Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

Squadron completes second season

The city of Birmingham’s latest professional basketball season began October 14, 2022, when the New Orleans Pelicans squared off with the Atlanta Hawks in an exhibition game at Legacy Arena. It ended on Saturday when the NBA teams’ G league affiliates – the Birmingham Squadron and College Park Skyhawks – played their season finales in the same building.

Man, it was fun … all of it.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Spoutable @ScottAdamson, Post @scottscribe, Mastodon @SLA1960 and Twitter @adamsonsl**

The Squadron’s final mission of 2022-23 was contested on Fan Appreciation Night in front of 4,119 spectators, who saw Birmingham take a 122-120 victory. The Pelicans’ understudies finished 6-12 in the preseason Showcase Cup competition and 11-21 in the regular season.

College Park closed out at 15-17.

Birmingham got 27 points from guard Kelan Martin, followed by Malcolm Hill (23), Dereon Seabron (19), James Kelly Sr. (15) and Feron Hunt (13). Seabron added 11 rebounds for a double-double in a matchup the hosts led from wire-to-wire.

Brandon Williams had a huge night for the Skyhawks, hitting for 40 points, while Donovan Williams added 25.

“It felt good to end up on a high note,” Martin said. “We’ve won a lot in the last few games, so it was nice to end the season like this. It was fun out there playing one last time.”

Heading into Saturday’s finale, Martin was the club’s top scorer for the year, popping for 20.1 points per game. His Saturday performance cemented his status as stat leader in the category.

“This season I just worked really hard on playing my game, and the work that I put in over the summer paid off,” he said. “I was consistent all year, so it was a good feeling.”

From a wins and losses perspective, it wasn’t what Squadron players, coaches or fans hoped for; Birmingham finished well below the playoff cut line. But the NBA G League is about getting players ready to step up to the next level, and in that regard, plenty was accomplished.

“I commended them on their character, which is how we put the team together, and it really showed the last 10 or so games this season,” Squadron head coach T. J. Saint said after the game. “They stuck together. Hard times create strong men, and I’ve told them that the whole season. And even though we didn’t make the playoffs and the record wasn’t what we wanted, this season will in some way pay dividends in their future.”

And if you were among the 65,682 fans who showed up for a game in Birmingham’s house, you were certainly entertained – regardless of the outcomes. This is what a developmental league is supposed to be; fast-paced, high-quality play, night in and night out.

Hunt, a forward, and guard Javonte Smart suited up for more Squadron regular season games than any other players on the roster, making the most of their minutes in 32 outings. Hunt tallied 468 points and had 164 rebounds in 985 minutes, while Smart was good for 435 points and 110 assists in 930 minutes on the floor.

Seabron – a two-way player who averaged 18.4 points per G League game – was called up to New Orleans for five games, but parlayed 27 appearances with the Squadron into 497 points as well as 932 minutes of court time. Immediately after Saturday’s win, he flew out to join the Pelicans on their West Coast swing.

The former North Carolina State guard has been a standout for the Squadron all season long, and in his penultimate regular season game had a triple-double (21 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds) in a 139-131 road loss to the Iowa Wolves.

And before joining FC Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague, forward Zylan Cheatham was a crowd favorite, scoring 12.2 points and snatching 8.9 rebounds per game in 23 appearances.

For fans who wanted some local flavor with their pro hoops, they got it in a pair of guards – University of Alabama product and Huntsville native John Petty Jr. and UAB’s Jordan Swing, who graduated from Vestavia Hills High School.

Arguably the high point of the season came on March 7 when 7,013 fans – mostly youngsters – were at Legacy Arena for the Literacy Day showdown against the Santa Cruz Warriors. Birmingham rewarded the largest crowd of 2022-23 with a 127-112 victory.

“They got to 110 decibels that game, and we needed all of them,” Saint said.

Attendance was solid as the team averaged 2,737 fans per game. Aside from the huge Literacy Day turnout, the Squadron drew 4,000-plus fans on three home dates – including the season finale – and more than 3,000 customers twice.

Completing a second season is a first for a professional basketball team in the Magic City. Franchises in the Professional Basketball League of America, Southern Professional Basketball League and Continental Basketball Association were one-and-done, while the Squadron has been part of the city’s sportscape since 2021.

Saint hopes for even better things to come.

“Every coffee shop I go in I say, ‘Hey, are you guys going to the Squadron game?’” Saint said. “Some people knew about the team but now more people know, and all the credit goes to (general manager) Leslie Claybrook and her staff. They have been monumental in trying to spread the word, and it’s going to grow even more this summer.

“This is one of the greatest places to play basketball in the entire G League, and I’m really excited about the future.”

Walking the Dog

The old man leaned over and patted the dog on the head.

“You’re a good boy, Hoagie,” Burtram Anchrum said. “You’re a very, very good boy. Just ignore them people … they don’t know nothin’ about nothin.”

Each day Anchrum walked the same street of the small town, first passing the drug store, then the hardware store, then the fruit stand. Then he turned around and reversed course – first the fruit stand, then the hardware store, then the drug store.

