Landers Nolley II
Nolley with Virginia Tech in 2019
No. 2 – Birmingham Squadron
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (2000-03-05) March 5, 2000 (age 24)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2023: undrafted
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023–2024Birmingham Squadron
2024–presentMarinos de Oriente
Career highlights and awards
  • NIT champion (2021)
  • NIT MVP (2021)
  • 2x First-team All-AAC (2021, 2023)
  • ACC All-Freshman Team (2020)

Landers Nolley II (born March 5, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies, the Memphis Tigers and the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Early life and high school career

Nolley learned to play basketball from his father, also named Landers Nolley, who played college basketball for LSU. He trained with his father every day.[1] In his sophomore season, Nolley averaged 17 points per game for Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago and helped his team win a Class 4A state championship.[2] As a junior, he transferred to Langston Hughes High School in Fairburn, Georgia. Nolley averaged 25 points and seven rebounds per game in his first year with his team.[3] He scored 26 points to lead Langston Hughes to its first Georgia 6A state title.[4][5]

In his senior season, Nolley averaged 31 points, eight rebounds, and three assists per game, helping his team defend the Georgia 6A championship. He posted 34 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in the finals.[6] Nolley was named Atlanta Journal-Constitution Player of the Year and USA Today Georgia Player of the Year.[7] He also earned All-State honors and left as his school's all-time leading scorer.[8] Nolley was a consensus four-star recruit and top-100 prospect in the 2018 class. On October 15, 2017, one week after committing to play college basketball for Georgia, he switched his commitment to Virginia Tech.[9][10]

College career

Virginia Tech

Nolley was forced to sit out his freshman season due to the NCAA reviewing his academic eligibility. While he sat on the bench, Virginia Tech finished 26–9 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. After the season, the Hokies' top five scorers and coach Buzz Williams departed, but Nolley announced he was staying at Virginia Tech and had no intention of transferring.[11] Nolley scored 30 points including four three-pointers in his debut for the Hokies, a 67–60 win over Clemson.[12] After scoring 27 points against Lehigh and 23 points against USC Upstate, Nolley was named Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the week on November 18, 2019.[13] He had 22 points in a 71–66 upset of number 3-ranked Michigan State on November 25, hitting a crucial three-pointer with under a minute to go.[14] At the conclusion of the regular season, Nolley was selected to the ACC All-Freshman Team and was Honorable Mention All-Conference.[15] He averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. After the season, he announced he was transferring from Virginia Tech.[16]

Memphis

On April 20, 2020, Nolley announced on Twitter that he would continue his career at Memphis, choosing the Tigers over Georgia and Ole Miss.[17] Nolley was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on August 27, 2020.[18] He averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as a redshirt sophomore.[19] Nolley was named MVP of the NIT, helping the Tigers win the championship.[20]

The following year, Nolley was fourth for the Tigers in scoring, averaging 9.8 PPG, and helped lead the team to their first NCAA appearance since 2014. After the season, Nolley entered the transfer portal.[21]

Cincinnati

After having visits to NC State and Texas A&M, Nolley committed to Cincinnati on April 27, 2022.[22] Nolley lead the Bearcats in scoring during the 2022-23 season, averaging 16.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG. Nolley was a key contributor to the Bearcats season, earning First-Team All-AAC honors, and would help lead the Bearcats to the Quarterfinals of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament.[23]

Professional career

Birmingham Squadron (2023–2024)

After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Nolley signed with the New Orleans Pelicans on September 30, 2023,[24] but was waived on October 16.[25] On October 29, he signed with the Birmingham Squadron.[26]

Marinos de Oriente (2024–present)

On March 7, 2024, Nolley signed with the Marinos de Oriente of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto.[27]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Virginia Tech Redshirt Redshirt
2019–20 Virginia Tech 32 29 30.2 .370 .316 .780 5.8 2.4 0.8 0.3 15.5
2020–21 Memphis 28 25 27.4 .415 .387 .803 4.1 1.8 1.1 0.2 13.1
2021–22 Memphis 29 18 26.6 .380 .336 .795 3.9 2.8 0.9 0.3 9.8
2022–23 Cincinnati 36 36 32.1 .447 .417 .750 5.8 2.6 1.0 0.5 16.8
Career 125 108 29.3 .406 .368 .777 5.0 2.4 0.9 0.3 14.0

References

  1. ^ Daniels, Evan (November 27, 2016). "Junior Landers Nolley emerges at Hoopsgiving". 247Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  2. ^ O'Brien, Michael (March 27, 2016). "Landers Nolley transfers, but future is bright for Curie". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Landers Nolley - The Burger Boy no one is talking about". SUVtv. January 9, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Young, Justin (March 9, 2017). "Langston Hughes wins school's first ever state title". HoopSeen. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  5. ^ Felder, Justin (March 6, 2017). "Langston Hughes hoping for first ever state title". WAGA-TV. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  6. ^ Holcomb, Todd; Saye, Chip (March 29, 2018). "High school basketball: State players of the year". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Tim (April 18, 2018). "Landers Nolley is USA Today Georgia Player of the Year". Rivals. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "Landers Nolley II". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Berkman, Mark (October 8, 2017). "Landers Nolley decommits from Georgia". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  10. ^ Daniels, Tim (October 15, 2017). "4-Star SF Prospect Landers Nolley Commits to Virginia Tech over Georgia". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  11. ^ Wood, Norm (October 22, 2019). "Hokies' Landers Nolley still exudes poise after having to sit last basketball season". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  12. ^ "Horne, Nolley lead Virginia Tech to 67–60 win at Clemson". ESPN. Associated Press. November 5, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  13. ^ Sis, Matej (November 18, 2019). "Virginia Tech's Landers Nolley earns ACC Freshman of the Week". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  14. ^ "Virginia Tech knocks off No. 3 Michigan State 71–66 in Maui". ESPN. Associated Press. November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "2020 ACC Men's Basketball Award Winners Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Boone, Kyle (March 16, 2020). "Virginia Tech star Landers Nolley, the Hokies' leading scorer this season, announces he will transfer". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Cobb, David (April 20, 2020). "ACC All-Freshman star Landers Nolley transferring from Virginia Tech to Memphis". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  18. ^ Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (August 27, 2020). "Source: Memphis' Landers Nolley has received a waiver from the NCAA and is eligible for the 20-21 season. Transfer from Virginia Tech" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Fowler, Christian (May 17, 2021). "2020 Evaluation and Analysis: Landers Nolley". 247 Sports. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  20. ^ Marley, Larry (March 28, 2021). "Tigers Win 2nd NIT Championship". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Munz, Jason (April 2, 2022). "Memphis basketball's Landers Nolley II enters transfer portal". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  22. ^ Nolley, Landers [@NolleyLanders] (April 27, 2022). "Ready to do what they said I couldn't 🌹🐾 #COMMITTED" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Cohen, David (23 Jun 2023). "Nolley Signs with New Orleans Pelicans". gobearcats.com. UC Athletics. Retrieved 23 Jun 2023.
  24. ^ "Pelicans sign six players". NBA.com. September 30, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  25. ^ "New Orleans Pelicans sign Izaiah Brockington". NBA.com. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  26. ^ "Birmingham Squadron Finalize Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. October 29, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  27. ^ Fernández, Alejandro Jesús (March 7, 2024). "¡Atención Oriente! Marinos anunció fichaje importado para temporada 2024 de SPB". Meridiano.net (in Spanish). Retrieved March 19, 2024.

External links

Birmingham Squadron current roster
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