Category: Basketball

Another Elam Ending, another happy ending for the Birmingham Squadron.

Landers Nolley II drained a 3-pointer on the last shot of overtime to lift the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate to a thrilling 130-127 victory over the Windy City Bulls on Sunday with 1,291 fans at Legacy Arena looking on.

Birmingham is now 3-0 all-time in overtime contests, which are played to a target score (Elam Ending) of seven points more than the tally at the end of regulation.

With both the Squadron and the Chicago Bulls’ farm club knotted at 122 after four quarters, Devin Cannady hit a 3-pointer and field goal before Nolley provided the dagger at the end.

“The (Elam Ending) is something fresh and new, and we’re the only league that does it,” Cannady said. “We picked it up from The Basketball Tournament, TBT, and it can be a three-possession game, which I think it was for us.

“It doesn’t extend the game too much, so you’ve got to lock in, and every shot matters. Obviously, we came out on the right side of this tonight.”

Izaiah Brockington led the winners with a game-high 25 points, followed by Nolley and Dereon Seabron with 18 points apiece.

Cannady closed the afternoon of free basketball with 17 points, Jalen Crutcher added 16, two-way player Matt Ryan finished with 14, and Tevian Jones added 11.

Adama Sanogo had the double-double for Windy City with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Onuralp Bitim scored 21 points, Henri Drell and Chris Clemons each hit for 19, Quenton Jackson pumped in 17 and Jalen Harris got 10.

“That was a wild ride,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “Matt’s leaving us and heading back to the Pelicans, but I appreciate his work ethic. He came in and worked at 100 percent speed and had a great workout. He’s a really good example for our guys to see.

“Matt, Dereon, and Ike Anibogu are all on a minutes restriction. And with Malcolm (Hill) getting called up and Trey (Jemison) getting called up and Kira (Lewis) getting traded … there’s a lot of moving pieces. We did some things tonight I never expected we’d have to do.”

The clash was the only NBA G League game on the schedule, meaning the winner got to move up in the standings.

And once it was done, Birmingham was just a half game out of playoff position.

Ther Squadron joins the Motor City Cruise with a 7-6 record, putting Saint’s charges just behind the Grand Rapids Gold (7-5) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (3-9), on the other hand, strengthened their grip on the cellar.

The top six teams in each conference earn a spot in the win-or-go-home playoffs.

Birmingham grabbed a 28-26 lead after a fast-paced first quarter, with Brockington and Crutcher leading the charge with seven points each, and Jones coming off the bench to score five.

The Squadron was four-of-seven from beyond the arc.

Things remained tight in the second as Drell, Bitim and Sanogo stepped up for Windy City with dead-eye shooting, helping the Bulls hold a slight advantage throughout much of the period.

But Birmingham continued its success from long range – Ryan hit back-to-back 3-pointers – and sank timely free throws, leading to a 62-60 edge at halftime.  

Ryan led all scorers at the break with 14 points.

For portions of the third quarter, it appeared the goal had a lid on it when the Squadron put up shots; great looks went unrewarded on several trips down the court.

But Cannady went on a scoring binge late in the frame – nailing three 3-pointers in a row – and sparked a Birmingham surge.

After 36 minutes, the Squadron led, 89-86.

It was more of the same in the fourth, with Birmingham leading by five late before falling behind by one, going up by two, and Drell forcing overtime with a putback.

That set the stage for an untimed O.T. period that ended with a Nolley trey – and a Birmingham victory.

“I talk about this being a connected unit, and one of the plays I drew up at the end to attack Sanogo, Galen Robinson – who didn’t even play tonight – came up with it,” Saint said. “He talked to the assistants, the assistants told me, and that was the play Landers scored on.

“That’s a true team. We have a guy who didn’t even play, and still affected the game.”

Moving up again: Hill has been phenomenal for the Squadron, averaging 24.4 points in 11 regular season appearances and pumping in 19.3 points during the Showcase Cup portion of the 2023-24 slate.

His hot-shooting was good enough to earn G League Player of the Week honors but – much more importantly – his consistent play got him a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, which went into effect on Saturday.

The small forward has spent time with the Atlanta Hawks as well as the Chicago Bulls, and has also played internationally.

He joins Jemison as Birmingham’s second call-up this year.

Borrowed clothes: The Bulls made it to Birmingham from Chicago just fine.

Their uniforms?

That was a different story.

The Windy City’s road unis failed to arrive in the Magic City, so the team was forced to wear the Squadron’s practice attire for Sunday’s game. Those unis feature white tops with black numbers and G League branding, and black shorts.

The Bulls are expected to back in their normal threads for Tuesday’s rematch.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans lost to the Montgomery Rebels, 64-53, in a Southern Professional Basketball League game at the National Guard Armory.

Steve Kontos paced the Vulcans with 16 points, while Shag Hawkins added 12.

Montgomery’s Al Grenert was high scorer with 20 points and two other Rebels reached double figures in the victory.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association fell to the Oklahoma City Calvary, 105-101, in front of 3,111 fans at the Myriad Arena.

