Category: Basketball

The Birmingham Squadron (8-6) finished the regularly scheduled portion of its Showcase Cup slate with a flourish, winning three consecutive games – including a road sweep of the Osceola Magic.

Although T.J. Saint’s team fell just outside the eight-team tournament field for the Winter Showcase Tournament in Orlando, there are still two games to be played in Central Florida.

First up is the Rip City (North Portland) Remix on Tuesday at 4 p.m. CST, and then the Stockton Kings on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

“I think there are 12 teams out of the 31 that are 8-6,” Saint said. “That’s over a third of the league. And it’s like those little plays that happen, the attention to detail within games, that make the difference. We’ve been good at a lot of them to get to this point, but if we’d been a bit more focused, we might’ve been one of the teams in the tournament.

“But where we are is a good measuring stick of what we’ve done, but how much better we have to be to be at the top of all this.”

Not only will the games give Birmingham players some extra court time heading into the 2023-24 regular season, it’ll serve as an additional “job fair” for Squadron players.

The annual in-season scouting event allows all G League players to see game action in front of general managers and player personnel executives from all 30 NBA teams.

And while the Squadron is the affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans, the majority of G league players are free agents, meaning players not already under NBA contracts can be signed to deals.

The Winter Showcase takes place just before NBA clubs have a window to sign free agents to 10-day contracts, and more than 100 players have earned call-ups over the course of the previous 18 cups.

“Really, I think the whole season’s a job fair,” Saint said. “One of the things we talked about with our guys is the front office personnel, scouts and GMs who are going to be in attendance here at the Showcase have already been watching you from afar, whether on film or at some of our games.

“And they’re really here to confirm what they already think. All you need to do is play the same way you have played and not try to do anything outside of what’s always been the case and developing yourself as an NBA role player.”

Among those players who have suited up for all 14 of Birmingham’s Showcase Cup games, Jalen Crutcher is the leading scorer with 19.9 points per outing, followed closely behind by Malcolm Hill with 19.2.

Izaiah Brockington has chipped in 12.9 points, while Trey Jemison is pulling down 10.9 rebounds to go with his 8.9 points scoring output.

Two-way player Dereon Seabron has averaged 23 points over five games, and Kira Lewis – sent to Birmingham on assignment from the Pelicans – scored 32 points in his season debut with the club last Friday.

Other double-digit performers for the Squadron are Landers Nolley II (19.4 points over 10 games), E.J. Liddell (14.9 points over three games) and Devin Cannady (10.2 points over 11 games).

One constant is that the players genuinely seem to like each other and enjoy playing together.

“We identify high character people,” Saint said. “We had some of them on the summer league team and they kind of started developing relationships there, but then we bring them in right after Labor Day in New Orleans, and we’re there for almost two months together. You just kind of get some natural connections going with that.

“And then when we get to Birmingham,  myself and (general manager of basketball operations) Adam Barnes really set the record straight on what’s going to be tolerated and what’s not, and how I’m really big on culture and connectivity.”

That connectivity has extended to the coaching staff as well.

Jodie Meeks returns for his second season and Joe Barrer, Jonathan Mitchell and Jalen Cannady have been added to the mix, along with Barnes. Saint said the crew meshed from the start, and thinks the addition of Barrer has been a boost.

“It’s been really, really good,” Saint said. “We made some changes on the coaching staff in the offseason … I felt like I needed – and we needed – somebody with a lot of experience, somebody who I thought was more experienced than me and had been in the league, and we got that in Joe Barrer, who was a G League head coach at Lakeland.

“He’s someone who’s sat in the seat and who can really bring a new perspective, and somebody who can really tell me when he thinks that I’m doing something the wrong way and how we need to change it.”

One the two Showcase games are done, the Squadron will break for the holiday and then hit the reset button.

Birmingham opens a 34-game regular season schedule at the Indiana Mad Ants in Indianapolis on December 29, and the teams complete a two-game set on December 31.

The Squadron in on the road again on  January 1-2 with the Grands Rapid Gold hosting, and its home opener is on January 5 when the Sioux Falls Skyforce comes to Legacy Arena for a 7 p.m. tip.

“We’re gonna fly everybody into Indianapolis sometime on the 26th of December, and we’ll try to get a team dinner for the guys that night,” Saint said. “That way everybody can sleep in the hotel and we’ll have a practice on the morning of the 27^th and get back to a normal routine.”

Santa Claus paid a visit to Legacy Arena Monday night for the G League showdown between the Birmingham Squadron and Memphis Hustle.

And none of the 1,410 fans in attendance had to learn from ol’ St. Nick who had been bad or good – they saw for themselves.

