Times-Journal Sports Writer

Two players transferred to Indiana University and another to the University of Southern Mississippi.

The offseason hasn’t been a good one for new Auburn University men’s basketball coach Jeff Lebo.

Since being hired by the Tigers in April, Lebo has taken over a program on the rebound. The former Tennessee Tech coach told the Selma Quarterback Club that this will be, in all terms, a rebuilding season at Auburn.

Lebo and University of Alabama-Birmingham men’s coach Mike Anderson previewed their respective teams before the club Tuesday night.

“When I’m the second-tallest person on the team, it’s bound to be a long season,” said Lebo, himself a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection at North Carolina under coach Dean Smith. “We’re going to play a lot of midget ball. We’re going to throw up a lot of three-point shots and we’ll play a lot of guards.”

The strategy is a marked change from last season. But things have drastically changed with the transfer of 6-7 forward

Mario Killingsworth and 6-5 point guard Lewis Monroe to Indiana.

Killingsworth averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds last season, while Monroe averaged 6.1 points and a team-high 3.6 assists per contest.

Instead, the Tigers this season will depend on 6-3 senior guard Ian Young, who Lebo called the team’s best post-up player.

Young will be joined by

6-11 freshman center Ryan Daniel and 6-6 senior forward Quinnel Brown.

“Quinnel can make shots and he can put it on the floor,” Lebo said.

Lebo likened this season to the third day of a sale at Wal-Mart.

“You just take what you can get and be happy with that,” he said.

While Lebo predicted a difficult season, Anderson foresaw an exciting campaign for his Blazers. UAB became a Cinderella story at last season’s NCAA tournament, beating top-seeded Kentucky, 76-75. They were ousted from the tournament by Kansas five days later.

“I think we play a brand of basketball nobody else plays,” Anderson said. “It was good against Kentucky, not so good against Kansas.”

In May, Anderson signed a new five-year contract worth $775,000 per season.

Gone from last year’s team is guard Morris Finley, who led the Blazers in scoring and shooting percentage, and forward Gabe Kennedy, the team’s second-leading scorer and closest thing to a low-post scorer for UAB.

The Blazers will depend this season on twins Donell and Ronell Taylor of Montgomery, both senior guards. Alongside them will be junior forward Brandon Tobias.

Despite all the changes, Anderson said his team will be exciting to watch.

“Our brand of basketball won’t be run-and-gun,” he said. “It’ll be run-and-execute.”

The Quarterback Club will meet again Oct. 26. The guest speaker will be former Mississippi State University football coach Jackie Sherrill.