UAB Basketball: When Team's Implode

Coming into the season, the Blazers were expected to make a push for the NCAA tournament this year. After struggling to a 5-3 start, UAB has all but sealed the fact that they will need to win the C-USA tournament to reach the tourney.

Those hopes took a huge blow Monday as they found out that four of their players are leaving the program. Armon Bassett, who is sitting out this year after transferring from Indiana, has decided to leave the program. So has Terrence Roderick, who was averaging 5.6 ppg and 5.5 rpg in 21 mpg. Ed Berrios (12 mpg) and Jeremy Mayfield (ineligible this semester, but expected to make important contributions when he got back) have both been ruled academically ineligible.

UAB still will have their top three players in Robert Vaden, Lawrence Kinnard, and Paul Delaney, who are all averaging over 17 ppg. But they are left with just eight players on their roster, only six of whom are on scholarship.

So all hope is not lost for UAB. The biggest issue isn't going to be during the games. Teams have been relatively successful going with six and seven man rotations (see Syracuse, Arizona, and Texas last year). It is going to be in practice. I mean, even if the two walk-ons are preferred walk-ons, that still leaves you with eight guys, two short of being able to scrimmage in practice.

Another worry for Mike Davis should be the commitment of DeMarcus Cousins, a consensus top 10 recruit. Cousins made noise about a month ago when he said he wouldn't sign a letter of intent unless it had a clause that said he could withdraw his LOI if Mike Davis was no longer coaching there.

It really is too bad, because Davis had done a good job making UAB one of the top programs in C-USA.