Kennedy gets first real look at rebuilt UAB roster
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - September 2, 2026
After a productive summer, the UAB men’s basketball team is taking their next step in gelling together. The Blazers, as well as other college basketball teams, are in the preseason practice portion of the schedule.
With official practice just a few weeks away and the Nov. 2 regular season opener against McNeese State on Nov. 2 on the horizon, UAB head coach Andy Kennedy is busily learning more about a roster that includes 11 new players and returnees KyeRon Lindsay-Martin and Salim London. Kennedy is also waiting to see if Lindsay-Martin is indeed eligible to play for a fifth college basketball season.
Following is what Kennedy said about his team and other basketball news when he met with the media on Tuesday.
On what he’s learned about his team thus far: “You know, we had eight weeks in the summer, which is very beneficial when you have a new roster. We currently have thirteen players, eleven are new. Obviously with KyeRon's situation, it's still in flux. As of today, if we were playing today, he could play, but that could change moving forward. So we're kind of bracing for helping him and giving him the guidance that he needs to figure out what it looks like. So we got eleven new guys and with eleven new guys, there's a lot of questions. You're trying to figure out who can do what and what makes the most sense for us schematically. I think we've made good progress in those areas. So now we're into week two in our pre-season work. We've got four weeks of this work before the regular season (practice) starts. So we'll start fine-tuning some things and start, again, really figuring out what is in the best interest of this team moving forward so that when we get to practice we know exactly what we're trying to get accomplished.”
On the height of this year’s team: “Well, I'm not as dumb as I look. We looked to address one of the issues that we had. I think we were, after (Joao Das Chagas) went down in the preseason at 6-10, I think out of 365 teams, we were in the 350s as it related to height. It's something that had to be addressed. Now, was our goal to go out and be the tallest team in the history of the program? Possibly not, but we certainly knew that we had to bring more size and more depth along our front line. I think mission accomplished as it relates to that.”
On the basketball schedule: “You know what’s crazy? I just referenced I do have friends but even your friends now, I got South Carolina because of Frank Martin, I got West Virginia because of Bob Huggins. I still got some friends out there, but the thing has just changed so much. You know, you're just dealing with a numbers game. What we try to do is find like-minded institutions, people like us that are fighting for those bubble spots, that are fighting for an opportunity to be an at-large team if you don't win your tournament. We've got a number of those on our schedule, starting out with McNeese State, the team that went to the tournament last year, led by my dear friend Bill Armstrong. He was a ball boy here when I played. He worked for me for 11 of the 12 years that I was at Ole Miss. His daughter is a cheerleader here. I had to make a call so this thing comes full circle. We start with him. We've got a number of really challenging games in our (appearance in the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia). We’re playing George Washington and Rhode Island, two really good teams. We try to be really creative in that space because it's hard. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's really, really difficult to get the Power Fives, most especially, to go on the road.”
On NCAA’s refusal to allow a fifth year for last year’s seniors: “I think they've dug in, man. I don't think they're giving in. I've got my theories as to why, I think a lot of people do. I think it's really sad. We could have avoided all of this but it is what it is. I'm not surprised. I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised. KyeRon’s situation in particular, without getting into the weeds, there's no reason that he shouldn't be allowed to come back and participate in a fifth year. It's kind of crazy to me that they thought they could pull this off. They knew they were gonna get litigation and litigation they've gotten. I do not foresee a path by which they're gonna say ‘No mas.’ I think they're gonna keep fighting.”
On KyeRon Lindsay-Martin’s waiver process: “We got waivers on (top of) waivers. So we're asking for grace while suing them. We'll see how that works out.”
On what will happen if KyeRon Lindsay-Martin is ultimately on allowed to play a fifth season: “We'll be man short. I think this is the last week to add players, but every player that's available is in the same situation that he's in. They're in some state case or some state court. So why would you do that? I don't feel comfortable doing that after nine weeks together to bring in a stranger. Number one, the amount of work that it's gonna take to get him up to speed. Number two, I'm gonna take reps away from somebody that may need those reps because we don't know if he's eligible or not eligible. That's what this is doing to coaches. Believe it or not, I do have friends. I know it's hard for you to believe sometimes, but I do have friends in this space and they're all dealing with the same things. So you're hoping (Player A is) eligible, but what if he's not? Well, we're giving him all these reps and all this time, then we've gotta play somebody else. So we're gonna ride or die with Kye.”
On Elijah Duval: “He's a dynamic guard downhill, very, very physical. His greatest strength is his ability to (get downhill). We're about to start football, I'm actually going in my AD role, I'm gonna be at Illinois to support the Blazers on Thursday night. If Elijah was a football player, he would be a between the tackles guy. He would be a guy that's gonna meet you with force on contact. He's strong, he's athletic and he does a good job of getting the ball to the paint.”