Category: Basketball

With just five games remaining in the Showcase Cup portion of the 2023-24 schedule, the Birmingham Squadron is running out of chances to qualify for the Winter Showcase.

During a matinee on Friday at Legacy Arena, however, the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliates got back in the hunt.

Malcolm Hill lit it up for a career-high 33 points and Tevian Jones contributed a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) as Birmingham snapped a four-game losing skid with a 109-90 victory over the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

“We shot it pretty well from (3-point range), and we didn’t turn it over, which was huge,” Squadron boss T.J. Saint said. “Malcolm is who Malcolm is … one of the best vets I’ve ever been around. And Tevian is growing. He comes in every day, puts in the work, doesn’t complain, and he’s been like that since summer league. He’s got a bright, bright future.”

Saint’s team evens its record at 5-5 while the Houston Rockets farm club stands at 6-5.

Both teams are in the South Pod of the Showcase Cup and trail Mexico City and Osceola (7-4) and Oklahoma City (7-5) in the standings.

Izaiah Brockington netted 17 points for the winners, followed by Devin Cannady (15) and Jalen Crutcher (14).

UAB product Trey Jemison just missed a double-double with eight points and 16 rebounds.

“He’s a monster,” Saint said of Jemison, who also had five blocked shots. “We don’t win if he’s not here.”

Rockets assignment player Cam Whitmore was the top scorer for the Vipers, with Amen Thompson and Darius Days each scoring 14, Jermaine Samuels Jr. adding 12 and Jarrett Culver pumping in 10.

Although the Vipers outscored the Squadron 34-16 in the paint over the game’s first 24 minutes (and 64-38 overall), timely outside shooting helped make up the difference.

The score was knotted at 26-all after one – Hill already had seven points – and he added seven more in the second period to lead all scorers with 17 points.

Jones was flirting with a double-double by halftime (10 points, eight boards), and Jemison’s slam with :44 left in the quarter gave Birmingham a 50-49 edge at intermission.

The Squadron led by as many as 10 in the third quarter and looked poised to take control of the contest. However, the home team’s shooting cooled off and Rio Grande Valley continued to force the issue on the inside, and trailed only 82-79 entering the final stanza.

But Birmingham found its long-range groove again in the fourth and the Vipers – trying to make up ground from outside the arc – continued to miss the mark.

The hosts led 96-85 with 4:35 remaining and kept adding to their advantage from there, settling for a solid 19-point victory.

“We held the top scoring team in the league to 90 points,” Saint said. “I’m really proud of that.”

Hill said he just tried to play his game, and wasn’t worried about the losing streak or the Showcase Cup standings.

“It’s such a long season, almost every team goes through a losing skid,” Hill said. “Honestly, a lot of our losses were close games, and the start of the season we were winning those close games. The big thing for us is just staying consistent with what we do. I didn’t look to play hero ball or anything, we just want to find golden nuggets – things we can take from games even if we lose.

“It’s tough to learn from wins, so we took the opportunity to learn from our losses.”

What a start: Thompson, the No. 4 pick overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, made his G League debut on December 6 and did not disappoint.

The 6-7 rookie had a triple-double – 29 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists – in a 128-126 loss to Oklahoma City.

Thompson missed five weeks with a high ankle sprain before the Rockets assigned him to the G League for rehab.

STEM Fest: The theme for today’s game was STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and kids from throughout the Birmingham area were at Legacy Arena to get hands-on demonstrations – and watch professional basketball.

The youngsters helped the Squadron draw 2,024 and created a great (and very loud) atmosphere.

OTD in 1947: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Memphis Legionnaires, 62-43.

Player-coach Wheeler Flemming led the charge with 19 points, followed by Bobby O’Brien (15), Manuel Dorsky (11) and Bubba Bell (11).

The Vulcans never trailed and their starting lineup played from wire-to-wire.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Steelers of the SPBL defeated the Laurel Oilers, 63-61 to improve their record to 4-0.

Bob Murphy tallied 19 points for the winners.

OTD in 1991: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association fell to the Oklahoma City Calvary, 106-102, for their fifth consecutive loss.

Jim Farmer was a bright spot for the Bandits, scoring 28 points. Marvin Alexander had a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) in a losing effort.

