The Thunderbirds are  definitely the hottest team in the League. Post some comments let me know what you think.

Here is an article about Forward David Noel. He is a star in the making.

Friday, January 30, 2026

T-Birds Relying on Noel

By Glen Rosales
For the Journal
Every practice, David Noel wears a long-sleeve, powder-blue shirt under his Albuquerque Thunderbirds jersey.
“I have to let everybody know that excellence is in the building,” Noel said, sporting a wide grin. 
  He's talking about his alma mater, North Carolina, although it could easily refer to his play of late. 
 “He's been a major factor in our surge,” Thunderbirds coach John Coffino said of the team's recent seven-game winning streak. “He started off a little slow, but he's really picked it up. He's probably the best athlete in the whole league, in my opinion.”
 On Thursday, he finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Thunderbirds beat Dakota 109-106. 
 Noel was Albuquerque's first pick in this season's NBA Development League draft, and that created some pressure — even for a player who won a national championship under Roy Williams with the Tar Heels and spent a year in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I think at the start of the season, I was pressing a little bit too hard,” he said. “I was trying to justify being the No. 1 draft pick of the team.”
    As the team started winning however, Noel's production began to climb. Now he's the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 18 points a game. He's snagging 5.5 rebound a game and averages 4.39 assists. 
    The 6-foot-6 Noel is also the team's most-accurate 3-point shooter, connecting at a 40.9 percent clip. 
  “I've been working on that,” Noel said. “It's all about consistency. On shorter shots, you have a little more leeway. But on the long shots, you have to do everything the same.”
    He said the only way to gain that consistency was to put in the work. 
   “I come out early and shoot,” he said. “I like to be the first one out on the court like Ray Allen, get my shooting in. Shooting threes was one of the things they talked to me about when I was in Milwaukee.”
  Having a chance to play in the NBA and continue his career in the NBADL seemed pretty far-fetched when he was first coming out of high school in Durham, N.C.
“I got a scholarship to play football,” Noel said. “I was an All-American wide receiver. And I was going to walk on to the basketball team.”
 After a late change of heart, however, he decided to tackle his favorite sport, walking on at North Carolina under Matt Doherty. 
  “I just didn't love football,” Noel said. “It was fun. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it like I love the game of basketball.'
   After his freshman season, Doherty was fired, but Williams honored a scholarship promise and it worked better than Noel could have anticipated, culminating in a championship ring in his junior year. 
  “That was the greatest day of my life,” he said of getting a chance to cut down the nets. “My ring is at home with my mother in a case. Maybe one day I'll get another one. I'd like to be collect some rings.”
  Yet Noel almost missed his call for the NBA. 
    “I didn't think I'd get drafted,” he said. “My cell phone wasn't working, so I never got the call. I saw on the television like everybody else.”
    NOTE: A home game originally scheduled for Saturday against Anaheim has been rescheduled for Feb. 28. 
    Recap
  Although the Albuquerque Thunderbirds blew every bit of a 17-point lead, they were able to recover in the final two minutes for a 109-106 victory Thursday over the Wizards at Tingley. Will Conroy hit a twisting layup with 2:25 remaining to put Albuquerque back up to stay at 102-101, halting the Wizards 10-0 run. Conroy finished with game-high 35 points and eight assists.