Category: Basketball

On paper, it looked like a major mismatch.

In one corner, you had the Stockton Kings, owners of the best record in the league (9-1) and riding a four-game winning streak.

In the other was the Birmingham Squadron, sitting at 1-10 and reeling from 10 consecutive losses.

The Kings topped the Squadron in almost every statistical category coming into Saturday’s clash at Legacy Arena, so it was a solid bet they’d add to the home team’s misery.

If you made that bet, however, you lost.

Birmingham took the fight to Stockton from the outset, and even though they trailed at the end of the first, second and third quarters, a steady push over the final 12 minutes led to an exciting 112-111 victory.

The teams swapped leads nine times in the fourth stanza, but it was Zylan Cheatham’s bucket with 33 seconds remaining that accounted for the winning score.

“These guys work behind the scenes so hard,” Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. “We had an off day after the RGV game (a 132-105 loss to Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday) – didn’t even show the film, just threw it away – and then had two really good days of practice. Then they came back and beat the No. 1 team in the league.

“They deserve it.”

Entering the game, the New Orleans Pelicans affiliate was 0-8 when down after the first quarter, 0-10 when behind at the half, and 0-8 when on the short side of the scoreboard after three.

But despite trailing 30-28, 61-56 and 88-86, Birmingham had the most points at the final buzzer, snapping the franchise’s longest losing streak.

Cheatham led a balanced Squadron attack with 21 points and seven rebounds, while James Kelly Sr. had a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards.

Other double-digit scorers for the winners were Javonte Smart (16), Feron Hunt (15) and two-way player Dereon Seabron (12). The Birmingham bench accounted for 50 points.

“It feels good,” Seabron said. “We needed this.”

Wes Iwundu and Deonte Burton provided a potent 1-2 punch for the Kings, scoring 24 and 23 points, respectively.

Iwundu added 12 rebounds to the cause.

Still, none of it was enough to take down the Squadron, who kept their composure while playing with controlled aggression.

“That starts with our front office originally identifying guys with super high character,” Saint said. “They’ve always had it and we’ve been through hard times and that’s what I told them. Hard times make strong men.”

Birmingham and Stockton play again Sunday at 6 p.m. at Legacy Arena.

“We went through a lot, we have a lot of season left, and hopefully this propels us, but we’ve got to do it again in 22 hours, this same team,” Saint said. “This could really be a boost to us, but we have to have the maturity to do it again tomorrow.”

So, what does Perry Huang do to relax after basketball season ends?

He couldn’t tell you.

When you work for two different teams in two different professional leagues at two different times of year, the season runs on a continuous loop.

The man currently serving as assistant coach for the NBA G League’s Birmingham Squadron also has a similar role with the four-time WNBA champion Seattle Storm. And when the Squadron put their Size 7 Wilsons on the rack (the regular season wraps up March 25 with playoffs beginning three days later), that means the Storm will soon roll out their Size 6 orbs (training camp opens on April 30).

“Yeah, the last three years have been pretty crazy,” Huang said after Friday night’s clash between the Squadron and Salt Lake City Stars at Legacy Arena. “It’s like the last playoff game is on a Tuesday, you lose, so then you have Wednesday to kind of get your things together, and then on Thursday you’re off to the next city. That’s happened two straight years. And really, I still do a little bit for Seattle all year as well as the Pelicans organization, so it’s kind of like you always have one foot in both doors.”

Huang began working for the Storm during the 2018 season – serving as video coordinator – and was promoted to assistant coach/manager of video and player development during Seattle’s 2021 campaign.

“Perry is one of the hardest working coaches I know and he is an extremely valuable member of our staff,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said. “His passion for the game is evident and his dedication ensures we will maintain a standard of excellence on the court.”

The Fresno Pacific University graduate – who was born in Salt Lake City and raised in Monterey, California – is in his fourth year with New Orleans’ G League affiliate. He spent two years with the Erie BayHawks before the club moved to Birmingham ahead of the 2021-22 season.

“He’s been with us since day one,” Birmingham head coach T.J. Saint said. “When we were the Erie BayHawks, the first practice we went out and there was no snow on the ground, and two and a half hours later there were six inches of snow so we were shoveling it out to get our cars started and that was a bonding experience. He was a video guy who got onto the coaching staff and he’s great with players and really good on the bench with different adjustments and things … just a hard worker.

“To me, he’s like a brother. We’ve been together for four years, and I love him.”

After starting his collegiate assistant coaching career with Cal State San Marcos and Monterey Peninsula College, Huang has since worked in the pro ranks with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Northern Arizona Suns, and BC Prievidza of the Slovak Basketball League.

“I always loved basketball, but I wasn’t always sure I wanted to coach,” he said. “I played at a small D2 school and the coaches there always talked to me about how high IQ I was, and how I always was able to do scouting reports. So, when I got into coaching, I just wanted to be around basketball and then it all kind of came to fruition. I started in high school, college and all that stuff. Opportunities arose and to do what I’m doing now, it’s kind of beyond my dreams.”

With the Squadron, he’s dealing with athletes a step away from the NBA. With the Storm, he’s working with the world’s best women players. Still, there are coaching basics he applies to both jobs.

