Paul Delaney is one of the most versatile players to ever don a UAB uniform. Over the course of his prolific career, which stretched from 2004 to 2009, the guard proved himself an offensive threat, leading the Blazers in scoring in 2007, a dangerous rebounder, becoming the program’s all-time leader in boards among players shorter than 6’3”, and a pesky defender, earning two Conference USA All-Defense nods. To this day, Delaney is the only UAB player to have reached career marks of 1,400+ points, 460+ rebounds, 360+ assists, and 200+ steals.
It makes sense that Delaney is also the last UAB (men’s) player to have recorded a triple-double, a feat he accomplished during a February 4th, 2009 home game against Tulane. In the midst of what would turn out to be both his final and most productive season in a Blazer uniform, Delaney dropped 16 points, 12 assists, and ten rebounds on the heads of an overmatched Green Wave team, powering UAB to an 81-61 victory.
On December 6th, the similarly-multitalented Yaxel Lendeborg put together a Delaney-esque performance in UAB’s win over Prairie View A&M, stuffing the statsheet to the tune of 14 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Although Lendeborg did not quite break the triple-double threshold, a fact at which he later expressed his disappointment, he came just four assists shy of doing so.
Lendeborg’s attempt is not alone in the pantheon of near-misses: such luminaries as Aaron Johnson, Cameron Moore, and William Lee have come close to matching Delaney’s feat, but all have ultimately fallen short. By examining data from Sports-Reference, we can go back through the history of UAB’s 15-year triple-double drought.
Alan Ogg vs. Florida A&M - Dec. 16th, 1988
Stats: 14 points, 12 blocks, and 10 rebounds
Before we get started, it’s worth noting that Delaney was not the first UAB player to record a triple-double. Towering center Alan Ogg accomplished the feat in 1988 behind a whopping 12 blocks, a mark which still stands as UAB’s single-game record. “Ogg swats Florida A&M in Classic performance,” the next morning’s Birmingham Post-Herald headline read.
Ogg’s dominant outing nearly made college basketball history. With every Rattler shot he rejected, he inched closer to the single-game NCAA record of 14, held at the time by Navy’s David Robinson. According to the Post-Herald, UAB coach Gene Bartow “did everything he could to get Ogg the national record,” briefly resting Ogg late in the second half in the hope he’d have the energy to block two more shots.
“I knew something was up when Coach took me out,” Ogg said. “He said, ‘Go back in there and block everything you can.”
Ogg finished his career as UAB’s all-time leading shot-blocker, a title that was later taken from him by William Lee, but Ogg and Jerome Mincy remain the only two Blazers to have eclipsed ten blocks in a game.
Aaron Johnson vs. UTEP — Jan. 8th, 2011
Stats: 26 points, 14 assists, and 7 rebounds
After he ascended to the throne in 2009, Delaney’s status as the triple-double king went unchallenged for nearly two calendar years, with Robert Vaden, Channing Toney, and Jamarr Sanders each posting respectable statlines that ultimately fell short of the 10-10-10 threshold. Aaron Johnson was the first player of the 2010s to flirt with the feat, doing so in the midst of his senior All-American campaign.
Johnson was aided in his pursuit by the length of the Blazers’ wild 3OT victory over UTEP, a game that deserves an article of its own. The point guard was afforded every opportunity to accumulate stats. Although Johnson missed the game’s last 51.8 seconds with leg cramps, he played 54 minutes and attempted 17 field goals, earning the respect of UTEP head coach Tim Floyd.
“Both teams played their hearts out. That was a great college basketball game. I felt the key to the game was the little guy,” said Floyd, referring to the 5’8” Johnson. “We couldn’t guard him without putting him on the line.”
"You've just got to keep telling yourself that it's 0-0 again," said Johnson, describing how he stayed on the floor for nearly an hour. "No doubt, it's definitely tough, but fighters always get through it. If you're a fighter you can get through it. Tonight, we were fighters."
Perhaps Johnson wasn’t truly in striking distance of a triple-double, averaging just one rebound every 7.7 minutes, but John Hollinger’s Game Score metric still pegs this performance as the third-greatest of his storied career.