OTD in 2022: The Squadron lost to the Memphis Hustle, 114-109, at Legacy Arena. Kenny Loftin led the winners with a game-high 24 points.

Kelan Martin paced Birmingham with 21 points while both Zylan Cheatham and James Kelly Sr. added 20 apiece.

The Squadron fell to 6-12 with the loss.

Next up: The Squadron and Vipers are back at it on Saturday at Legacy Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Every player suited up for the Birmingham Squadron hopes to land a full-time gig with the parent club – the New Orleans Pelicans – or another NBA team.

But the immediate goal of any competitor is to win games, and right now the G League squad sits at 4-2 in the Showcase Cup standings and in second place behind the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the South Pod.

With the four pod winners and next four teams with the best record advancing to the money round at the Winter Showcase, showing up and showing off over the remaining 10 Cup games is extremely important to Birmingham players.

“Of course it is,” guard Jalen Crutcher said following a spirited Wednesday practice at Legacy Arena. “You know, $100,000 is split up among the players on the team that wins the tournament, so we’re going out every game playing as hard as we can and trying to win.”

The Squadron embarks on a three-game road trip starting Friday when they take on Austin at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.

Birmingham opened the 2023-24 season with a 130-90 rout of the Spurs in a Showcase Cup matchup.

Birmingham will be at the Paycom Center on December 3 and December 5 to tangle with the Oklahoma City Blue before returning home on December 8 against Rio Grande Valley.

The 4-2 mark is the best since the franchise came to the Magic City in 2021.

Coach T.J. Saint says he’s excited about taking the show on the road.

“Last year we went 3-0 on our first long road trip, so we’re trying to do that again,” Saint said. “And to Jason’s point about the money round, it’s already started. We have to have great preparation to take on really good teams, and the guys know what’s at stake. I think maybe at the moment we’re technically out of the top eight, but we have a lot of control over how we finish, and we’ve just got to be detailed and focused going forward to be in a better position to finish in the top eight.”

Two-way player Dereon Seabron leads the team in points per game (24.7) and minutes played (37.3), while Landers Nolley II has stepped up for 19.5 points and nine rebounds per outing.

Seabron was the breakout star for Birmingham in 2022-23 and continues to shine, but Nolley is certainly making his presence known.

“Landers is one of the most cerebral guys at any level I’ve ever coached,” Saint explained. “He’s a sniper who can really shoot it. His passing ability is different, especially in his size position. And the thing that you don’t see if you’re not at practice are the little things. He’s always telling guys and reminding guys what to do and what’s coming.

“As we get going more, we see that he’s a very, very dynamic and interesting player who I believe can play in the NBA.”

Malcolm Hill averages 17.5 points, followed by Crutcher (16), Izaiah Brockington (12.2) and Tevian Jones (11).

UAB product Trey Jemison scores seven points per night to go with 9.3 boards and the Squadron ranks third in the league in rebounds per game with 50.8.

“I think there has been a total alignment with the Pelicans’ front office, the Squadron’s front office, myself, coaches and players,” Saint said. “They’re super high-character guys. We have future NBA players – several I think – on our team, and we’ve really honed in on that character piece.

“We took a hard loss last game (129-112 to Memphis), but we’ve had some good film sessions and good practices. I’m excited to go to Austin.”

Tip-off for Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on My68 as well as the NBA G League Channel on Tubi.

New addition: With Devin Cannady participating in the 3×3 AmeriCup competition through December 3, the Squadron signed center Daniel Giddens from the available player pool. The 6-11, 240-pound center has played professionally in Japan and Switzerland, and had college stops at Ohio State, Alabama and Vermont.

He comes to Birmingham as a roster hardship exception.

“He’ll be able to spell Trey when we don’t want to go small,” Saint said. “He gives us another option during a game.”

Season within a season: Once the Showcase Cup is done, all G League teams’ record will be wiped clean and a traditional regular season will begin on December 27.

Crutcher likes the format – sort of.

“I mean, if you have a bad start to the season, you get to start over,” he said. “But if you’re doing good and have a good record, you’d kinda like to keep adding to it. But overall, I think it’s pretty good to have a Showcase season and then a regular season.”

The Birmingham Squadron entered Sunday’s Showcase Cup matchup with Memphis at the top of the South Pod standings, while the visiting Hustle was tied for last among the eight-team group.

