Category: Basketball

Sports fans always remember the great moments … championships, last-gasp victories, record-breaking performances.

But guess what?

We also remember the bitter disappointments.

On June 17, 1976, it was announced that the National Basketball Association would absorb four members of my beloved American Basketball Association – the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs.

As a Nets fan, I was glad my favorite team lived on – and that I could watch them on TV – but I was crushed at the demise of the ABA. The league that featured red, white and blue basketballs and free-wheeling play turned me from a casual basketball fan to a basketball fan for life, and now it was gone.

But what might have been even worse was the news that broke on this day 48 years ago: Julius Erving had been traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

I found out immediately as I opened the local paper and turned to the sports pages:

A $6.5 million deal which would bring pro basketball superstar Julius Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers from the New York Nets awaited only the final approval of Nets owner Roy Bee, the Associated Press learned. The deal, it was learned from pro basketball sources, could be completed later at a private meeting in New York. It reportedly calls for the Nets to get $3 million for Erving, who would then sign a multi-year contract with the 76ers for a reported $3.5 million.

I didn’t cry – I was a big, brave boy in 1976 – but I cussed.

Just as the Nets were my favorite team, Dr. J was my favorite player. In fact, he was the reason I became a Nets fan.

After the UMass grad starred for the Virginia Squires for three seasons, he was signed by New York in 1973. I was familiar with the ABA during his time in Norfolk/Hampton/Richmond/Roanoke (CBS televised select games in the early 1970s), but it wasn’t until Erving took his dunking act to the Big Apple that I became committed to the league that dared challenge the NBA.

Without a national TV contract most of my fan worship was confined to newspaper stories, but I anxiously awaited word of his exploits.

And once I got over the disappointment of the NBA-ABA merger, I was excited that the Nets could show the old circuit how it was done.

They were coming off an ABA title, one that saw them best the Denver Nuggets in six games. It was their second title in three seasons, and I had no doubt they could jump right into an NBA schedule and win big.

I mean, with Kevin Loughery coaching ‘em up, the Doctor dissecting the opposition and Super John Williamson scoring at will, there was little doubt they’d teach the old guard some new tricks.

Instead, everything was blown up with the loss of Dr. J, and that left me in a bit of a quandary.

See, while the Nets were my overall faves, the Los Angeles Lakers were the NBA team I supported.

Would I abandon both and throw my support behind Dr. J and the 76ers – a franchise I’d never given a second thought?

Kinda, and no.

I couldn’t bail on the Doc, but I had invested so much energy cheering for the Nets (and to a lesser degree, the Lakers) they felt like “my” teams, regardless of who put on the uniform. (Tiny Archibald and Jan van Breda Kolff were on the 76-77 New York roster, while L.A. was led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). So – in what I think was a quite mature decision for a 15-year-old – I decided that I would always hope Erving played well. But … when he played against the Nets or Lakers, I’d hope he didn’t play that well.

Historically, of course, Dr. J is best known for his time in Philly. He spent just five years in the ABA (three with New York) and played his last 11 seasons with the 76ers.

The end result is 30,026 points (a 24.2 ppg average across the ABA and NBA), a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame, the ABA All-Time MVP, NBA 35^th, 50^th and 75^th Anniversary Teams, an NBA title and pair of ABA crowns.

Decades later, I remain a fan of the Nets and Lakers – and Julius Erving remains my all-time favorite player.

However, I’ve still never cheered for the 76ers.

So, what’s there to remember about the 2023-24 Birmingham Squadron?

Well, with Saturday night’s 123-107 victory over the Cleveland Charge at Legacy Arena, the New Orleans Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate finished with a 15-19 regular season record (25-25 overall) and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

And if you want some quick and dirty details from Game 50, Landers Nolley II led the winners with 27 points while Malcolm Hill added 23.

But if the season finale played in front of 1,962 fans is what sticks in your mind, then I hope you don’t mind if I say you might be missing the bigger picture.

The primary purpose of the G League is to get players ready for the NBA. And T.J. Saint and the Squadron staff (assistants  Joe Barrer, Jodie Meeks and Jonathan Mitchell, player development coach Jalen Cannady, GM of basketball operations Adam Barnes and trainer Gilchrist Schmidt and his crew) did a really nice job of that this season.

As I mentioned after their last home game, the Squadron was second only to Eastern Conference rival Westchester in the number of call-ups this season. The Knicks had seven and Birmingham finished with six.

UAB standout Trey Jemison – who played high school ball at Ramsay, Homewood and Hoover before originally signing with Clemson – was called up to a 10-day contract by the Washington Wizards on Jan. 20. He was the first Squadron player to get a call-up since Auburn star Jared Harper in 2022.

Hill, now on a two-way contract with New Orleans, was signed to a 10-day contract by the Pelicans on Jan. 27. Jemison got his second and the team’s third call-up on Jan. 30 when he signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Following the conclusion of that 10-day pact, Jemison was given a two-way contract by Memphis.

