The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Delaney, Vaden Receive NABC All-District Honors
3/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior guards Paul Delaney III and Robert Vaden were selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District Second Team, in an announcement made on Thursday afternoon. In doing so, the duo became the first UAB teammates in school history to earn the honor in the same season.
"This is a terrific honor for two outstanding representatives of the UAB basketball program," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "This award has shown the effort and hard work that both Paul and Robert have put in throughout the season. I am proud for both of them and I am also happy that coaches from around the country recognized these guys as two of the top players in our region."
Vaden, a senior transfer from Indianapolis, Ind., becomes the first UAB player to earn the distinction in back-to-back seasons since former UAB great Andy Kennedy was the recipient of the honor in 1989-90 and 1990-91. Vaden, who earned first team all-district honors last season, enters the final weekend of regular season play averaging 17.7 ppg. (fifth in C-USA), hitting 96-of-282 three pointers to lead the conference in 3-point field goals made. He also ranks 19th in the nation in three-point field goals made per game (3.2).
Delaney has battled back from a knee injury to lead the Blazers and rank second in the league in field goal percentage at .568 (159-of-280). He averages 15.8 points per game and 3.52 assists per contest, while collecting 2.0 steals per game. Delaney has played a big role in UAB's success this season and is a main part of why the Blazers have captured wins in 10 of their last 13 games heading into postseason play.
In all, Conference USA had 10 players named to all-district teams. Jermaine Taylor (UCF), Tyreke Evans (Memphis), Jerome Jordan (Tulsa), Aubrey Coleman (Houston) and Robert Dozier (Memphis) each earned first team honors. Additionally, Stefon Jackson (UTEP), Antonio Anderson (Memphis) and Ben Uzoh (Tulsa) joined Delaney and Vaden with second-team recognition.
The NABC All-District teams recognize the best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, these players represent the finest basketball players across America. The 240 student-athletes, from 24 districts which were realigned this season, are now eligible for the State Farm Coaches' Division I All-America teams to be announced on Saturday, April 4, at Hoop City in Detroit's COBO Center as part of the 2009 NABC Convention.