Once the final horn sounded after 48 minutes at Legacy Arena, Birmingham (4-2) dropped into a first-place tie with Rio Grande Valley, while Memphis (3-5) exited the cellar.

The Hustle outscored the Squadron 46-26 in the third quarter and parlayed that surge into a 129-112 victory in front of 1,294 fans.

The teams with the best winning-percentage in each regional pod – as well as the next four teams with the best winning clip regardless of pod – will advance to the single-elimination NBA G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas December 19-22.

“I personally don’t think I had them ready coming out of halftime,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “This Memphis team’s record is not indicative of how they’ve actually played. But I don’t think we were ready after halftime, that’s for sure, and that’s on me.

“We’ll be better next time.”

The Hustle opened the third quarter with 11 consecutive points to take a 64-61 lead before Malcolm Hill made a Squadron bucket to break the ice.

But Memphis was relentless, and ended up with a 20-2 spurt that resulted in a 73-63 cushion.

Saint’s crew finally answered with a 10-3 run of their own, and at the 4:08 juncture Dereon Seabron drained a three to make it 83-83.

The Hustle wasn’t done racking up unanswered points, though, and seized a 94-83 lead with 2:13 left in the third and never trailed the rest of the way. When the horn sounded, the Memphis Grizzlies’ affiliates were in charge, 99-87.

After being heavily outscored in the third stanza, the New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club had plenty of work to do in the fourth.

But the Hustle didn’t stop working, either.

“Momentum is always up for grabs,” Saint said. “We took momentum with like six minutes to go against Texas last game, and they took momentum pretty much in the third quarter. So that’s kind of how that works.”

Memphis’ two leading scorers came off the bench, with David Johnson scoring a game-high 27 points and Cameron McGriff adding 24. Adonis Amis pumped in 18 and Jason Preston recorded a triple double with 16 points, 13 boards and 12 assists as the Hustle placed seven players in double figures.

The winners hit 14 3-pointers and shot 49 percent from the field.

Landers Nolley II had a double-double for the home team, chipping in 25 points and snatching 11 rebounds.

“I’m trying to get better and work on my craft each time out,” Nolley said. “I just go out and trust my teammates, and they put me in good situations.”

Seabron scored 22 points followed by Jalen Crutcher (18), Hill (14), Tevian Jones (12) and Izaiah Brockington (11).

Both teams had shooting woes early in the first quarter, but Birmingham managed to go on a 7-0 run at the 3:35 mark to take an 18-11 lead.

Shots began falling on both ends of the court after that, however, and when the first frame ended the game was knotted at 30-all.

In the second quarter the Squadron led by as many as 11 – 59-48 – but settled for a 61-53 advantage at intermission.

Nolley was already nearing a double-double for the hosts with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Birmingham had outscored Memphis 16-7 in fastbreak points.

Save the date: Today’s meeting with Memphis marked the third consecutive season the Squadron has played a game on November 26 – and all of them have been losses.

In its inaugural campaign in the Ham (2021-22), Birmingham fell to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on the road, 112-105.

Last season in the friendly confines, the Squadron dropped a 111-98 decision to the Austin Spurs.

Launching pad: How much talent is in the G League?

A lot.

When the 2023-24 NBA season began, 50 percent of the players on opening night rosters had G League experience, up three percent from the year before.

At least 30 G League prospects have been called up to the NBA in each of the last nine seasons.

Teamwork: Over the Thanksgiving holiday the Squadron teamed up with other Birmingham pro teams – the Barons, Legion, Bulls and Stallions – to help combat hunger. The “BHM 5” collected food and delivered it to the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, ultimately donating 753 pounds of food which will provide over 630 meals to the community.

“Giving back to the community that supports us is paramount to who we are as a team,” Squadron general manager Leslie Claybrook said. “Partnering with the other local professional sports teams is something special to us as we continue to build here in the Magic City.”

Next up: The Squadron begins a three-game road trip on Friday, December 1, when they take on Austin at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.

Birmingham opened the 2023-24 season with a 130-90 rout of the Spurs in a Showcase Cup matchup.

The Squadron will be at the Paycom Center on December 3 and December 5 to tangle with the Oklahoma City Blue.

Birmingham’s next home game is December 8 against Rio Grande Valley. That will be part of Stem Fest (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), and will tip-off at 11:30 a.m.