Category: Basketball

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.

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.