“The G League is about development and you want these guys to grasp certain things over time, and it’s always a new team,” Huang says. “We’re fortunate in that we have a few returners from last year’s team, and a lot of teams don’t get that chance. But in the G League, you tend to get younger every year.

“In the WNBA, I get a chance to work with a player like Sue Bird (who retired last September), who’s a legend. I learned from her instead of me teaching her, although sometimes I might have had a thing or two I could pass along. Then there’s Breanna Stewart, who’s MVP, and in Seattle we have a team with players who’ve played 10-plus years, so I learn from them more than anything else. With the Storm I’m just trying to put them into spots because they already know how to play the game. That’s probably the biggest difference in coaching in the WNBA and G League.”

Certainly he has long-range career goals as a coach, although he’s content – while in his mid-30s – to take things as they come.

“I’ve found that, for me, I just kind of have to let things be,” he said. “Obviously I have goals … I eventually want to be in the NBA – not necessarily as a head coach, but as an assistant coach – but it’s more about taking advantage of the moment and not taking any of this for granted because a lot of people don’t get a chance to do what I do in one league, let alone two leagues.”

And as for taking a break from basketball and relaxing, well, that might happen one day.

But not today.

And not anytime soon.

“Maybe when I have a few more gray hairs pop in I’ll start to contemplate it,” Huang says with a laugh. “I do enjoy what I do, and right now I’m still young enough to do it all. But I know there’s going to come a time when I’ll have to think about family and take a few vacations here and there.”

Lately if you say “The Birmingham Squadron lost,” you sound like a broken record.

Unfortunately for the Magic City’s NBA G League club, Friday’s loss meant they actually did break a record.

Playing as the Erie Bayhawks, the team now located in Birmingham had a franchise-worst seven-game losing streak between January 23 and February 11, 2020. The 2022-23 club matched that skid with a 126-106 road setback to the Ontario Clippers on Wednesday, completing the first quarter of the 32-game regular season with a 1-7 mark.

Returning to Legacy Arena to face the Salt Lake City Stars in the first of a five-game homestand, T.J. Saint’s club hoped to avoid losing eight in a row and reaching an unwanted milestone.

However, SLC had a hot hand from wire-to-wire and was more than happy to contribute to the slump.

The Stars (3-4) rocked the Squadron (1-8) 132-110, shooting 54.7 percent from the field and hitting 15 of 39 3-pointers.

The Squadron managed a 43.3 percent shooting clip and struggled mightily from outside the arc, making just six of 30 attempts. At one point during the second quarter, Birmingham missed seven consecutive shots – including three layups that looked good going up only to rattle out.

“We changed some coverages,” Saint said. “We actually wanted them to shoot threes. They shoot a lot of them – they’re top five in the league – but they usually only shoot about 31 or 32 percent, so we actually wanted them to take them as long as they were contested.

“But we didn’t contest a lot. To be honest, we didn’t have the right effort coming into a game like this at all.”

Birmingham led 28-27 after one quarter but SLC pulled in front 53-48 at the half and outscored the hosts 79-62 over the final 24 minutes.

Frank Jackson led the winners with 29 points, while Micah Potter chipped in 27 and Johnny Juzang contributed 25.

“When you’re losing games like this, you address it,” Saint said. “You talk about what you’re doing to get in a slump. Our defense was top five and we were 4-2 in the early stretch of the Showcase Cup, and since then it’s been bottom three. You can’t win games and play this kind of defense.”

Feron Hunt finished as the Squadron’s top scorer with 24 points. Javonte Smart popped for 21, followed by Zylan Cheatham (18), Kelan Martin (17) and James Kelly Sr. (13).

Hunt also had 10 rebounds, while Kelly Sr. ripped down 14 boards

Birmingham will try to snap out of its skid when it takes on SLC again on Saturday at 7 p.m.

TODAY IN HISTORY

On this date in 1949, the Birmingham Steelers defeated the New Orleans Sports, 119-75, improving to 14-8 in the Southern Professional Basketball League. Birmingham was led by Bob Murphy’s 28 points, followed by Johnny Murphy (27), Darrel Lorrance (26) and Joe Parker (23).

The game, played before 1,100 fans at Birmingham’s Municipal Auditorium, saw the Steelers set a SPBL scoring record for most points scored by a team in a league game.

RED-HOT RIVALS

While Birmingham is currently mired at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Squadron’s main G League rival – the Memphis Hustle – is off to a perfect start to the regular season.

Memphis improved to 6-0 on Tuesday night with a 115-104 victory over Wisconsin. The Hustle is currently the fifth highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 120 points per outing. And with Maine’s 149-137 loss to Delaware on Thursday, Memphis is the only undefeated team left in the NBAGL.

Birmingham and Memphis are scheduled to meet one more time during the regular season, that coming on February 7 at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

NEXT UP GAME

The G League on Thursday released details for its inaugural “NBA G League Next Up Game,” which will be held in Salt Lake City on February 19 as part of the NBA 2023 All-Star Game festivities.

Twenty-four G League players will compete, including 10 selected by fan vote. Any player currently on G League rosters or Two-Way players who have seen action in at least four games are eligible.

Fans can vote for their favorites now at NBAGLeague.com/vote, and voting continues until February 3 at 10:59 CT.

The remaining 14 players will include members of G League Ignite and at least one member of the Salt Lake City Stars.