Cameron Moore vs. Murray St. — Nov. 20th, 2011
Stats: 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocks
One of the least forgettable players in UAB history, Cameron Moore’s triple-double bid ironically came in one of the most forgettable games in UAB history. En route to a 2-7 start, the 2011-2012 Blazers opened the season with a loss to Creighton before hosting a Murray State team that would finish the year with a record of 31-2. UAB wasted away an early lead, connecting on just 2 of its 14 three-point attempts, and the Racers eventually grinded their way a 62-55 victory.
Moore was the Blazers’ only bright spot throughout the slog. The Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year led UAB in scoring, at one point sparking an 18-6 Blazer run, while turning the ball over just once. He also set the tone on the other end of the court: hampered by Moore’s tenacious interior defense, the Racers shot just 34.3% from inside the arc.
Seemingly able to block shots at will, Moore’s triple-double attempt felt like it had a better chance of success than did Johnson’s, but he simply ran out of time, unable to accomplish the feat in his 37 minutes on the floor.
Jordan Swing vs. Tulane — Feb. 27th, 2013
Stats: 23 points, 9 assists, and 10 rebounds
This is it: the closest a UAB player has come to a triple-double since 2009. If Johnson and Moore were inches away from matching Delaney’s achievement, Jordan Swing was centimeters, falling just one assist shy of history. The Birmingham native was tremendous on what would prove to be the finest afternoon of his career, shooting 75% from inside the arc and 80% from beyond it. Swing and teammate Rod Rucker combined to make 22 of their 29 field goal attempts.
The Blazers needed every ounce of Swing’s brilliance, and Jerod Haase knew it, keeping the forward on the court from the opening tip to the final whistle. When Tulane went on a late 23-4 run to put UAB on the ropes, Swing nailed two clutch three-pointers, all but sealing the victory for the Green and Gold.
“Credit UAB tonight. They hit some really big shots once we took that lead," Tulane head coach Ed Conroy said. "Jordan Swing and Rod Rucker were tremendous tonight and combined for almost 50 points and hit some daggers late. We game planned for them and we knew how good they were and they carried their team tonight."
By Game Score, Swing’s performance in this game is one of the 30 greatest by a UAB player since 2004. It’s downright cruel he couldn’t have found one more assist.
Rod Rucker vs. New Mexico — Nov. 21st, 2013
Stats: 18 points, 7 assists and 20 rebounds
Rod Rucker’s statline against New Mexico stands as one of the strangest in UAB basketball history: 22 field goal attempts, 3 baskets made. He went 0-1 from beyond the arc and 3-21 from inside it. Six other Blazers have attempted 21 or more two-pointers in a game since 2004, but all of them connected on at least seven shots. The only comparable display of volume and inefficiency by a UAB player in Sports-Reference’s database is Steve Mitchell’s 3-21 shooting performance in the 1986 NCAA Tournament against North Carolina.
Nevertheless, Rucker nearly lifted UAB over a ranked Lobos team in the quarterfinals of the Charleston Classic MTE, sinking 12 of 13 free throws and grabbing 11 more rebounds than any other Blazer. This attempt falls in the vein of Johnson’s for several reasons: Rucker played an immense 48 minutes, he probably wasn’t truly within striking distance of a triple-double (averaging just one assist per 6.8 minutes), and the game itself deserves an article of its own. In a double-overtime thriller, New Mexico pulled out a win after hitting last-second three-pointers at the end of every period.
Rucker deserves a strength of schedule commendation: the Lobos were ranked 20th in KenPom at the time of tipoff, higher than any other opponent on this list.
The entirety of this game is on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
William Lee vs. MTSU — February 28th, 2015
Stats: 16 points, 8 blocks and 11 rebounds
For the first half of the 2010s, Blazer triple-double bids came in two-year intervals, a pattern that continued in 2015 when William Lee rode a minute count bolstered by three overtimes (sounds familiar) to one of the greatest defensive statlines in school history. Over a year before he would be christened the “Mayor of Blockingham,” Haha turned in a performance worthy of the office, swatting eight shots and ripping down 11 defensive rebounds.
