Category: Basketball

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.

The G League is a developmental circuit for the NBA, but Tuesday night at Legacy Arena the clash between the Birmingham Squadron and Texas Legends seemed more like a throwback to the late, great American Basketball Association.

Played at a dizzying pace and featuring 38 3-pointers, 96 points in the paint, 18 lead changes and some hot tempers that resulted in three technical fouls, Birmingham took a 134-121 victory in front of 1,389 fans.

The win improves the New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliate to 4-1 in the Showcase Cup standings, while the Dallas Mavericks’ farmhands slip to 2-3.

Two-way guard Dereon Seabron had a phenomenal performance in the win, netting a career-high 37 points and dishing out 11 assists to secure the double-double. It was the second most points ever scored by a Squadron player in a single game.

“I feel like I was due for it,” Seabron said. “That first game (on Sunday) I had to get used to playing with new players because I’d been in New Orleans since the summertime, and I had to adjust to everybody’s playing style and what spots they wanted to be in.”

Malcolm Hill also had a big night for the winners with 24 points, followed by Izaiah Brockington (17), Landers Nolley (16), Devin Cannady (14) and Jalen Crutcher (13).

“Dereon’s a very unique player,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “His IQ is really high, he’s very quick, he’s powerful. And over the last year since I’ve had him, his development and decision making is just way better. He’s a special dude. I think he can earn an NBA contract.”

Greg Brown III led Texas with 26 points and got plenty of help from former UAB standout Jelly Walker, who finished with 20 points.

Dexter Dennis contributed 17 points, A.J. Lawson added 16, Juston Jackson scored 14, Theo Pinson had 12 and Joe Wieskamp closed out double-figure Legends with 10.

Brown had seven 3-pointers before finally cooling off.

Leading by just six entering the fourth quarter, Birmingham asserted itself with solid defense and dead-eye shooting.

The Squadron moved in front 122-109 with under six minutes remaining and – with the Legends finally misfiring from beyond the arc – hung on for the victory.

“There’s a lot of talent on the floor,” Saint said. “Brown, and A.J. Lawson’s played a lot of games. And they’re really good and very talented, and they’re not even all the way healthy.

“And I think our guys are gonna get even better throughout the year. I hope the fans keep coming. They’ll see some good basketball.”

UAB product Trey Jemison opened the game with a dunk and Walker followed with the Legends’ first bucket, setting the tone for a frenetic first quarter.

Jemison picked up his second foul four minutes in – forcing him to the bench early – but hot shooting from Seabron and Nolley helped negate the size disadvantage.

Cannady and Brockington came through with some timely 3-pointers, and Birmingham led 37-33 after one.

Brown and Walker continued to have a hot hand for Texas in the second stanza, allowing Jordan Sears’ charges to quickly erase the deficit and move in front 65-59 with 3:06 to go before halftime.

But Birmingham reeled off three straight buckets to tie the game at 65-all with 1:22 on the clock.

Taze Moore scored a putback for Texas to put the Legends back on top but a Hill trey – as well as a pair of free throws and a technical foul shot – gave the Squadron a 71-67 edge in the waning moments.

Brown, however, beat the buzzer with his fourth 3-pointer of the first half and cut the Birmingham lead to 71-70 with 24 minutes still to play.

After the teams combined for 25 3-pointers over the first two quarters, it was more of the same in the third.

When Birmingham and Texas weren’t dropping it in from long range, they were racking up points in transition. The result was another frenzied period, and when the horn sounded the home team was clinging to a 104-98 lead.

In the final 12 minutes, the hosts were finally able to put some distance between themselves and the visitors.

Birmingham won the rebounding battle, 45-43, and had just 12 turnovers to 19 for Texas.

“There’s something new we’re doing this year,” Saint said. “There’s offense, there’s defense and we have a third thing called ‘crashense.’ So, we’re sending four to the glass no matter what. It’s something (assistant coach) Joe Barrer, who was the head coach in Lakeland for the last two years, did, and something that I really liked.”

Trey vs. Jelly, Part 2: Jemison dealt with foul trouble and was limited to eight rebounds and six points.

Walker’s 20 points included six from 3-point range, and he also had eight assists.

The two-game set in Birmingham is the last scheduled meeting between the two teams this season – and the two former Blazers.

Making history: With the Squadron’s third season underway, head coach T.J. Saint has already entered the record book.

How?

Well, in the annals of Birmingham pro basketball, he is the first coach to lead a Magic City-branded team into action to start two consecutive seasons.

Of course, it helps that the G League team has survived more than one campaign – a feat no other local pro hoop franchise accomplished.

In 1947, Fred Lewis logged a 17-5 record as coach of the Birmingham Skyhawks of the Professional Basketball League of America. That circuit folded before finishing its first and last season.

The Birmingham Vulcans (1947-48) of the Southern Professional Basketball League went through three coaches – Wheeler Fleming (13-13) to start, then Cherry Foster (5-8) and finally Jim Price (7-7), the team owner who served out the year as coach.

The Vulcans folded but in 1948 the Birmingham Steelers joined the SPBL, and head coach Ben Chapman was 8-2 before leaving the team. (Chapman was better known as an all-star baseball player for the New York Yankees and later manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. He disgraced himself by shouting racist slurs at Jackie Robinson during the 1947 season, and was ultimately fired by the National League club).

Price was owner of the Vulcans as well, and again took the coaching reigns to finish out the one-and-done season, going 14-11.

Jump to 1991 and the Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association; Mo McHone was 27-34.

And Ryan Pannone held the top job when the Squadron came to Birmingham in 2021-22, leading the club to a 27-20 record.

Saint’s first team was 17-33 overall and he is off to a 4-1 start in 2023-24.

