1982-1983 UAB Blazers Men's Basketball team
The 1982-1983 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented UAB as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1982-83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
The Blazers were coached by Gene Bartow and played their home games at BJCC Coliseum in the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.
After a four year meteoric rise to the upper echelons of college basketball, UAB entered the 1982-83 season in rebuilding mode. The Blazers limped to a 6-7 record before starting conference play. Throughout the season, the team continued to gel and finished the regular season with a 16-13 overall record; 9-5 and in third place in the Sun Belt. In the conference tournament, held for the second consecutive season at the Birmingham Coliseum. UAB squeaked through the first two rounds, defeating UNCC (65-63) and VCU (61-59) in a pair of two point victories. In the finals, the Blazers defeated 4th seeded South Florida 64-47 to win it's second consecutive conference tournament championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
UAB was seeded 10th in the Mideast Region and sent to play the 19th-ranked and 7th seed Oklahoma Sooners in Evansville, IN, losing 71-63.
Schedule/Results
| Date | Rank | Opponent | Score | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 26 | Auburn | 61-63 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| November 27 | Missouri-Kansas City | 80-60 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| December 1 | at Baylor | 55-56 | Waco, TX | ||
| December 7 | at Mississippi | 54-66 | Oxford, MS | ||
| December 11 | Wichita State | 88-89 (OT) | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| December 14 | Columbus College | 56-42 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| December 17 | vs. Mississippi State | 47-67 | Chattanooga, TN | Krystal Classic | |
| December 18 | vs. Navy | 71-57 | Chattanooga, TN | Krystal Classic | |
| December 20 | Saint Louis | 66-47 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| December 22 | at Hawaii | 61-65 | Honolulu, HI | ||
| December 23 | at Hawaii-Pacific | 92-64 | Honolulu, HI | ||
| December 28 | Alaska-Anchorage | 102-60 | Birmingham Coliseum | UAB Classic | |
| December 29 | Murray State | 75-81 | Birmingham Coliseum | UAB Classic | |
| January 4 | Virginia Commonwealth | 65-67 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| January 8 | South Alabama | 73-67 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| January 13 | at South Florida | 63-64 | Tampa, FL | ||
| January 16 | Jacksonville | 74-73 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| January 20 | Old Dominion | 71-60 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| January 22 | at Jacksonville | 82-65 | Jacksonville, FL | ||
| January 25 | at Western Kentucky | 68-66 (OT) | Bowling Green, KY | ||
| January 29 | DePaul | 54-56 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| February 3 | North Carolina-Charlotte | 73-60 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| February 5 | Western Kentucky | 61-56 | Birmingham Coliseum | Homecoming | |
| February 12 | at North Carolina-Charlotte | 78-70 | Charlotte, NC | ||
| February 17 | at Virginia Commonwealth | 68-80 | Richmond, VA | ||
| February 19 | at South Alabama | 85-80 | Mobile, AL | ||
| February 23 | South Florida | 64-69 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| February 27 | at Old Dominion | 57-84 | Norfolk, VA | ||
| March 1 | Samford | 66-65 | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
| March 4 | North Carolina-Charlotte | 65-63 | Birmingham Coliseum | Sun Belt Quarter-Finals | |
| March 5 | Virginia Commonwealth | 61-59 | Birmingham Coliseum | Sun Belt Semi-Finals | |
| March 6 | South Florida | 64-47 | Birmingham Coliseum | Sun Belt Championship | |
| March 18 | vs. #19 Oklahoma | 63-71 | Evansville, IN | NCAA Mideast Regional 1st Round | |
| *Rankings - Associated Press | |||||
Coaching Staff
| Name | Position | Seasons at UAB |
|---|---|---|
| Gene Bartow | Head coach | 5th |
| Oscar Catlin | Assistant coach | 4th |
| Robert Corn | Assistant coach | 4th |
| John Prince | Assistant coach | 1st |
Players/Stats
| # | Player | Games | Field Goals | FG% | 3 Pt FGs | 3FG% | Free Throws | FT% | Rebounds | Assists | Turnovers | Blocks | Steals | Points | Pts/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Cliff Pruitt | 30 | 195-414 | .471 | 2-9 | .222 | 101-125 | .808 | 173 | 72 | 72 | 11 | 28 | 493 | 16.4 |
| 15 | Luellen Foster | 33 | 138-318 | .434 | 14-37 | .378 | 77-102 | .755 | 103 | 98 | 63 | 3 | 42 | 367 | 11.1 |
| 42 | Lex Drum | 32 | 96-164 | .585 | 0-0 | .000 | 51-75 | .680 | 168 | 31 | 45 | 18 | 10 | 243 | 7.6 |
| 14 | Steve Mitchell | 31 | 79-162 | .488 | 1-4 | .250 | 40-61 | .656 | 47 | 103 | 62 | 4 | 32 | 199 | 6.4 |
| 40 | Jerome Mincy | 32 | 66-135 | .488 | 0-1 | .000 | 56-102 | .549 | 136 | 7 | 36 | 28 | 25 | 188 | 5.9 |
| 24 | Raymond Gause | 32 | 66-130 | .508 | 0-1 | .000 | 54-82 | .659 | 100 | 52 | 32 | 1 | 22 | 186 | 5.8 |
| 22 | McKinley Singleton | 28 | 61-159 | .384 | 1-3 | .333 | 34-42 | .810 | 37 | 26 | 34 | 3 | 20 | 157 | 5.6 |
| 21 | Scott Simcik | 22 | 40-99 | .404 | 23-52 | .442 | 15-17 | .882 | 11 | 20 | 35 | 0 | 9 | 118 | 5.3 |
| 12 | Marvin Ray Johnson | 31 | 57-105 | .543 | 0-0 | .000 | 18-34 | .529 | 112 | 43 | 40 | 5 | 16 | 132 | 4.3 |
| 44 | Anthony Gordon | 33 | 56-125 | .448 | 0-2 | .000 | 26-54 | .481 | 151 | 14 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 138 | 4.2 |
| 4 | Eugene Jones | 23 | 18-48 | .375 | 0-0 | .000 | 6-11 | .545 | 49 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 42 | 1.8 |
| Team | Totals | 333 | 872-1861 | .470 | 41-106 | .386 | 478-705 | .680 | 1167 | 470 | 450 | 98 | 223 | 2263 | 68.6 |
External Links
| Preceded by: 1981-1982 |
UAB Men’s Basketball Teams 1982–1983 |
Succeeded by: 1983-1984 |