The visiting MTSU Blue Raiders, not yet formed into a juggernaut, nonetheless displayed characteristics of the machine they’d later become. Kermit Davis’ squad was down 12 at halftime but staged several spirited comebacks, only running out of steam at the end of the final overtime. The marathon forced Robert Brown to play 50 minutes and Hakeem Baxter and Lee to play 45.
"You just get mentally tired, but must fight the fatigue," said Lee. "That is why Coach runs us at practice so we can prepare for games like this."
"I don't think anybody cares about how tired I am," a smiling Jerod Haase said when asked how he felt after the game. "But it was funny because all the coaches felt like we played out there today. I think the guys that played 50 minutes are probably really tired. I decided I'll give them the day off tomorrow. I was working hard, the assistant coaches were working hard, the managers were working hard, the trainers, everybody was working hard.”
Lee was certainly exhausted, lying down in the locker room for several minutes before making his way to media availability. As the closest UAB player to a triple-double since Swing two years prior, the rest Lee took was well-deserved. No Blazer would block eight shots in a game again until…
William Lee vs. FAU — February 7th, 2016
Stats: 10 points, 8 blocks and 10 rebounds
Let’s set the stage. It’s February 7th, 2016. The 20-4 Blazers, just weeks away from clinching their fourth Conference USA regular season title, are playing host to the KenPom #282 Florida Atlantic Owls. UAB is already a massive favorite, but FAU leading scorer Adonis Filer is a late scratch with concussion-like symptoms, further accentuating the Owls’ talent disadvantage. After a competitive opening ten minutes, the Blazers begin to predictably drop the hammer, going on a 22-5 run that takes them into halftime. By the end of this stretch, William Lee has rejected eight FAU shots.
That’s right — Lee replicated his 2015 feat in twenty minutes, entering the locker room with eight blocks, seven points, and seven rebounds. He wasn’t just on triple-double pace, he was on school record pace, with the potential to post a more impressive statline than either Delaney or Ogg.
Unfortunately, the Blazers took their collective feet off the gas in the interest of sportsmanship as their lead ballooned to over 40. As FAU grew warier and warier of driving inside, Lee’s services were no longer needed, and he ended up playing just 22 minutes on the night. He didn’t record a block in the second half.
For what it’s worth, Lee didn’t seem that torn up about it. According to AL.com, he:
Said he wasn't that aware he was close to a triple double until UAB staffer D.J. Black said, "you need two."
"I guess he meant blocks," Lee said. "They just stopped coming in there (in the second half)."
Highlights from this game are available on YouTube.
Yaxel Lendeborg vs. UTSA — January 2nd, 2024
Stats: 23 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks
Best remembered for Butta Johnson’s contested buzzer-beater, UAB’s inaugural AAC game also marked the first time in eight seasons a Blazer came within three points, assists, rebounds, blocks, or steals of a triple-double. Several greats of the Ehsan and Kennedy eras came within four or five, including Jordan Walker, Eric Gaines, Tavin Lovan, Nick Norton, and Deion Lavender (?), but Yaxel Lendeborg one-upped them all with his performance against UTSA. It turns out the Prairie View game wasn’t even the closest he’s been to a triple-double in the last calendar year.
Lendeborg had shown flashes of greatness in the buildup to UAB’s conference opener, but this was the first time he showed off the full spectrum of his versatile skillset. Shutout from inside the arc for what is still one of just three times in his career, Yaxel expanded his range, attempting six three-pointers and making five of them. Pair that with 8/8 free-throw shooting, dominant interior defense, and 15 rebounds, and you have a recipe for success.
“Are you kidding me? I don’t think he’s ever made five in practice,” Andy Kennedy said of Lendeborg. “I don’t think he’s made five since I met him, but he made them tonight. We need him. There’s room for growth and he knows it.”
Per Game Score, this is the second-greatest performance of Lendeborg’s career to date. The cherry on top? A perfect screen leading to Johnson’s aforementioned game-winner.
Lendeborg is the Blazer with the most potential to usurp Delaney since Lee graduated in 2018; he could get there with blocks, as he demonstrated against UTSA, or he could get there with assists, as he demonstrated against Prairie View. We could see history made over the next four months.