Caleb Wood
Senior Staff Reporter
[email protected]
Andy Kennedy is putting together his first recruiting class at UAB and has already signed six players.
Tony Toney (Huntsville, Ala. / Mae Jemison) is a 6’2” guard who averaged 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals for Mae Jemison his senior season on the team. He was a finalist for the AHSAA boys basketball Class 6A player of the year the 2019-20 season.
Terrell Ard, Jr. (Acworth, Ga. / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.) / Allatoona) signed his national letters of intent on National Signing Day. The 6’7” forward played for a season at Putnam Science Academy after graduating from Allatoona High School (Ga.). At Putnam, Ard averaged 8.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game en route to the 2020 National Prep Championship. Ard was a former AAU teammate of current UAB guard Jalen Benjamin.
“Terrell is a versatile forward who can play multiple positions. His length, athleticism and ball-handling skills will make him a match-up problem for our opponents,” Coach Kennedy said of Ard in a press release.
Graduate transfer Michael Ertel (Indianapolis, Ind. / Mt. Vernon / Louisiana Monroe) arrives from Louisiana-Monroe where he played for three seasons. The 6’2” guard averaged 16.2 points per game, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game during the 2019-20 season. Ertel was named an All-Sun Belt selection all three years he played for the Warhawks.
He joins former Louisiana-Monroe assistant head coach Ryan Cross at UAB who joined the UAB coaching staff earlier this month.
Quan Jackson (Tallahassee, Fla. / Amos Godby / Georgia Southern) is a graduate transfer from Georgia Southern. Jackson is a 6’4” guard who earned All-Sun Belt honors the past two seasons. Jackson finished the 2019-20 season averaging 13.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Simeon Kirkland (Ocala, Fla. / IMG Academy / Florida Southwestern State College)is a transfer from Florida Southwestern State College. In the 2019-20 season, the 6’10” forward averaged 8.6 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game and 0.4 assists per game.
“Simeon will give us a presence in the paint. At 6’10 his ability to rebound, protect the basket and score inside are all areas we needed to address in this spring recruiting period,” Kennedy said in a press release. “Simeon’s greatest strength is his ability to run the floor, as well as his ability to guard multiple positions defensively.”
Rongie Gordon (Montgomery, Ala. / Jefferson Davis) is a three-star 6’8” forward who signed with the Blazers in December. Gordon chose UAB over interest from multiple schools including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss.
The men’s basketball team this year lost two players to graduation – Will Butler and Antonio Ralat – and currently five players are in the transfer portal – Chukwuebuka Akabueze, Jordan Brinson, Makhtar Gueye, and Luis Hurtado.