Jalen Crutcher hit the game winning 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left – the biggest of his season-high 39 points – and three of his teammates recorded triple-doubles as the New Orleans Pelicans affiliates held off the Memphis Grizzlies’ developmental club, 102-99.

“I just knew I was gonna shoot the shot, no matter what,” Crutcher said. “The way the game was going for me I was hot, so my mindset was just to take the shot at the end.”

It was a wildly entertaining game from wire-to-wire, one that saw T.J. Saint’s Squadron (6-6) take control early, lose its way in the third quarter, and rally at the 11^th hour to secure the “W.”

With Memphis (4-9) leading 99-97, Trey Jemison tied the game with a putback, and then a defensive stop gave Birmingham a chance to win it in regulation.

Crutcher made sure they did, drilling his trey from well beyond the arc.

The Hustle had a shot to tie as the clock neared zero, but the ball was off the mark.

“We just found a way to win,” Saint said. “It was super ugly … we were two of 18 (from 3-point range) in the second half, but I’m proud of the guys for fighting through. This was our sixth game in 11 nights, and we found a way.”

Crutcher’s 39 points was the headliner, but Jemison’s 16 points and 13 rebounds, Malcolm Hill’s 16 points and 10 boards, and Izaiah Brockington’s 11 point/11 carom performance was required to seal the deal.

“You guys can see it some on the court, but I see it in film, I see it in group text chats, I see it in practice, I see it in the airport – these guys are one of the most connected teams I’ve ever been a part of. We have 38 games or so to go, and it’s only gonna get tighter.

“I think the future’s really bright, but we’ve got to clean up some attention to detail like every team. But it’s a race, and we’ve got to get better than them.” 

GG Jackson led Memphis with 22 points, followed by David Johnson (14), Jason Preston (14), Matt Hurt (13) and Cameron McGriff (11).

The Squadron raced out to a 12-4 lead to start and held a 30-20 lead after one quarter. Crutcher did the bulk of the damage with 16 points – including four-from-four shooting from 3-point range.

He continued to set the pace in the second frame, making another three before finally missing, and ended the half with 21 points.

Despite Crutcher being the only Birmingham player in double figures, the home team went to the locker room with a 53-44 advantage.

The Squadron cooled off in the third quarter and the Hustle found the range, allowing Memphis to take its first lead of the game.

With the score knotted at 66-all, Johnson banged home a 3-pointer at the 2:40 mark to put the visitors in front, 69-66.

When the buzzer sounded, the squad wearing road whites were still ahead, 75-74.

Memphis looked to close things out in the fourth – bagging 10 3-pointers over the final 12 minutes – and led by as many as six points down the stretch.

Instead, it was the Squadron that came up with final score of the game, and it was the one that assured victory.

The ending was especially sweet for Crutcher, who grew up in Memphis.

“It would’ve been even better if I’d done it at Memphis,” Crutcher said, with a laugh. “But it was definitely special because that’s my city and hometown.”

With the win, Birmingham is fifth in the South Pod standings of the Showcase Cup, and is on the outside looking in for a spot in the eight-team Winter Showcase tournament.

Saint sets mark: Tonight’s game against Memphis was the 62nd time Saint had coached the Squadron. That means he has now coached more games than any other person in the history of Birmingham professional basketball.

The previous record holder was Mo McHone, who guided the Birmingham Bandits of the Continental Basketball Association in 1991-92 and compiled a 27-34 mark during the franchise’s lone season in the Magic City.

McHone, incidentally, has strong ties to the G League – originally known as the NBA Developmental League.

He had two different coaching stints with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (and another when the franchise was in the CBA), and was also director of basketball development for the Austin Toros.

OTD in 1947: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Montgomery Rebels, 81-74, in overtime for their fourth consecutive victory.

Shag Hawkins, a former Auburn standout, led the winners with 21 points and his three quick field goals in O.T. secured the win in front of 400 fans at the National Guard Armory.

It was the Rebels’ first loss of the season.

The contest was marred by 56 fouls and when the game ended, Montgomery coach Len Rader charged referee Jack Stanford but the police intervened before any blows landed.

The Rebels featured four players who were part of the Birmingham Skyhawks of the ill-fated Basketball League of America franchise that folded the previous season.

OTD in 1991: The Bandits of the CBA fell to the Fort Wayne Fury, 103-96, for their seventh consecutive loss.

Jim Farmer had a game-high 32 points for the Bandits, who led for three quarters before being overtaken in the final frame.

OTD in 2021: The Squadron topped the Lakeland Magic, 97-88, for its third straight win.

