Being Like Mike: T.J. Cleveland One of Two Candidates for UAB Job
By Ryan Wright
T.J. Cleveland, a former Arkansas Razorback basketball player from 1998-2002 and current assistant coach for the Hog’s basketball team, is one of two finalists for the University of Alabama Birmingham head coaching position along with current UAB assistant coach Donnie Marsh.
Mike Davis was fired from his position as the Blazers’ head basketball coach after posting a 15-16 record during the 2011-12 season.
Davis, a former Mr. Alabama high school basketball player, took over the UAB job after current Arkansas basketball coach Mike Anderson left to take the University of Missouri job in 2006.
Anderson was hired by UAB after being an assistant at Arkansas from 1985-2002.
Davis took the Blazers to their first NCAA Tournament since Anderson’s departure last year which was part of a four-season run of 20 or more victories. Davis held a 122-72 win-loss record while at UAB.
Ole Miss Head Coach Andy Kennedy turned down the job on Sunday choosing to stay in Oxford.
Kennedy, a UAB alumnus, was one of three candidates known for the position along with Cleveland and Marsh.
If UAB hires Cleveland, he will become the second Arkansas assistant to leave the Razorback program to become a head coach within the Blazers’ athletic program in four months.
Garrick McGee was an offensive coordinator under Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino until being hired as head coach of the Blazers’ football team in December of 2011.