougars in the 2007-08 C-USA race, according to a vote by the league's head coaches, conference officials announced Thursday.
With Delaney's nod, he becomes the first Blazer to earn the preseason award since the 1998 campaign when former UAB great Fred Williams was tabbed to the preseason squad.
"This is a terrific honor for Paul," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "He had an outstanding season last year and is very deserving of this honor. I am also excited the coaches around the league picked us second, but we have to take care of our business on the court. I think this year's team is capable of a lot of big things, but we have a lot of work left to do in order to reach some of our goals."
Delaney's presence on the preseason team comes after a career season when he earned first-team all-league honors in 2007. The Decatur, Ga., native led the team and ranked among the top players in the league with an average of 15.5 points (5th), 5.16 assists (2nd) and 1.9 steals (2nd) per game. Delaney also recorded three double-doubles a year ago and earned two conference player of the week accolades. His season was even more outstanding when considering Delaney made a transition from two-guard to the point guard position, a spot he never played in college prior to the start of the season.
Furthermore, Delaney also set school records playing a cumulative 1,150 minutes (37.1 minutes per game), which ranks as the fourth highest on the school's single-season all-time list, including playing an incredible 213 minutes during a five-game span, an average of 42.6 minutes per contest.
In all, the Blazers return seven letterwinners and three starters from last season's team, including three of the top five scorers from a year ago. Along with Delaney, junior forward Lawrence Kinnard and senior forward Frank Holmes return as two of the top scorers from a year ago. Kinnard led UAB in rebounds (6.3) and three-point shooting (.410) last season, and was the team's third-leading scorer with an average of 13.0 points a game.
Meanwhile, Holmes, along with Delaney, are the only two seniors on this year's team. Holmes was a force on the inside a year ago, averaging 6.6 points and 5.0 rebounds a game, while leading the team in field goal percentage (.560). The Somerville, Tenn. native also leads all UAB players in games played (92) and games started (53).
Memphis was picked to repeat as the C-USA champion, followed by UAB and Houston. Southern Miss was picked to finish fourth, while Tulsa rounded out the top five predicted order of finish.
Individually, Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts was the selection by coaches as the Preseason Player of the Year. He, along with Delaney, were joined on the preseason all-conference team by Memphis' Joey Dorsey, Houston's Robert McKiver and Southern Miss' Jeremy Wise.
The Blazers will open the campaign with an exhibition game against West Alabama on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
2007-08 Preseason PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis, G, 6-5, Jr., Detroit, Mich.
2007-08 preseason all-conference TEAM
Paul Delaney III, UAB, G, 6-2, Sr., Decatur, Ga.
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis, G, 6-6, Jr., Detroit, Mich.
Joey Dorsey, Memphis, F, 6-9, Sr., Baltimore, Md.
Robert McKiver, Houston, G, 6-3, Sr., New Haven, Conn.
Jeremy Wise, Southern Miss, G, 6-2, So., Jackson, Miss.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Memphis
2t. UAB
2t. Houston
4. Southern Miss
5. Tulsa
6. UCF
7. Tulane
8. UTEP
9. Marshall
10. SMU
11. Rice
12. East Carolina