And each day, he and his faithful companion were the object of stares and the subject of shouts.

“I know why they’re starin’ at me, Hoagie,” Anchrum said. “They’re just jealous. They see me talkin’ to my pretty little dog and they wish they was me. Every single one of ‘em. They wishes they was me. And that’s why they call you, ‘cause they want you to leave me.”

“Hoagie!” called out Mr. Duncan, the proprietor of the fruit stand. “Stay out of the road, boy!”

Mrs. Johnson grabbed a cantaloupe, sniffed it, and then gave it a couple of knocks with her knuckles to see if it was ripe enough.

Then she let out a sigh.

“Somebody needs to corral that little dog before he gets hit by a car,” she said.

“I’m trying,” Duncan said, shaking his head. “He walks by here every day, back and forth … I guess he’s looking for his owner.

“Poor old Mr. Anchrum dropped dead of a heart attack right in front of my store while he was walking him. He’s been gone for six months now, but it’s like that poor dog refuses to leave his side.”

When the Bengals roared

In the long, storied tradition of sports debates, I’m guessing few people argue about the greatest semi-pro football dynasty of all-time. There have been countless no money/beer money leagues throughout the game’s history, and tracking them all is next to impossible.

But …

This year is the 40th anniversary of the American Football Association’s final season, and in doing research on it I uncovered some interesting info.

First, the Carolina Storm won the final two AFA championship games, finishing 12-0 in 1982 and 7-0 in 1983. Not only that, they were dominant, scoring a lot while allowing the opposition very little in the way of points.

But just as I was about to suggest we crown the Storm semi-pro GOAT, I learned about the California Football League’s San Jose Tigers.

And what did I learn?

The Tigers were 14-0 in league play in 1977 and 14-0 in 1978.

They were also a club that overwhelmed the competition, and I decided that maybe they were even better than the Storm.

But …

After running roughshod through their foes in 1977, the Tigers squared off with the Pierce County (Washington) Bengals of the Northwest International Football League in what amounted to a championship of teams in the Pacific Northwest. So, I looked for a score from that one and found that Pierce County knocked San Jose from the unbeaten ranks, 28-27, at San Jose’s Spartan Stadium in a showdown dubbed the Holiday Bowl.

The game account, courtesy of the Tacoma News Tribune, reads like the script from a sports movie – complete with an ending that might’ve inspired a pivotal scene in All The Right Moves.

The turnover-prone Bengals trailed 14-0 at halftime, battled back to take a 15-14 lead, but found themselves down, 27-15, with 3:06 left.

Former University of California backup quarterback Mark Cahill quickly led the Steve Harshman-coached team down the field on the ensuing drive, capping it off with a 15-yard TD pass to Al Ketter that cut the deficit to 27-22 with just 1:22 left.

An onside kick failed, so all the Tigers had to do was run out the clock to wrap up a perfect season. However, a shaky exchange between San Jose QB Sonny Brasil and fullback Mike Bonds became a fumble following a hit by cornerback Mike Nelson, and the ball was picked up and returned for a 66-yard touchdown by safety Larry Smith with 26 seconds remaining.

“That was too lucky to believe,” Smith told the San Francisco Examiner after the game. “I was really surprised they didn’t just fall on the ball and run out the clock and win the game. We were just going for the ball and they gave us the chance.”

The Tigers still had a shot at winning with a 39-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play, but the snap was high and the ball was never placed down.

As I continued to peruse the article, I discovered that the Bengals’ victory was their 32nd consecutive “W” dating back to early in the 1973 season – and that Harshman played offensive guard to go along with his coaching duties.

Naturally, I had to learn more.

And what I learned made me forget my plan to write about the Tigers and Storm, and take a deeper dive into the Pierce County dynasty.

The original Bengals existed from 1973 to 1981, and over nine seasons compiled a remarkable 86-8-1 record as members of the NWIL (1973-79) and Pacific Northwest Football League (1980-81).

As impressive as those numbers are, Pierce County also won five consecutive league championships from 1973-77, was named Pro Football Weekly national champions in 1977, and had three perfect seasons and only one campaign with more than one loss (an 8-3 mark in 1978).

In addition, they were two-time winners of the Can-Am Bowl, which pitted them against the top semi-pro team from Canada.

It was 1977, though, that stood out among all the standout seasons.

Cahill (Olympic, California and UNLV) led the team with 2,117 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. Ron Baines, Willis Freeman, Jim Whitman and Al Bessette were his primary targets.

Baines caught 35 passes for 648 yards and seven TDs that season and retired after the San Jose game.

Harlon Miles rushed for 450 yards on 90 carries to lead the rushing attack on a team that outscored the opposition 446-101.

And talk about a balanced attack; the Bengals averaged 210 passing and 145 rushing yards per game while limiting opponents to 35.9 rushing yards.

So, did the Bengals have the greatest semi-pro dynasty of all-time?

Who knows? If I wanted to take the time, I’m sure I could find other great teams lost to history.

But I do know if you ever decide to start a conversation on the topic, Pierce County most certainly belongs in it.