Category: Basketball

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.

Three games into the 2023-24 NBA G League season, the Birmingham Squadron – affiliates of the New Orleans Pelicans – boasts a 40-point opening night victory over Austin as well as a two-game road sweep of the Capitanes de Ciudad de México. Now 3-0 in the Showcase Cup in-season tourney standings, the team head coach T.J. Saint said would be hot-shooting and fun to watch is off to its best start since coming to the Magic City in 2021.

“Actually, our offense can get a lot better,” Saint said Friday afternoon before practice. “I think I want to take even more threes. We’re a really good shooting team – I think we’re fifth in the league right now. But our turnovers are keeping us from attempting even more, so we need to cut down on those.

“The thing that I’m very, very happy with is our defense. We’re second in the league and our rebounding is really good. And to build an identity as a team and then eventually get a call to the NBA, you have to be an elite system defender and we’ve got a lot of good buy-in so far on the defensive end, so I’m super happy with it.”

In Mexico City the Squadron took two hard-fought victories against a club that has plenty of talent.

“I love playing down there,” Saint said. “The fans are engaged, it’s loud … it’s a big-time arena. They’re a really, really good team with a lot of veteran players that know how to play and we went against some very, very intense defensive pressure from them.

“And I really am proud and happy with the team essence. We had to overcome a lot of in-game adversity and pull through it and to be honest, it’s an experience that I will never forget. It’s one of the coolest basketball moments of my entire career.”

Up next for Birmingham is a pair of games against the Texas Legends (1-2), who are based out of Frisco and linked with the Dallas Mavericks.

A.J. Lawson – in his second season on a two-way deal with the Mavs – has made two appearances for the Legends and leads the team in scoring with a 26.5-points per game clip.

Justin Jackson scores 23.3 per night, followed by Greg Brown III (14.5) and Dexter Dennis (10).

Oliver-Maxence Prosper scored 19 points in his one game with Texas this season.

The Legends also feature Jelly Walker, who – along with Birmingham center Trey Jemison – helped UAB reach the NIT finals last season.

“I think it’s pretty exciting for fans to see two players from UAB go against each other,” Saint said. “Who wouldn’t be excited about that if you’re a Blazer fan? Trey has improved a lot since we first signed him. He’s a very, very quick learner, and I’m talking about within a game he can do multiple different things. We changed coverages three different times in the second half in Mexico. And he wasn’t perfect, but his ability to change with that on the fly made a huge impact.

“Like, we started switching all pick-and-rolls with him, something we didn’t do a lot in camp, to try to keep (Mexico City guard) Trey Burke out of the paint and just make him take tough shots over Trey, and Trey did that pretty well.”

Jemison and E.J. Liddell have been forces on the glass, with Jemison pulling down 9.7 rebounds each time out and Liddell snatching 9.3.

As a team, Birmingham is third in in rebounds with 53 per outing.

Malcolm Hill is currently second in the G League in 3-pointers made with 12, while the Squadron ranks fifth (40) in that category and fifth in 3-point percentage (36.4).

It was Hill’s trey with 0.3 seconds on the clock that forced overtime in Birmingham’s 108-102 victory over Mexico City on Monday night.

Jalen Crutcher, who led the team in scoring with 18 points, tallied the game-winner as the Squadron reached the O.T. target score (first team to score seven points).

In Sunday’s road opener against the Capitanes, Landers Nolley II tallied his second consecutive double-double with 27 points and 12 boards in a 108-103 conquest.

Hill hit for 25 points, Crutcher scored 21, and Liddell chipped in 18.

Hill is one of six Squadron players who averages double figures in the team’s perfect start, accounting for 19.7 points per game through three outings.

Nolley II scores 19 points per contest, followed by Crutcher (16.7), Liddell (14.7), Izaiah Brockington (13.7) and Tevian Jones (11.7).

Sunday’s game between Birmingham and Texas is set for 3 p.m. at Legacy Arena, and the two are at it again on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“I think it’s really cool to see how the guys are building a true connectivity and camaraderie with each other,” Saint said. “They’re very connected right now. Trey’s one of the leaders in that with his voice and just how he plays and yeah … I think we’ve got some future NBA players on our team.”

For ticket information, go to birmingham.gleague.nba.com.

At the close of training camp, Birmingham Squadron coach T.J. Saint hinted that his 2023-24 team had a chance to be special.

On opening night, the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate most certainly was.

Friday in front of 2,149 fans at Legacy Arena, Birmingham overwhelmed the Austin Spurs – leading by as many as 36 points in the first half and 45 in the second – and cruised to an impressive 130-90 victory.

“It started in April, it really did,” Saint said. “I took a week off, went back to New Orleans, shut my computer, and (general manager of basketball operations) Adam (Barnes) and I hit the road and we were really deliberate in what we wanted, and all the pieces aren’t even here yet. We’re building an identity, and that was my main focus the first two weeks. We showed a little bit of it, but there are still steps to take.

“And the best part about it, human nature will tell you to relax, but we still won the third and fourth quarters. That can be special down the line.”