Although Skeeter Henry had 26 points for Birmingham, the hosts got a 24-point outing from Steve Burtt while Dave Popson registered the double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds).

OTD in 2023: The Squadron defeated the Maine Celtics, 113-106, with 2,417 fans looking on at the Portland Exhibition Center.

Dereon Seabron led the charge with 27 points, followed by James Kelly (20), Feron Hunt (18), Javonte Smart (13) and Jordan Swing (11).

Kelly also pulled down 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Next up: The Squadron and Bulls complete their two-game set on Tuesday at Legacy Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Birmingham Squadron’s Saturday started with news that center Trey Jemison had signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards – taking an average of 13.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game with him to the NBA.

It ended with the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate scoring an impressive 126-105 victory over the Cleveland Charge in front of 1,664 fans at Legacy Arena.

Playing small(er) ball in the absence of Jemison, Birmingham got several good performances on the night, especially in the second half. The effort improved the Squadron to 5-5 in the regular season and marks the club’s third consecutive victory.

The Charge, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ developmental team, fell to 4-5.

“I just told them that was the most impressive win of our season, in my opinion,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said moments after the game. “We’ve come a long way and we have a long way to go, but to keep your head when all those about you are losing theirs, we did that. The timeout midway through the third quarter, we watched Cleveland walk to their bench distraught, and we told them we’re gonna press where it hurts.

“These guys are unbelievable.”

Izaiah Brockington had 29 points and 11 rebounds to register the double-double, while Malcolm Hill continued his hot shooting with a game-high 30 points.

“I came out wanting to be aggressive,” Brockington said. “I just wanted to get downhill and build off of that … make threes, and make plays for my teammates.”

E.J Liddell added 16 points, Devin Cannady scored 14 and Jalen Crutcher finished with 10.

“I think Izaiah deserves a chance in the NBA,” Saint said. “I think he’s a Bruce Brown (Toronto Raptors small forward) type player, but he can shoot better. Just give him a chance.”

Birmingham crushed Cleveland on the boards, 54-39.

“We’ve been emphasizing our defense, and with Trey being called up, we changed a few things,” Saint said. “But NBA basketball … you can’t practice a lot, you can only walk through, go to film sessions, and adjust. And they did that – they adjusted.”

Sharife Cooper topped Charge scorers with 22 points, followed by Isaiah Mobley (20), Aleem Ford (20), Emoni Bates (14), Devontae Shuler (12) and Malik Fitts (10).

Brockington and Cannady had hot hands for Birmingham in the first quarter, scoring 10 and nine points, respectively, to help the home team grab a 32-25 lead after 12 minutes.

But Bates and Mobley got busy for the Charge in the second frame, allowing the visitors to quickly erase the deficit and surge ahead.

The biggest boost for Cleveland came from Ford, who came off the bench to net 14 points.

But even after allowing the Charge to lead by as many as eight, the Squadron rallied in the waning moments of the quarter to take a 64-63 lead into the locker room.

Hill – who started off slow by Hill standards – finished the first half with 14 points to tie Cannady for high-point honors across the opening 24 minutes.

Liddell opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, and Birmingham scored the first nine points of the period to go up by 10. It started a trend, and with Cleveland struggling from the inside and outside, Birmingham was able to gain some breathing room and take a 99-85 lead into the final quarter.

The Squadron turned it into a blowout in the fourth, leading by as many as 26 points before settling on a 21-point blowout.

As of late Saturday night, Birmingham was just a half game out of playoff position and one and a half games out of first place in the Eastern Conference.

The Long Island Nets lead the East with a 7-4 record.

“We try to take every game as it comes, and focus on the task at hand, which is winning the next game,” Brockington said.

“But we knew with this home stretch we needed to capitalize on it, so we definitely want to stack wins on top of each other.”

The Mayor goes to Washington: Sad news for Birmingham basketball fans was very good news for one of their favorite players as Jemison – nicknamed “The Mayor” – got his NBA shot with the Wizards.

The former UAB standout played 24 games with the Squadron, recording 11 double-doubles over the last 14 contests.

A 10-day contract means a free agent signs a contract that lasts 10 days or three games, whichever comes later. A player can also be signed to a second 10-day contract by the same club.

Shortly after Jemison’s departure was announced, the team added forward Josh Nzeakor, who has played for three G League teams this season and appeared in a Squadron jersey 15 times in 2022-23.

Last year he averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for Birmingham.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League lost to the Young Men’s Hebrew Association Bluejackets, 39-33, in a March of Dimes charity game played at the Municipal Auditorium.

Former Vulcans Ben Browdy and Abe Epsman led the YMHA upset with 12 points each.

Shag Williams was the high-scorer for Birmingham with 13 points.

OTD in 1992: The Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association defeated the Rockford Lightning, 112-98, in front of 654 fans at State Fair Arena.

Despite dressing just eight players – two players left the Bandits to play internationally and one was suspended – Birmingham dominated the game.

Skeeter Henry scored 37 points on seven-of-21 shooting, and Jim Farmer added 25.

