Squadron players took flight

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.”