Month: October 2023

Hoops in the Ham

With the NBA preseason now under way, New Orleans Pelicans fans are wondering how the “Big Three” of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum can help the club go from a play-in team to one capable of making a deep postseason run.

Birmingham Squadron fans, however, are more concerned with the players who’ll be spending much of their court time in the Magic City.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.

So is the coach of the Pelicans’ G League affiliate.

T.J. Saint, who is heading into his second season at the helm of the Squadron, was a highly interested observer of Thursday night’s clash between the Pelicans and Rockets at Legacy Arena.

The final score (Houston won big, 120-87) was secondary to what Saint hoped to learn about some of the players who’ll be on the Birmingham roster in 2023-24. The Squadron open against the Austin Spurs here on Friday, November 10, as part of the Showcase Cup portion of the schedule.

“I thought it was good tonight for fans to see our team the last five minutes,” Saint said. “Although the game was decided, getting a chance to play in an NBA game for the first time on our home floor will make our opener feel more familiar.”

Starting this season, teams are allowed three two-way players, but so far only Dereon Seabron and Kaiser Gates have inked those contracts with New Orleans.

Seabron entered the game at the start of the fourth quarter and logged 7:12 minutes. He failed to score, but snagged a rebound.

With just under five minutes to go, Gates found his way to the court. He played 4:48 and nailed a 3-pointer.

UAB product Trey Jemison put in 9:52 and contributed a field goal, three rebounds and an assist. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract (one-year deal for league minimum with a two-way contract option) in September.

“It’s just a blessing to be back home,” Jemison said. “I’ve played state championships here, I’ve played college here and to play professionally here is just amazing. I prayed for nights like this.”

All three players should call Birmingham home during a good portion of the fall and winter.

As for the exhibition game itself, the Rockets took control early and rolled to a 33-point victory in front of 11,589 fans.

Jabari Smith Jr. led the winners and all scorers with 22 points despite playing just 23:50. The former Auburn star (third overall pick in the 2022 draft) is in his second year with the Rockets and averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the team last season.

Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and Amen Thompson each scored 12 points to aid the cause.

“Yeah, I think we played some different lineups and units – small-ball units that really got after it,” Houston boss Ime Udoka said. “But even when we had our bigs in, guys were extremely active. Great physicality across the board, but, when things broke down, we talked about playing through that possession, and guys were scrambling great, obviously got a lot of steals, and when that happens obviously you transfer that into fast-break points and we had 28 for the night.”

Williamson, Ingram and McCollum combined for 31 New Orleans points, with McCollum netting 17 of them.

Dyson Daniels and Jordan Hawkins scored 13 points apiece.

“It’s demoralizing when you turn the ball over as many times as we did tonight … 27 (turnovers) for 30 points,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “When we were out there, we were sloppy, and we’ve got to get better and clean it up.”

HOME COOKING

Kira Lewis Jr. (No. 13 pick in 2020 NBA Draft) and Herbert Jones (No. 35 pick in 2021) are products of the Alabama Crimson Tide, so Thursday night was something of a homecoming for the New Orleans players.

“There’s a lot of friends and family here tonight, and just to be back in Alabama playing professionally means a lot to me,” Jones said.

Jones scored four points in 23:09, while Lewis chipped in eight points over 16:27.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

Center Liam Robbins figured to be a part of the Pelicans’ future (and Squadron’s immediate) plans in 2023-24, but the big center out of Vanderbilt was waived earlier on Thursday.

Robbins suffered a stress reaction to his right fibula earlier in the month.

In another move, New Orleans signed guard Jalen Crutcher, who played 57 games over the last two seasons with the Greensboro Storm, the Charlotte Hornets’ G League affiliate.

Crutcher averaged 15.8 points per game for the Swarm.

PRESEASON VISITS

There have been 12 NBA exhibition games contested in Birmingham over the years, all in October.

The first came on October 16, 1976, when the Cleveland Cavaliers  defeated the Detroit Pistons, 120-109, in front of 8,551 fans at the new Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum.

It was the first basketball game played at the facility.

The Pelicans’ stop in Birmingham on Thursday was their second overall (and second in a row), but they have some work to do to catch up with the Atlanta Hawks. The NBA team nearest to the Ham has played here six times, while the Rockets and Pistons have three appearances each at what is now known as Legacy Arena.

FLIRTING WITH THE ASSOCIATION

Birmingham attorney Ed Meyerson started a push to help Birmingham get an NBA franchise back in 1977, hoping to convince an existing club to relocate and call the Civic Center home.

By 1978 the focus has shifted to Buffalo, where the Braves were planning on moving to Dallas. However, news that the Texas city would get an expansion team when its new sports complex was completed in 1980 or 1981 put that deal on hold – and put Birmingham back in the conversation.

Alas, the Braves relocated to San Diego and the quest to lure an NBA team to Alabama was abandoned in early 1979.

The runners

Most of the runners snaked their way along the sidewalk of the city center, negotiating the course with relative ease. But a few – the few who couldn’t keep pace – weaved out onto the main road as they struggled to keep up.

“Get out of the street, you idiots!” squawked the man. “Don’t you realize how dangerous it is? Morons …”

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.

Once a serious runner himself, Jeremy Browning had made it his mission to serve as something of a monitor, spending every Monday and Friday eyeing the crew from the Vista Knoll Fleet Athletic Club – and yelling at them. The runners from the organization put in two mini-marathons per week, starting their journey under the cover of early morning darkness and finishing just as the city came alive with both human and vehicular traffic.

At the outset, they were often the only people anywhere near the street, save for the occasional dog walker or casual jogger.

Jeremy would give them a loose follow during the predawn jaunt, just to make sure they were staying in line.

His role as a keen observer increased dramatically, however, as they neared the end of their run. This was the point where many became tired – and careless.

“Hey, Pink Guy,” he bellowed at the pale, sweating man who was bringing up the rear of the line of marathoners. “Get your ass back on the sidewalk before you get run over.”

There was no acknowledgement, although once the runner side-glanced the slow-moving car as it moved past, he stumbled back toward the walkway.

“I can’t always be your eyes and ears,” Jeremy said. “At some point you have to show some common sense.”

Jeremy didn’t know the names of any of the Vista Knoll Fleet Athletic Club members; there had been so many different ones over the years, it would’ve been difficult to remember them all anyway.

Instead, he identified them by their appearance.

“Pink Guy” had been around only a couple of months, and Jeremy didn’t think he was fully committed to the discipline and stamina needed to be in such an organization.

Then there was “Fish Britches,” the sobriquet he had given the man who always wore salmon-colored running shorts (and matching headband) and seemed more interested in fashion than exertion.

“Richie Rich,” “Sweaty Butt,” “Pencil Legs” … Jeremy was always able to identify a few who didn’t follow the rules of the road, and he wasn’t at all shy about shaming them when they got out of line.

“I guess I need to start calling you Road Kill instead of Sweaty Butt,” he shouted as the fellow with the perpetually damp shorts foundered toward the thoroughfare. “Mark my words … the next time you stagger out here on the asphalt will be your last. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Jeremy remembered another occasion when Sweaty Butt was clipped by a Honda Civic when he ran in front of the compact in an effort to keep pace with the rest of the group. The injury wasn’t serious, but Jeremy was livid.

He’d anticipated the event moments earlier and hollered as loud as he could to warn the runner. Sweaty Butt looked up in time to avoid a more serious crash, but had he been paying attention he could’ve steered clear of it altogether.

“Why don’t they listen?” Jeremy would often mutter to himself.

Of course, he had to believe they were listening, even if they might not even realize it.

They never so much as looked in his direction when he started vocalizing his displeasure, but somehow, he always seemed able to keep them out of harm’s way.

Yeah, there was Sweaty Butt’s incident with the Honda. And then several years earlier there was the guy – “Terrycloth Drawers” Jeremy remembers calling him – who was on a collision course with a minivan before darting out of the road and into a sticker bush.

Jeremy screamed with such force he was certain he’d busted a blood vessel.

When he thought about it – and it was basically all that he thought about – everyone in the Vista Knoll Fleet Athletic Club should thank him for what he did.

Every time they did their weekly runs, he was serving as their lookout. And when Monday and Friday were done and the same number of harriers who started also finished, Jeremy felt as though his goal was accomplished.

And that was a good feeling, albeit a bittersweet one.

Because if he’d had a ghost looking out for him all those years ago, maybe he’d still be alive today.