Stokes

        Leonard Stokes missed his first two shots against Louisville on Saturday. With just more than three minutes left in the first half, the University of Cincinnati forward drove toward the basket, stopped and pulled up for an 8-foot jumper that went in.

        In the final minute of the half, he did it again, from 18 feet out.

        “When I went to the basket the first time and made the first pull-up, I started thinking that it was kind of easy,” Stokes said. “Well, not easy, but I just did a pump-fake, one dribble and pulled up. It worked a couple more times in the game.”

UAB at UC

• When: 8:05 p.m. today.   • Where: Shoemaker Center (13,176).   • Records: UAB 8-7 (1-2 C-USA), UC 11-4 (2-1).   • TV: Ch.19   • Radio: WLW-AM (700).   • Tickets: Unclaimed student tickets ($20) go on sale at 9 a.m. today (556-CATS).   ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   David Walker -6-5-Sr.-12.9   Eric Batchelor-6-7-Jr.-13.6   Will Campbell-6-8-Jr.-6.1   LeAndrew Bass-6-3-Sr.-15.9   P.J. Arnold-6-5-Jr.-11.8   Coach: Murry Bartow (81-59, fifth season; same overall)   CINCINNATI   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Immanuel McElroy-6-4-Jr.-5.0   Jamaal Davis-6-9-Jr.-8.9   B.J. Grove-6-11-So.-2.4   Steve Logan-6-0-Jr.-13.7   Kenny Satterfield-6-2-So.-16.5   Coach: Bob Huggins (287-90, 12th season; 455-162 overall)

        It's that offensive aggressiveness the 6-foot-6 sophomore thinks has been missing in his play the past month.

        Stokes is expected to come off the bench tonight when the Bearcats play host to Alabama-Birmingham at Shoemaker Center. He did so Saturday at Louisville after starting the first 14 games of the season.

        Through UC's first seven games, Stokes averaged 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. He shot 50 percent from the field and was named Conference USA Player of the Week after averaging 20.7 points and 6.0 rebounds against Oakland, Xavier and UNLV.

        Since then, he has tailed off substantially. Over the past eight games, Stokes has averaged 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 32.1 percent from the field. He has scored in single digits the past three games.

        “I've been settling for a lot of standstill shots and not going to the basket,” he said. “I haven't been going to the free throw line a lot, so that tells me that I haven't been aggressive. I haven't been playing well at all. I think I've got to stop thinking about it.”

        He was happier with his play at Louisville because he was on the move more instead of spotting up and waiting for the ball.

        “Sometimes I pass up open shots,” Stokes said. “My teammates are telling me to shoot the ball. I don't want to try and force it because I'm thinking in my head that I'm playing bad, but I've got to get something going.”

        Coach Bob Huggins has the luxury of bringing Stokes off the bench to take some pressure off him.

        Junior Immanuel McElroy started at small forward against Louisville and had eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and a career-high eight rebounds.

        McElroy, who is expected to start his fifth game tonight, is averaging 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 52.3 percent shooting from the field. He made his first 3-point attempt of the season

        Saturday. He has averaged 6.0 rebounds the past two games and has scored in double figures twice this season.

        But UC coaches have to coax McElroy into shooting more.

        “It's still hard,” he said. “I want to get my teammates involved first; my second option is to shoot the ball.”

        McElroy and Stokes compete against each other in practice, and McElroy said he knows he can't take it easy one possession, and that helps both players and carries over into games.

        “We've got two pretty good players (at small forward),” Huggins said. “Most of the time, we need them to really rebound. Mac's getting better and better in that regard. And then it'd be nice if they'd make some shots.

        “Mac made a big 3 against Louisville. I think he's doing a better job. He just gives us so much on the floor.”

        UAB has lost two straight, and its only victory in Cincinnati was seven years ago. In the first half of their 64-52 loss to Southern Mississippi on Saturday, the Blazers scored just 15 points, tying a school low.

        “We haven't been rebounding the ball as well, which is a concern,” coach Murry Bartow said. “We've been a good rebounding team all year. We certainly have to rebound the ball well if we have a chance to win (tonight).”

        PEEK UPDATE: Team surgeon Angelo Colosimo operated on the right knee of Antwan Peek Tuesday morning. He repaired a small tear in Peek's meniscus and said the football defensive end and basketball forward will be out 2-3 weeks.

UC's Stokes seeks old form

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