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NBA reporter Wojnarowski is reporting that the New Orleans Pelicans are establishing their G league affiliate in Birmingham. The team will start play in Erie, PA and then move here when the Legacy Arena upgrades are done.

Good news for the city! I think the G League will grow in popularity over the next few years. Nice regular tenant for Legacy Arena.

(10-23-2018 01:18 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  NBA reporter Wojnarowski is reporting that the New Orleans Pelicans are establishing their G league affiliate in Birmingham. The team will start play in Erie, PA and then move here when the Legacy Arena upgrades are done.

Good news for the city! I think the G League will grow in popularity over the next few years. Nice regular tenant for Legacy Arena.

This is cool for Birmingham, I just hope it doesn't cannibalize UAB basketball attendance. I know our core fanbase will still go to UAB games but if we are trying to reel in fringe fans this could hurt.

G League is something different, for sure. Bought season tickets to the Reno Bighorns last year and went to the first game. Nothing but running up and down the court to fog up threes, I think the ending score was like 139 -121. I didn't go back again. If you like high flying ball, you will love it, but I just couldn't get into it like I can college basketball with the hard nosed defense and strategy based gameplans.

Definitely will be competition for UAB basketball, but could also be two different fanbases given the style difference.

The G League team and the AAF team will both be alternatives for UAB basketball. UAB needs some leadership. Upgrade Bartow further than forcing folks to fill up their own drinks and get in a better league. Cheapen the tickets and make general admission a thing. The block of tickets sold to business that leaves the lower half just empty.... what good is it really doing? There was such a much better atmosphere vs UGA(with everybody sitting in lower level) than anything we’ve had over the last decade and a half.

(10-23-2018 03:16 PM)BlazinBham Wrote:  The block of tickets sold to business that leaves the lower half just empty.... what good is it really doing?

Paying the bills. I hear you, it sucks to see those seats empty. But the bottom line is that all this stuff costs money, and those seats make money. And it isn't so much the price of the ticket as it is the priority payment, which for those seats is significantly more.

Fire Ray Watts!

Anything that builds basketball interest in Birmingham will not hurt UAB basketball. Birmingham needs more basketball fans before UAB can build its fsnbase.

(10-23-2018 01:22 PM)GoBlazers468 Wrote:  

(10-23-2018 01:18 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  NBA reporter Wojnarowski is reporting that the New Orleans Pelicans are establishing their G league affiliate in Birmingham. The team will start play in Erie, PA and then move here when the Legacy Arena upgrades are done.

Good news for the city! I think the G League will grow in popularity over the next few years. Nice regular tenant for Legacy Arena.

This is cool for Birmingham, I just hope it doesn't cannibalize UAB basketball attendance. I know our core fanbase will still go to UAB games but if we are trying to reel in fringe fans this could hurt.

G League is something different, for sure. Bought season tickets to the Reno Bighorns last year and went to the first game. Nothing but running up and down the court to fog up threes, I think the ending score was like 139 -121. I didn't go back again. If you like high flying ball, you will love it, but I just couldn't get into it like I can college basketball with the hard nosed defense and strategy based gameplans.

The G League has changed. They are now fully farm teams for the NBA. NBA players will be sent down for injury rehab or development. With the announcement of higher salaries, Birmingham might see players who were previously high level one and done recruits.

I don't think it will hurt UAB anymore than UABhas already been hurt by the lack of interest in basketball in birmingham

Definitely a lack of interest in irrelevant basketball in Birmingham. Hard to say for sure that the city won't support big time basketball when it hasn't seen it in so long.

How Birmingham’s aggressive plans for growth landed new G-League team
https://www.al.com/sports/2018/10/how-bi...-team.html

The Bham Bandits were a CBA team which is the same level as this stuff.

Even had a few Alabama players on the team.

(10-24-2018 08:19 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The Bham Bandits were a CBA team which is the same level as this stuff.

Even had a few Alabama players on the team.

The CBA is no where near the same level as a G league team

(10-23-2018 03:16 PM)BlazinBham Wrote:  The G League team and the AAF team will both be alternatives for UAB basketball. UAB needs some leadership. Upgrade Bartow further than forcing folks to fill up their own drinks and get in a better league. Cheapen the tickets and make general admission a thing. The block of tickets sold to business that leaves the lower half just empty.... what good is it really doing? There was such a much better atmosphere vs UGA(with everybody sitting in lower level) than anything we’ve had over the last decade and a half.

We'll see how the AAF schedules going forward, but they did seem conscious of UAB & College basketball for their scheduling. When the league was announced it was supposed to be all Saturday but they've expanded it to Sunday. We're also pretty fortunate that there might only be overlap with one game.

Sunday 2/10 vs. Memphis - UAB home vs. Charlotte on 2/9
Saturday 2/16 vs. Salt Lake City - UAB @ WKU same day
Saturday 3/2 vs. San Antonio - UAB TBA game on 3/3
Saturday 3/9 vs. Orlando - UAB TBA game same day
Saturday 3/30 vs. Atlanta - Probably N/A for UAB but same time as Elite Eight

As for other possible competition with UAB, the key is to just win. We can explain 88% of UAB's average basketball attendance with the following variables: UAB's KenPom, Average KenPom of UAB's opponents, NCAA & NIT. Point being that good teams get people to go to games.

The G-League could surpass college basketball (outside of March Madness) within a decade or so. Next year, the G-League will begin offering the elite high school prospects a special six-figure contract as an alternative to one-and-done, so there's the potential for the G-League to begin amassing all the talent you'd typically see at the blue blood schools.

Don't forget the One and Done rule change where players can skip the one year of college and play in the G League. Will get some marquee kids that way

Is the G league taking the place of the NBA D league???

I don’t keep up with the NBA and their farm systems.

(10-24-2018 09:45 PM)Blazerstadium Wrote:  Is the G league taking the place of the NBA D league???

I don’t keep up with the NBA and their farm systems.

I don’t follow Basketball but the D League had major issues. I believe Gatorade became the main sponsor and a part of that sponsorship was to change the name from D for Developmently to G for Gatorade

G League had issues when teams only associated with NBA teams. Now NBA teams own the G League teams, and players move up and down depending on need. The D league had issues because they were independent. With the news that they will be playing some blue chippers 6 figures, it will make the league grow in popularity.