Next up: The Squadron hits the road for a two-game set against the Wisconsin Herd, the G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. The first game is Monday, 6 p.m., at Oshkosh Arena and the teams meet again on Wednesday, January 24, at 6 p.m. Birmingham returns home on Sunday, January 28, when the Windy City Bulls come to Legacy Arena for a 3 p.m. game.

Aside from being a member of the first Birmingham Squadron team and a main focus of Alex Squadron’s terrific book, Life in the G, Malcolm Hill is one of those players who always seems to give the kind of performance that is needed on any given night.

Hill played in all 16 of the Squadron’s Showcase Cup contests and averaged 19.3 points while playing 34.8 minutes per game.

Entering tonight’s regular season contest, Hill had popped in 21.5 points per night, averaging 35.2 minutes of court time.

He’s not only a fan favorite, but a favorite of his coach.

“He is what Squadron basketball is all about,” Birmingham boss T.J. Saint said earlier in the week. “He is one of my favorite human beings. We talked to him this summer and he came back here to try and make one more push. He is one of the foundational pieces forever of the Birmingham Squadron, and I love him to death.”

Hill showed why he’s so easy to love on Thursday in Birmingham’s 134-125 victory over the Iowa Wolves at Legacy Arena.

Hill turned in a next-level performance for the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate, recording an all-time team record 44 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for a double-double. It came just three days after he scored 30 in a win over Raptors 905.

“It was a great win,” said Hill, whose team improves to 4-5. “It was good to start a little bit of a win streak, and it’s always good to protect the home court. The coaching staff did a great job preparing us and (Iowa) played a great game.”

Hill had offensive help from E.J. Liddell, who scored 24 points, and Jalen Crutcher, who added 20.

Izaiah Brockington finished with 17 points and Trey Jemison had a game-high 15 rebounds.

Tyrese Martin came off the bench to lead Iowa (2-7) with 29 points, followed by Leonard Miller (28), Josh Minott (19), D.J. Carlton (17), Lance Stephensen (14) and Javonte Cooke (11).

“I thought Martin and Cooke hit some really good, contested threes,” Saint said. “They were timely and kind of kept them in it. I didn’t think our defense was bad, they just hit contested shots.”

Hill was lights out in the first quarter, netting 17 points to help the Squadron take a 38-31 lead. Liddell added 10 Birmingham points while no Iowa player had more than seven through the first 12 minutes.

The Minnesota Timberwolves farm hands stormed back in the second stanza, however, with Miller and Minott combining for 25 points, Carlton pumping in 11 and Martin logging 10 more.

Hill and Liddell continued to set a torrid pace for the Squadron, and at halftime Hill had accounted for 28 points, Liddell was good for 18, and Birmingham was on top, 75-67 – a Squadron record for most points in an opening half.

Both teams shot the ball well in the third frame, playing each other even. Hill made his 30^th point 1:12 into the period and heading into the fourth quarter the home team’s lead stood at eight, 105-97.

The eventual winners never pulled away completely over the final 12 minutes but they were able to keep the Wolves at bay to secure their second consecutive victory.

“This was a big-time win, especially against a team that played a really good basketball game,” Hill said. “It was a point of emphasis for us tonight to finish the job, finish the possession … early in the season we had a problem securing the rebound on second chance points and points in the paint, so it felt good to make a contribution there.”

Just over a fourth of the way through the regular season, Saint thinks his team might be ready to make a push.

“We’ve got to make up a little ground, but these guys keep exhibiting champion-like essence,” Saint said. “If we can just get healthy, get the right pieces when (two-way player Dereon Seabron) comes back and Landers Nolley is back in the fold, then we’ve got a chance.

“We talked about over the summer bringing in championship-type people, and you can tell this is a real team who cares a lot about each other. They’re a lot of fun to coach.”

Thanks for the memories: Kira Lewis Jr.’s MLK Day appearance for the Squadron was his last.

The Pelicans announced on Wednesday they had traded the former Alabama star and a 2024 draft pick to the Indiana Pacers for cash considerations.

Lewis Jr. averaged 5.4 points per game for New Orleans over four seasons.

In three appearances for Birmingham, he averaged 22.3 points and his two free throws in the waning moments proved to be the difference in the Squadron’s 108-105 victory over Raptors 905 on Monday.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Vulcans beat the Nashville Vols, 76-53, in a Southern Professional Basketball League game played at the National Guard Armory.

Horace Peterson led the charge, with Steve Kontos finishing with 15 points and Shag Hawkins and Wheeler Leeth finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

OTD in 1949: The Birmingham Steelers of the SPBL lost to the Laurel Oilers, 73-65, in front of 1,500 fans in Laurel, Mississippi.

Johnny Murphy paced the Steelers, scoring 21 points, while Bob Murphy added 15 more.

Up next: Birmingham closes out its home stand on Saturday when the Cleveland Charge, G League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers, comes to Legacy Arena for a 7 p.m. tip.

It’ll mark the first-ever meeting between the Squadron and Charge.