UAB spent the early part of the basketball season sharing the role of go-to guy. On Saturday night, it was Howard Crawford’s turn again. The 6-foot-8 senior scored a career-high 26 points and added a teamhigh eight rebounds to lead UAB to a 90-59 non-conference victory over Florida A&M before a Bartow Arena crowd of 3,860. It was the second consecutive Saturday that Crawford set a career high in points. Last Saturday, he scored 21 points in a 72-56 win over Georgia. He followed that by making only 3-of-9 shots from the field against Troy and finishing with nine points.
Eugene Harris may have inherited a mess when he accepted the position of head basketball coach at Florida A&M on the eve of the 2007-08 season. But, Harris is seven games into his third season and sports a 0-7 record and 25-45 career mark in 70 games. Coach Harris is proving to be unable to recruit blue chip players, especially a mobile 6'-10"+ center --with a brand new 10,000 seat facility with three practice courts, that is second to none in the Southeast. The question of the day--when will FAMU President James Ammons get the message that the Rattler fans wants a winner and Harris is unable to deliver!“It’s the first time in his career to be the guy,” said UAB head coach Mike Davis. “He’s going to have his good nights and bad nights while he adjusts. I just told him to keep playing.” It was a good night for Crawford against a Florida A&M team that was considerably smaller than the Blazers. Crawford shot 4-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line on his way to 14 firsthalf points. He added five rebounds as UAB (6-1) built a 38-23 halftime lead. In the second half, Crawford was 4-of-5 from the field again and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He tied a season high with eight rebounds overall, matching his total against Troy.
The Alfred Lawson Multipurpose Center may not see a victory until Division II Albany State (Ga.) visits on 12/19/09. The Rattlers are expected to be 0-11 by then, with losses at Florida, FIU, at BCU and Georgia State. For sure, the Rattlers will not be returning to the big dance under this coaching staff nor will they finish with a .500 record under Coach Harris. READ MORE, CLICK BLOG TITLE.
The Harris File:
15-17 (2007-08)
10-21 (2008-09)
0-7 (2009-10)
______
25-45 (.357)
Florida A&M reached the NCAA tournament in 2006-07, but has been in a state of disarray ever since due to what Coach Eugene Harris indicates was a poor job of recruiting during that championship season. Harris personally recruited every player on the Rattlers roster that is being blown out by Mid-Major teams that FAMU should be competitive. Even with the mess, Harris was able to win 15 games with Coach Mike Gillespie's players. What's his excuse for going 10-28 with his own recruits?
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Florida A&M - Team Notes - USATODAY.com
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