Next up: Birmingham hosts the Memphis Hustle on Sunday at 3 p.m. The theme is “Commander’s Birthday,” and the first 1,000 fans will receive a stuffed animal version of the team mascot.

The theme for Sunday’s NBA G League clash at Legacy Arena between the Birmingham Squadron and Texas Legends was “Sitcom Night.”

When 48 minutes were done, it was the Legends who got the last laugh in front of 1,252 fans.

With six players hitting double figures and the Squadron turning the ball over 22 times, the Dallas Mavericks’ affiliate knocked the New Orleans Pelicans’ developmental club from the unbeaten ranks with an impressive 119-105 victory.

“We jumped out 21-11, but then we had 22 turnovers for 24 points, and those are really backbreakers,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “In one of our first three games we kept our turnovers low, but it’s been an issue (in the other three) and our defense has been able to recover, but that’s certainly something that has to be better Tuesday when we play them again.”

Texas evens its Showcase Cup record to 2-2 while Birmingham stands at 3-1.

Two-way player Dereon Seabron was in the Squadron lineup for the first time in 2023-24, scoring 15 points. Still, it was an adjustment for both him and his teammates.

“That’s the G League,” Saint said. “That’s how it always is. He’s very talented and we need him, but we haven’t practiced with him. He got here (Saturday) after our practice.

“We did a light walkthrough, but he didn’t know some of the stuff, so it’s part of the G League as it normally is. We’ll get better Tuesday.”

Seabron has played five games for the Pelicans this season, averaging 2.8 points and 10.4 minutes per game for the parent club.

Trailing 86-78 going into the fourth quarter and shooting just 31 of 75 from the field, the Squadron needed to flip the script in order to stay unbeaten.

Instead, the Legends led by as many as 18 points on their way to winning the first of a two-game set.

A.J. Lawson led the victors with 24 points, followed by former UAB standout Jordan “Jelly” Walker (22), Greg Brown III (19), Joe Wieskamp (15), Theo Pinson (12) and Dexter Dennis (10).

Devon Cannady had the hot hand for the Squadron with 24 points, a team high through four games. He was six of nine from 3-point range.

Landers Nolley II had 19 points, Seabron and Jalen Crutcher each tallied 15, and Tevian Jones was good for 12.

The Squadron was out of sync for much of the first quarter, plagued by turnovers (eight) and poor outside shooting, going just one of eight from 3-point range. That – along with nine points from Brown, the Legend forward – helped Texas to a 25-23 lead.

A 3-pointer by Walker gave the visitors a 34-27 edge with under eight minutes left in the second quarter, and another trey by the former Blazer made it 37-27 moments later.

Birmingham clawed back, getting a pair of threes from Jones and another courtesy of Malcolm Hill, but the Texans always seemed to have an answer.

However, Cannady bagged four consecutive 3-pointers to aid the Squadron cause, pulling the hosts to within three at 55-52 in the waning moments.

At the break, Texas held a 57-52 advantage.

The third quarter was mostly a rinse and repeat, with Birmingham struggling to find the range and the Legends finding success from beyond the arc.

With 12 minutes remaining, Saint’s crew was down by eight, 86-78.

Trey vs. Jelly: The sidebar to the main story of the game was the reunion of Trey Jemison and Walker, who played together at UAB and helped the Blazers reach the NIT Finals last season.

This time they were on opposite sides, but got together immediately when the Squadron’s Jemison was called for goaltending on the first shot of the game – which came from Walker.

At halftime Jemison already had 11 rebounds and eight points while Walker had netted 10 points, including a pair of threes.

By the end of the night, Jemison owned 16 rebounds – the fifth highest total in Squadron history – and Walker was his side’s second leading scorer with 22 points.

“I say it all the time … Birmingham is like my second home next to New York,” Walker said. “I’m glad I was able to play well. I started off the season a little rough. It’s different from college to the professional game – very different, and way faster. But having my coaches believe in me, my teammates trust me and know how good I can be … it was just great to do it in Birmingham, where I made a name for myself.”

Walker said it was “a blessing” to get together with Jemison again, even if they were on different teams.

“We’ve had bad days together, we’ve had good days together,” Walker said. “You know, we’ve won championships together. We went to the tournament together, so we’ve been through a lot together, especially my two years at UAB.

“Just seeing him and knowing we made it this far after being with each other in college in the same locker room, it’s a blessing. It’s a testament to both of our hard work, and what we’ve done at UAB and obviously, (UAB coach) Andy Kennedy helped us tremendously and got us to this point.”

Jemison agreed.

“We got to talk the day before the game and we get to play each other again on Tuesday,” Jemison said. “I look forward to doing it again.”

Putting the work in: Before the season started, I asked Jemison what he wanted to improve about his game.

“I want to be better around the rim,” he said. “You know, I’m gonna play defense, I’m gonna hustle hard, and I’m gonna rebound.”

So far, so good.

He came into Sunday ranking third in the circuit in rebounds per game average (9.7) and had five blocks in the first quarter of his G League debut on November 10 against the Austin Spurs. Through his first three games, Jemison was seventh in the league in blocks with 2.7 per game.

After tonight’s contest, he has collected 45 rebounds and blocked nine shots.

“It’s been an amazing journey, man,” Jemison said. “I’ve learned so much about myself and my game, and it’s a learning curve. I’m learning about myself as a player and a man, and this process has been huge.”

History lesson: On this day in 1991 the Birmingham Bandits won their third consecutive game after an 0-3 start to the 1991-92 Continental Basketball Association season with a 138-120 victory over the Omaha Racers.

Michael Ansley led seven Birmingham players in double figures with a game-high 40 points, while Jim Farmer added 22.

The game was played before 1,681 fans at State Fair Arena.

Next up: The Squadron and Legends are back at Legacy Arena on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip.