The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB BASKETBALL BLOG - DONNIE MARSH
4/13/2011 12:00:00β―AM | Men's Basketball
April 13, 2011
I don't normally wait this long to post my final blog of the season, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and write it. I guess part of me just didn't want to believe it was really over. This was one of those "energizer bunny" type seasons for me. I just wanted it to keep going and going and going. The players worked so hard to do everything we asked them. We went through some difficult stretches and still managed to put together a season to remember. Did we accomplish everything we wanted? No! That would have meant we would have played about 3 weeks longer than we did. But we did make some memories that the players, the staff and you our fans can treasure.
I remember the lunch I had with AJ before we started practice and we talked about "hanging a banner" in Bartow. He wanted so much to leave a legacy here at UAB that would show how much he appreciated the patience, the support, the affection, the love that the UAB family showed him throughout his career. I told him the best way to re-pay the people he felt so strongly about was to make sure he gave as much or more to completing his academic obligations as he gives everyday to his basketball obligations. He did that and we are all so proud of him. In fact he did things so well that perhaps his legacy will be hanging more than just one banner.
Then there is Jamarr Sanders who pushed himself into the role as "go to guy" for this team. That's an uncomfortable position for him as he would much prefer that a teammate get the spotlight than himself. I remember days in practice when we divided the team up as equally as possible for some drills and competition, when he might have had a pretty good look at a shot, but he passed the ball to Karl Moton (our walk-on) who might have had a slightly better look. That unselfish approach is what made Jamarr a special teammate. He was recently invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for senior players seeking to impress NBA and European scouts and coaches. By all accounts he helped himself during the 3 day event. He sent me a text to let me know he had 3 steals and drew a charge in his first game (also scored 13pts and had 5 rebounds). I told him I was a little upset with him because in his first "professional" game he took a charge and that matched his total for me this past season! I am happy for him and proud that he will also graduate on May 7th.
We had some guys make great strides this past season and that should lead to even greater improvement and production next season. We'll have some holes to fill for sure, but we are working hard on that as we speak. The late signing period begins Wednesday and runs through May18th. Expect to see the Blazers address several areas of need. In addition having Jordan Swing sitting out last season and practicing everyday will prove to be a major plus for this team. I really like the improvement Ovie Soko made this past season. Particularly when Cam went down with his injury, Ovie's production went up. He plays with so much intensity that we have to teach him to harness it without losing it, and still be aggressive. I fully expect him to be one of the best players in C-USA next season.
We have some very good pieces to build on. Perhaps the thing we did best was instill that "bring the fight attitude". We became a hard hat & lunch pail group. I love that mentality! Now we have to replace the "foreman" of that blue collar group. That won't be easy but trust me we'll have some candidates give it their best shot. This will be a team that you will want to get behind from day one. I have no doubt they will work hard, play harder and do their very best to represent the green and gold in the best way possible.
For now we are finishing up the school year as strong as possible. Our goal is to finish with another 1.000 APR semester. If we can do that it would mean 4 consecutive perfect semesters. Our guys are pushing hard to make that happen. Our academic support group is working to get our guys caught up from a busy second semester of travel. And the faculty has been really receptive to the extra time and effort our guys are putting in. It truly does "take a village".
Let me thank each and everyone of our Blazer fans for your unwavering support of the team this past season. I hope you felt good about the way your team played for you. Hang onto the memory of that championship celebration following the East Carolina game in Bartow Arena. I know I will. But I will also hold on to the memory of the ECU game in the C-USA Tournament and the Clemson game in the NCAA Tourney. Those are the things that will fuel my drive to make this team even better in 2011-12. I hope you'll come along for that ride. Have a wonderful "off season". Time to support our Blazer spring sports teams. Until next season remember, "A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits". - Richard Nixon...there is no quit in these Blazers!!!
GO BLAZERS!!!
