BIRMINGHAM – UAB head men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy has announced that Tony Toney (Huntsville, Ala / Mae Jemison), Terrell Ard, Jr. (Acworth, Ga. / Putnam Science Academy (Conn.) / Allatoona) and graduate transfer Michael Ertel (Indianapolis, Ind. / Mt. Vernon / Louisiana Monroe) have signed National Letters of Intent.
Toney, a 6-2 guard, is coming off a senior season where he averaged 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He led Mae Jemison to a 25-3 record and the Alabama High School Athletic Association 6A Area 16 title as well as a berth in the 2020 AHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship Sub-Regional Round.
He was a 2020 Alabama Sports Writers Association First-Team All-State selection, a Super All-State Third-Team selection as well as a finalist for Class 6A Player of the Year. Additionally, Toney was voted the Tennessee Valley Player of the Year, MVP of both the N2 Hoops Tournament and the Huntsville City Classic and played in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game.
AK ON TONEY:
“Tony is an athletic guard who will make plays for us on both sides of the ball. His aggressive approach jumps off the page! He is a tremendous rebounder from the guard position and we believe he can develop into a lock-down defender. Tony comes from a winning tradition playing under Coach Howard Pride, and he was the first player to commit to us a few days after we took over this program. We will always remember that.”
Ard, Jr., a 6-7 wing, played the 2019-20 season at Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Conn. after graduating from Allatoona High School in 2019. He averaged 8.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game while leading Putnam to a share of the 2020 National Prep Championship with a 36-4 record. He recorded a double-double of a season-high 23 points and 17 rebounds against Dohn Prep in the First Round of the National Prep Championship playoffs.
While at Allatoona, Ard, Jr. averaged 14.3 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game. He took home the team’s “Best Defensive Player” as a senior and “Best Offensive Player” as a junior. He also led the Buccaneers to a 2018 Class 6A state playoffs berth.
Ard, Jr. and current UAB guard Jalen Benjamin were AAU teammates.
AK ON ARD, JR.
“Terrell is a versatile forward who can play multiple positions. His length, athleticism and ball-handling skills will make him a match-up problem for our opponents. Terrell did a post graduate year at Putnam Science Academy under Head Coach Tom Espinosa where he was an integral part of a National Championship team. That prep school experience, coupled with his immense physical talent, gives Terrell a chance to make an immediate impact in our program.”
Ertel, a 6-2 guard, is a graduate transfer from Louisiana Monroe. He is coming off a junior season where he led the Warhawks in scoring (16.2 points per game), 3-point field goals (59), assists (81) and steals (30) while registering double figures in 27 of 29 games, including eight 20-point contests. He was selected to the All-Sun Belt Second Team as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 23 Second Team.
Highlights of Ertel’s 2019-20 season include being named the Jan. 6 Sun Belt Player of the Week and Lou Henson Award National (Mid-Major) Player of the Week by CollegeInsider.com after averaging 25.0 points and 4.0 assists per game in ULM’s victories over Troy and South Alabama. In the win against USA, Ertel scored a career-high 39 points and set a ULM record with 11 3-pointers. The 11 treys tied the Sun Belt record for a league game and tied the most made in the NCAA during the 2019-20 season.
As a sophomore in 2018-19, he was a third team all-conference selection, and in 2017-18 Ertel became ULM’s first-ever Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Ertel scored in double figures in 73 of 96 career games, including 20 20-point outings. He finished among ULM’s all-time Top 15 in 3-point field goals made (fifth at 193), 3-point field goal percentage (10th at .380), free throw percentage (tied for 10th at .801), assists (11th at 255) and scoring (14th at 1,386 career points).
He is reunited with assistant coach Ryan Cross who coached him at ULM.
AK ON ERTEL
“Mike comes to us as an experienced, all-conference veteran. He is coming off a record setting three years at ULM where his impact, both on and off the court, will be remember for years. Mike is a crafty playmaker who is equally effected both on and off the ball. He has proven he has the ability to score at all three levels, as well as make plays for his teammates with dribble penetration and court vision. Mike aligns perfectly with our vision to compete for our conference championship in year one. He will have an immediate impact for Blazer basketball.”
The trio joins Rongie Gordon (Montgomery, Ala. / Jefferson Davis) who signed with UAB in December.
2020-21 UAB men’s basketball season tickets are on sale now. Current basketball season ticket holders can click here to renew their seats for the upcoming season. Fans interested in purchasing new season tickets can do so starting as low as $100 with the Blaze’s Corner season ticket.
For questions regarding your 2020-21 UAB Basketball season ticket order, email the UAB Athletics Ticket Sales and Service team at tickets@uab.edu or call (205) 975-UAB1. Ticket representatives are working remotely at this time but can be contacted during normal business hours of 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM. Fans can also request more information on ticket options for the upcoming season here.
For more information on the UAB men’s basketball program, follow @UAB_MBB on Twitter and Instagram. Also be sure to follow @CoachAK13 on Twitter.
