(Probably won't be depressing for Tiger fans)

I hope this article isn't as depressing to read as it was to write. It's a long one today, so I am posting tonight with a noon tip off tomorrow.

The Date:
UAB is a mediocre 4-4 in games played on December 10. All four losses are road losses. Wins are against Auburn in 1985, Tennessee State in 1993, Cal-Santa Barbara in 1994, and Alcorn State in 2005, the last time we played on this date. Losses are at Chattanooga in 1983, at Wyoming in 1988, at South Alabama in 1996 and at Oklahoma State in 2004.

The City:
The game against Memphis is in Memphis, where UAB hasnever had much success. The Blazer record in the city of Memphis is 7-28. All but two of those wins have come against other teams in conference tournaments. Against the Tigers, UAB is 2-21 in Memphis with wins coming in 1993 and 1994. In the Fed Ex Forum, the Blazers are 4-14 and 0-9 against Memphis.

The good news, and I cling desperately to this glimmer of hope, is that UAB has never lost a game in Memphis prior to conference play starting. It is the first time we have played in Memphis in November or December, but still, it is something...I hope. More good news is no one who suits up for UAB or coaches for UAB has ever lost or played against Memphis. As for as the team is concerned, they are 0-0.

The Opponent:
Overall, UAB is 10-36 against Memphis. No one has beaten UAB more or has a longer win streak against us than Memphis. We have played Memphis more than any other opponent except South Florida (58 games). This is only the fourth non conference game played against the Tigers, and the second non conference regular season game.

The spotlight game today is the game played against the Tigers on the biggest stage, the 1985 NCAA tournament. When asked, Gene Bartow would say that the loss to Memphis in the 1985 NCAA tournament is the loss that most upset him in all of his years of coaching. UAB was playing its second game in the NCAA tournament in Houston, Texas after defeating Michigan State in the first round. The second round game was against the fourth ranked Memphis Tigers with a record of 28-3

In this game, nine of the 10 starters for both teams were from the Memphis area. It was a fantastic game. The Blazers fell behind 12-4 early, but came back on a 10-2 run and led at halftime 32-27. James Ponder led the charge with 12 points in the first half, 18 points in the game. There was a questionable call in the first half that had an impact on the game. With 12:20 remaining in 1st half, Archie Johnson dunked a follow up shot, cutting Memphis’s lead to 12-10. The force of the dunk caused Johnson to steady himself by grabbing the rim. When he pulled down on the rim, the ball apparently popped out of the top of the basket. Dana Kirk vigorously protested the call. Hank Nichols was quoted as saying “In the judgment of the referees, it went through the basket. If it didn’t, it didn’t. But we thought it did at the time” After the game, it was ruled that the officials had made a mistake since the ball did not go completely through the net. The basket should not have been allowed, and a technical should have been called for hanging on the rim.

Memphis never led in the second half. With 25 seconds left in the second half and UAB leading 61-60, Andre Turner took a bad shot, and UAB rebounded. They hurried a pass up the floor, but it was deflected and Turner got the ball. He saw Keith Lee under the basket, and Lee tied the game with one free throw. With the score tied 61-61, Steve Mitchell was working for a last second shot, when he found himself trapped between seven footer William Bedford, and 6’10” Keith Lee. He turned the ball over on a “held ball” call with four seconds left. The Tigers missed a game winning shot and the game went to overtime.

The overtime period had four lead changes. UAB got a break 62 seconds into overtime when Keith Lee fouled out. Lee led all scorers with 28 points on 12 of 17 shots. When he was tagged with his final foul, Lee, who was playing in his last game if they lost, screamed as though he had been stabbed. With 43 seconds left in overtime, UAB missed four straight shots before Jack Gordon rammed in the rebound. The Blazers were up 66-65. Andre Turner brought the ball down and dribbled the clock down to six seconds. He then shot the ball over his junior high teammate, friend and rival, Steve Mitchell. His 15 foot shot with 6 seconds left gave Memphis State its first lead in over 25 minutes. But UAB had a last chance with five seconds left. James Ponder streaked across midcourt and fired one from 25 feet. Vincent Askew got a hand on him as he shot, deflecting the ball. Bartow wanted the foul and chased the referees into the tunnel, protesting the no-call. “Did he deflect the ball when he hit my man?” Bartow said later in the press conference. “Usually a shooter will go to the line in those situations, but not this time” Ponder agreed. “I think he fouled me on the hand as I released the ball.”

The Blazers had lost a heartbreaker to the team that Gene Bartow wanted to beat more than any other. It hurt even more for the four UAB seniors from Memphis to lose to their hometown school in such an important game. Memphis State moved on from this game to win two more games and make it all the way to the Final Four. Who knows, with the talent on this team, if that foul had been called, it might have been UAB in the Final Four that year.