Three players – Landers Nolley II, Izaiah Brockington, and Tevian Jones – scored 20 points each, with Nolley notching a double-double thanks to 10 rebounds.

Malcolm Hill added 18 points, followed by Devin Cannady (12), Jalen Crutcher (11) and E.J. Liddell (10). Liddell had 12 rebounds to give the winners their second double-double performer of the evening.

“We just tried to say that we’re gonna win no matter how much we get up, so we’re trying to beat people by a hundred if we get the opportunity,” said Nolley, who made his G League debut on Friday. “We’re trying to capitalize on everything we can.”

Birmingham also destroyed Austin on the boards by a staggering 63-38 margin.

“I was really impressed by Izaiah Brockington,” Saint said. “We have a ‘Fierce Medal,’ or now it’s a “Fierce Chain,’ and the most fierce player gets it, and then they start passing it around to each other after every game. Izaiah got it tonight.”

The conquest by Birmingham was part of the circuit’s in-season Showcase Cup tournament, which will continue until December 27 when the regular season gets underway.

The performance set a high bar for a squad that combined lights-out shooting with a smothering defense.

Brockington led Birmingham in the first quarter with eight points, paving the way to a 30-20 lead.

UAB’s Trey Jemison wasted little time making an impact, finishing the first quarter with five blocked shots – including one stretch where he stuffed the same Austin shooter three consecutive times. He closed the night with nine rebounds and six blocks.

Liddell, a two-way player last season who was injured  in 2022-23 and never played, was in the starting lineup for Birmingham. The forward tallied four points over the first 12 minutes after being assigned to Birmingham by New Orleans on Thursday.

In the second stanza it was Nolley and Jones who joined in on the scoring fun, pushing the Squadron advantage to 75-39 at one point before settling on a fat, 75-41 cushion at intermission.

The eventual winners closed the half with a 64.1 percent shooting clip and bagged eight 3-pointers along the way.

Birmingham kept up the pressure in the third quarter, allowing the Spurs to cut the deficit under 30 just once. The Squadron reached triple digits at the 2:06 juncture of the period, and after 36 minutes had this one well in control at 106-69.

The lead grew to 45 in the fourth, and midway through the quarter seven players had already hit for twin figures.

“We’re a family-oriented team, and I think that showed tonight,” Nolley said. “We just stick together. We know that we all need each other to get to that higher level.”

Kaleb Johnson paced the Spurs with a game-high 23 points, Javante McCoy scored 12, and Sidy Cissoko and Paul Watson chipped in 11 points apiece.

Culture shock: Squadron draft pick Pavel Savkov hails from Moscow, Russia, but has been earning a living playing basketball in Spain since 2018.

The 21-year-old – like most basketball players – has NBA dreams, which is how he wound up in the G League.

“I had an opportunity in the summer to come here, and I’ve always wanted to play basketball in America,” said Savkov, who entered Friday’s game at 8:25 of the fourth quarter and scored his first basket with 1:10 to play. “Being in the G League puts me closer to the NBA than any other league I’ve ever been in.”

Saint first met Savkov when he showed up for training camp two weeks ago, and has been impressed with the 6-7 guard’s progress.

“He’s done a ton of shooting, and he does that really well,” Saint said. “He’s pretty young, and the big thing with him is the rules here on the court are way different than what he’s used to. It’s going to be a continuing adjustment when he gets into games, which is faster than what he’s used to.”

Savkov said it’s taking a bit of time to get used to speed of the American game, and the three-second rule is part of the learning curve.

In American pro ball the three-second rule applies to both the offense and defense, while in FIBA the violation can occur only on offense.

“That’s the rule that I’ve had to adjust to the most,” he said.

Saint believes Savkov will prove to be a quick study.

“He doesn’t seem like a rookie because he’s been playing pro,” Saint said. “He’s a little bit more advanced, it’s just that the game here is different. But he’ll figure it out.”

Savkov’s current Spanish club is Saski Baskonia, and before coming to Birmingham he signed a contract extension designed to keep him there through the 2027-28 season.

Success in the Ham could lead to a change of plans, though.

“After the (G League) season ends I can return there,” he said. “But that will be determined by what happens here. We’ll see.”

Making themselves at home: The Squadron made history last year by becoming the first Birmingham-based professional basketball team to return for a second season. With year three underway, the NBA developmental squad is now established as part of the Magic City’s sports landscape.

Excluding semi-pro and amateur loops that have come and gone, Birmingham has hosted franchises in the Professional Basketball League of America, Southern Professional Basketball League and Continental Basketball Association. Until the NBA G League came along, however, no franchise has lasted beyond a single campaign.

Next up: Birmingham travels more than 1,500 miles for its first road trip of the season, a double dip against the Capitanes de Ciudad de México (Mexico City Captains).

Game One is Sunday at 4 p.m. CST, and Game Two will be played on Monday at 8 p.m.

The Squadron returns home Sunday, November 19, 3 p.m., when the Texas Legends provide the opposition at Legacy Arena.