“If you have one of those things happen in two years, that’s a major success,” Saint said. “And to have two happen in two years and not both from the (Pelicans) organization is something. We got a lot of comments throughout the year from other coaches and other teams that we play the right way, and it’s a credit to Adam and the front office for getting the right guys.”

Jalen Crutcher and Izaiah Brockington were also called up by New Orleans on 10-day contracts.

Being a UAB grad, I’m especially happy for Jemison.

I remember talking to him before the season and he stressed how much he had learned by playing summer ball with the Pelicans and then working under Saint and company.

And when he first got the call-up, Saint came up to me a couple of hours before the Squadron’s next game and said, “Trey’s not coming back. He’s gonna stick.”

Jemison tallied a career-high 24 points against the Washington Wizards on March 12, and has now become an integral part of the Grizzlies.

The G League – and Birmingham – not only gave him a path, but a push.

“The only time Trey will be back in Birmingham is when he’s running for mayor,” Saint said.

And Hill? If you don’t like Malcolm, you don’t like people.

Saint calls him one of the “foundational players” of the organization and, indeed, he was here when the Squadron first landed in Birmingham.

“He’s literally one of the pillars of the Squadron,” Saint said. “He is entirely our essence … lives it, breathes it – he was in the gym last night until 10 o’clock working on his shooting. He’s the man.”

But I don’t want Hill to come back – not wearing Birmingham colors, anyway. He’s played in Germany, Israel and Kazakhstan and has three stints with three different NBA teams. He’s paid so many dues, he’s due for some good luck.

I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to see a guy earn an NBA roster spot more than him.

But as I followed the club all season, I found myself cheering for every guy who suited up. Saint constantly played up the character angle of his team, and it became quite obvious over time that they weren’t just good players, but good dudes.

Their interactions with fans – especially young ones – was always genuine.

But more than anything else, the Squadron was exciting. G League is quality professional basketball, and 24 times in 2023-24 that quality was on display in the Magic City.

It was always better when Birmingham won, but even if they didn’t, we were all in for a show.

So sure, it would’ve been great if the Squadron had notched a winning season and were preparing for the playoffs, but that didn’t happen.

What did happen, though, was Jemison.

And Hill.

And opportunities – more of which will come.

“We’ll look at the guys that want to return or want to go overseas, but there’ll be a lot of turnover,” Saint said. “We’ve got to improve our defense, and we’ve really got to improve our rebounding. We’ll look at all that during the offseason.”

Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said after his team’s 142-118 loss to Osceola on Tuesday that he was looking forward to Thursday’s rematch because the Squadron usually fares well in “bounce back” games.

Usually, but not always.

And certainly not this time.

The Orlando Magic farm club turned in another dominant performance, thrashing the New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliate, 168-133, in front of 1,433 fans at Legacy Arena.

When asked what he could learn from a game like this Saint said, “It’ll be something in the offseason … I don’t know.”

E.J. Liddell gave Birmingham a 2-0 lead with an opening bucket but it was all Osceola the rest of the way as the NBA G League Eastern Conference pacesetters – who lit it up for 85 first half points – improved to 21-9.

The 168 points is a season-best for the circuit in 2023-24 and the most scored by a team since the 2014-15 campaign. That season the Los Angeles D-Fenders defeated the Reno Bighorns, 175-152, while Reno topped L.A., 174-169, in a rematch.

Mac McClung led the way with 40 points, followed by Jett Howard (27), Kevon Harris (25), Trevelin Queen (22), Chris Walker (15), Myron Gardner (12) and Miye Oni (10).

Queen had 10 rebounds and Walker, 13, to give the players double-doubles.

For the night the winners outrebounded the hosts, 63-35, and outscored the Squadron in the paint, 78-56.

The overwhelming show of scoring force overshadowed the 41-point showing by Birmingham’s Landers Nolley II, who was just three points shy of a franchise single game scoring mark.

Dereon Seabron added 27 points and E.J. Lidell was good for 26.

The Squadron fell to 14-18 and are assured of a losing season with just two games to go.

“There was some collective will that was not shown tonight,” Saint said.

Osceola set the tone for this one early, leading by as many as 22 points and holding a big 45-36 advantage after one. The Magic also held a 19-8 rebounding edge through 12 minutes.

The cushion inflated to 26 in the second quarter before Osceola settled on an 85-68 lead at halftime.

In the second half it was simply a matter of whether or not the Squadron could make it respectable.

The Magic was relentless, eclipsing the century mark at the 7:30 mark and entering the final period with a comfortable 129-100 margin.

Next up: Birmingham travels to Oklahoma City on March 27 to take on the Blue at noon. The game at Paycom Center will be the Squadron’s final road trip of the 2023-24 season.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association fell to the Quad-City Thunder, 125-102, in the first round of the CBA playoffs.

Jim Farmer led Birmingham with 28 points while Skeeter Henry added 15, although the duo hit just 13-of-34 from the field combined. The loss put the Bandits in a 2-0 hole against Quad City in the best-of-three series.