The Coach:
Orlando Tubby Smith is in his first year at Memphis. The 65 year old is no stranger to UAB,especially in his younger coaching days. He started his college coaching career around the same time UAB started basketball. His first job was an assistant to JD Barnett at VCU, and Tubby Smith was a part of the intense Sun Belt rivalry between UAB and VCU in the early 1980's. During his VCU years, Tubby's teams held a 11-8 advantage over UAB, but every game was a dogfight. From 1986-89, Smith was an assistant at South Carolina, and recorded a victory over UAB in 1988.

Tubby Smith's first head coaching job was at Tulsa in 1991. His 4th game as a head coach and one of his first losses was to UAB. Blazers won 90-75 in Bartow Arena.

In 1997, Tubby Smith became coach at Kentucky. What has to be one of his biggest losses in his career occurred in 2004 when Kentucky entered the NCAA tournament as the #1 overall seed and lost on a Mo Finley buzzer beater in Columbus Ohio. He got his first win as a head coach against UAB two years later when Kentucky beat UAB in the first round of the 2006 NCAA tournament. He's had two other jobs since then, but has not faced UAB again until today. As a head coach, he is 1-2 against the Blazers.

The Brothers:
Finally, an exercise in what might have been. Memphis two best players are Dedric and KJ Lawson, averaging 20.3 and 14.9 a game. Beating Memphis means shutting one or both of them down. They ended up at Memphis through a legal but questionable arrangement previous coach Josh Pastner made with their father Keelon Lawson. The elder Lawson, who was a successful Memphis high school coach made it clear that his sons would play for whoever gave him an assistant coaching job. Pastner who had one brother already verbally committed made the decision and hired him, securing several years of Lawsons (yes, there's one more in high school and one more in fifth grade)

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketba...s-recruits

How this applies to Blazer history is this. Coming out of high school in 1988, Keelon Lawson signed to play basketball with Gene Bartow and UAB. He even made it as far as appearing in the media guide, but was not on the roster when the season started. I inquired why with someone who knew him and the answering received was that he had a falling out with Bartow. Lawson returned to Memphis and went to school at Lemoyne Owen College.



In my opinion, anyone who ever had a falling out with Gene Bartow was probably in the wrong. However, what if he had stayed on the UAB team. Would the Lawson Brothers be Blazers today? Gene Bartow inspired loyalty. Gene Bartow was also known to make a few Pastner type deals in his day. Larry Rembert and Alan Ogg come to mind when Bartow hired the high school coach to get the player. But that was fairly common in that time, and it wasn't an announcement by the recruits father that his kids were for sale.

Tubby Smith made the decision when he came in, to move Lawson Sr. to a non coaching position, but that in reality, was to make room for his own son to come in as a coach. College basketball is a dirty business.

CBB is a business and sometimes dirty but it has provided me with a lot of fun and memories over the years. I have that '85 game on VCR tape. For you younguns it was a tape much like a cassette tape but larger and used for recording video.

Clean Gene-in my top 3 all time favorite coaches-wasn't shy about working the refs and complained about nearly every call that went against UAB that game. What's ironic is how many times Andre made a steal and won the game with points off the steal. BTW, I though both Andre's and Vincent's were both clean. Vincent says so.

Was at Freedom Hall when he did it again in semis of Conference Tourney vs Florida St.; may gave been '84 conference tournament. Then again vs UAB in NCAA game in '85.

Those Tiger fans who haven't seen him play should go to you tube and watch that game, BC or OK game in '85 tournament. He was huge all 3 games to lead us to F4.

He had more heart and determination than any Tiger I can recall and was like a head coach in the floor. John Wilfong could have had a very good 1000 pt career if not backing up Andre for 3 years. Great player and in my top 5!

I loved watching that UAB game in 85. Thanks for the memory. Also, had no idea about Keelon.

Time for another beat down.
It just won't be quite the same without Davis on the sidelines.

GO TIGERS GO!!!!!!!!

Thanks, MB. Great memories for a great rivalry.

UAB needs to be schedule every year, and dump some of the RPI killers we play each season. The Bartow Classic - make it happen, Bowen.

16 in a row. At this point if you're UAB why bother?


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Good stuff by MB

One of the best fans you'll find anywhere.

History repeats another win for Memphis.

(12-10-2016 03:52 PM)OneShiningMoment Wrote:  History repeats another win for Memphis.

There is that and all...

Still remember that tourney game against UAB, we were driving to my grandparents house and I couldn't watch, but the game was on the radio, every play seemed like life and death. Andre Turner was so clutch. Great memories!

(12-10-2016 05:05 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  Still remember that tourney game against UAB, we were driving to my grandparents house and I couldn't watch, but the game was on the radio, every play seemed like life and death. Andre Turner was so clutch. Great memories!

"Ice water in his veins".