With the world watching, and on the biggest stage in the sport, Andy Kennedy and the Blazers (27-8, 14-4) suffered a heart-wrenching, season-ending 82-68 loss at the hands — claws? — of the Houston Cougars in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on March 18.
Despite the disappointing loss to eventual Elite-Eight squad Houston, the Blazers capped off a magical run in March with a Conference USA tournament championship, Jordan “Jelly” Walker being named Conference USA player of the year and one of the best offenses in UAB history.
UAB finished the season with a program-record 27 victories. Walker finished second in UAB history for points scored in a single season with 690. This was also the first year that the Blazers reached the NCAA tournament since 2015.
In just his second year at the helm, Andy Kennedy has amassed a record of 49-15, an impressive feat for the best record of any UAB coach through his first two campaigns. Kennedy became the sixth coach in UAB history to reach the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps the biggest driving force behind the Blazers’ success was Walker, who became just the second player in UAB history to win the C-USA Player of the Year award. He was also awarded the title of C-USA Newcomer of the Year. Walker finished the season averaging 20.3 points and just under five assists per game and set the UAB single-game scoring record for the Blazers with 42 points against Middle Tennessee back in February.
Walker’s historic performance contributed to a Blazer offense that averaged 80.3 points per game, good enough for first place in Conference USA and sixth nationally. UAB also led the conference in scoring margin, winning their games by an average of 13.5 points per contest.
While Walker asserted his dominance on the offensive end all season long, senior Quan Jackson anchored the defense. Jackson found himself on the rosters of both the C-USA’s All-Defensive team and the All-Conference USA third team. Jackson became just the fourth Blazer in UAB history to be on the All-Defensive team in back-to-back seasons while leading the conference in total steals (75) and steals per game (2.42).
Rounding out the All-Conference USA members for the Blazers was KJ Buffen, who earned
C-USA Honorable Mention honors after tallying a team-high of seven double-doubles during the regular season.
While the Blazers lose seniors Quan Jackson, Michael Ertel and Justin Brown after this season, expectations remain high in Birmingham for the 2022-2023 campaign. Most of the major pieces from the 2021-2022 team will return next season, including Walker, Buffen, Trey Jemison and Tavin Lovan, all of whom started for the Blazers this season.
Kennedy will most likely turn to the transfer portal to fill the shoes of Jackson and Ertel, who have played significant roles during their time in the Magic City.
Luckily for Blazer fans, Kennedy has proven he is more than capable of finding superstars in the portal. Anyone looking for proof of that can look at the starting five at the end of the season, all of whom came to UAB via the transfer portal.
The 2022-2023 campaign will be UAB’s final season in Conference-USA, as the Blazers will start their transition to the American Athletic Conference in the summer of 2023.
With the world watching, and on the biggest stage in the sport, Andy Kennedy and the Blazers (27-8, 14-4) suffered a heart-wrenching, season-ending 82-68 loss at the hands — claws? — of the Houston Cougars in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on March 18.
Despite the disappointing loss to eventual Elite-Eight squad Houston, the Blazers capped off a magical run in March with a Conference USA tournament championship, Jordan “Jelly” Walker being named Conference USA player of the year and one of the best offenses in UAB history.
UAB finished the season with a program-record 27 victories. Walker finished second in UAB history for points scored in a single season with 690. This was also the first year that the Blazers reached the NCAA tournament since 2015.
In just his second year at the helm, Andy Kennedy has amassed a record of 49-15, an impressive feat for the best record of any UAB coach through his first two campaigns. Kennedy became the sixth coach in UAB history to reach the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps the biggest driving force behind the Blazers’ success was Walker, who became just the second player in UAB history to win the C-USA Player of the Year award. He was also awarded the title of C-USA Newcomer of the Year. Walker finished the season averaging 20.3 points and just under five assists per game and set the UAB single-game scoring record for the Blazers with 42 points against Middle Tennessee back in February.
Walker’s historic performance contributed to a Blazer offense that averaged 80.3 points per game, good enough for first place in Conference USA and sixth nationally. UAB also led the conference in scoring margin, winning their games by an average of 13.5 points per contest.
While Walker asserted his dominance on the offensive end all season long, senior Quan Jackson anchored the defense. Jackson found himself on the rosters of both the C-USA’s All-Defensive team and the All-Conference USA third team. Jackson became just the fourth Blazer in UAB history to be on the All-Defensive team in back-to-back seasons while leading the conference in total steals (75) and steals per game (2.42).
Rounding out the All-Conference USA members for the Blazers was KJ Buffen, who earned
C-USA Honorable Mention honors after tallying a team-high of seven double-doubles during the regular season.
While the Blazers lose seniors Quan Jackson, Michael Ertel and Justin Brown after this season, expectations remain high in Birmingham for the 2022-2023 campaign. Most of the major pieces from the 2021-2022 team will return next season, including Walker, Buffen, Trey Jemison and Tavin Lovan, all of whom started for the Blazers this season.
Kennedy will most likely turn to the transfer portal to fill the shoes of Jackson and Ertel, who have played significant roles during their time in the Magic City.
Luckily for Blazer fans, Kennedy has proven he is more than capable of finding superstars in the portal. Anyone looking for proof of that can look at the starting five at the end of the season, all of whom came to UAB via the transfer portal.
The 2022-2023 campaign will be UAB’s final season in Conference-USA, as the Blazers will start their transition to the American Athletic Conference in the summer of 2023.