Hill led the winners with 24 points, followed by Jared Harper (19), Joe Young (15) and Zylan Cheatham (14). Cheatham also dominated the glass with 18 rebounds to secure the double-double.

Next up: The Squadron is done with the 2023 portion of its home schedule. Birmingham plays at Osceola on Wednesday and Friday, and then heads to Orlando for the Winter Showcase.

If the Squadron doesn’t qualify for the tourney championship, it will still play two games while in Central Florida.

If there’s one thing predictable about NBA G League basketball it’s that NBA G League basketball is entirely unpredictable.

A day after the Birmingham Squadron handed the Rio Grande Valley Vipers a 19-point loss, RGV returned the favor – with interest – in a 132-99 thrashing of the home side in front of 1,631 fans Saturday at Legacy Arena.

It was the franchise’s worst loss since moving to Birmingham in 2021.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliates slip to 5-6 in Showcase Cup play, while the Houston Rockets’ farm club improves to 7-5.

The dynamic duo of forward Cam Whitmore and center Jermaine Samuels Jr. helped the visitors take the mystery out of this one early with buckets from all over the court – and they never let up.

Whitmore had 42 points while Samuels had a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds.

The Vipers led by as many as 51 points in the third quarter.

“It’s not just one of those nights … it turned into one of those nights,” Birmingham coach T. J. Saint said. “We missed a plethora of shots at the rim that led to transition points in the first half. They’re extremely talented, and some human nature stuff sets in and you just don’t feel as good about yourself, and it ballooned to 50.

“Obviously we weren’t going to win the game at that point, but we challenged them to win the fourth quarter, which we did (30-23). We’re building for the next 38 or 39 games, whatever it is.”

Rio Grande Valley also got 18 points from Jarrett Culver and 10 from Shawn Occeus while dominating the game on the boards, 57-40.

Izaiah Brockington paced Birmingham with 24 points, Trey Jemison had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Malcolm Hill, Devin Cannady and Pavel Savkov scored 12 each.

Jalen Crutcher closed out double-figure Squadron scorers with 10 points.

Savkov, the team’s lone 2023 draft pick, was a bright spot in the defeat. Playing just under 10 minutes, his 12 points came from four-of-five shooting from 3-point distance.

“He came in in the Memphis game and did kinda the same thing,” Saint said. “He always tells me he’ll stay ready and every single time he has been. Those minutes for him are minutes where you look at rotations, and he’s still earning his credentials like everybody else so those minutes were super important.”

The Vipers threatened to run the Squadron out of its own building in the first quarter, racing out to a 36-21 lead.

While Rio Grande Valley was scoring from the inside and outside, Birmingham was struggling mightily. The Vipers shot at a 64 percent clip, and the Squadron was hitting just 41 percent and going oh-for-seven from 3-point range.

Although Saint’s club finally broke the ice from beyond the arc in the second frame things got even worse, with Samuels and Whitmore taking over the game and RGV dominating in the paint.

By halftime the Squadron was staring up from a 72-47 crater, and Samuels was already good for 21 points and seven rebounds and Whitmore accounted for 17 points.

The third quarter was more of the same and with the outcome already settled, RGV coach Kevin Burleson made wholesale lineup changes. At one point he went up and down the bench and asked “Have you played?”

The eventual winners entered the fourth stanza with a 109-69 lead and shifted into cruise control from there.

Small ball: Cannady took a brief hiatus from the Squadron to participate in the USA Basketball AmeriCup 3×3 tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

On December 2 he helped Team USA defeat Jamaica, 22-13, scoring four points and snatching four rebounds.

In a 21-12 victory over Argentina, he had seven points and three boards. That game was also played on December 2.

Finally – in an 18-16 loss to the Dominican Republic on December 3 in the quarterfinals – he tallied four points.

In 3×3 competition, shots inside the arc and from the free throw line are worth one point, outside the arc shots score two, and the halfcourt game lasts 10 minutes, with the clock stopping on dead balls and foul shots.

OTD in 1947: The Birmingham Vulcans of the Southern Professional Basketball League defeated the Jackson (Mississippi) Senators, 54-47.

Wheeler Flemming helped the Vulcans rally from a halftime deficit with hot-shooting, closing out the contest with a game-high 24 points.

OTD in 1948: The Birmingham Steelers of the SPBL defeated the Nashville Vols, 74-72, for their fifth consecutive victory to start the 1948-49 season.

With the Steelers trailing 68-62, Darrell Lorance scored three quick buckets to knot the score and finished with 27 points to keep Birmingham perfect.

Next up: The Squadron closes out its homestand Monday when the Memphis Hustle comes to Legacy Arena for a 7 p.m. start.

It’ll be the team’s final home game of 2023.