Oct 25, 2023; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Derrick Rose (23) drives to the basket between New Orleans Pelicans forward Matt Ryan (37) and forward Herbert Jones (5) during the second half at FedExForum. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
The New Orleans Pelicans will conclude their training camp in Nashville, Tennesee on Sunday before returning home to begin their preseason at home on Monday. These are the times when teams build chemistry and camaraderie for the long season ahead. For about three hours on Saturday, two Pelicans teammates were not on the same team as their college teams battled it out on the football field.
Pelicans forward Herb Jones attended the University of Alabama, while sharpshooter Matt Ryan spent his college days at Vanderbilt. Teammates CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado, Daniel Theis, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl joined them at the game.
In a historic upset, the Vanderbilt Commodores defeated the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 40-35. Vanderbilt beat Alabama for the first time in 40 years and collected their first win against a Top 5 team in school history. Former Commodore forward Matt Ryan expressed his excitement over the monumental win on social media.
Ryan attended Vanderbilt for one season after transferring from Notre Dame. He averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game during his junior season. The 6-foot-6 forward finished his college career at Chattanooga before going undrafted. After bouncing around from the G League and NBA, Ryan signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans before the 2023 season.
At the start of the year, injuries to Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado, and CJ McCollum thrust Ryan toward playing time, and he delivered. During November, Ryan averaged 9.7 points on 53% shooting from the three-point line. He averaged 23 minutes per game but saw those numbers drop dramatically once New Orleans got their players back healthy.
Jones was a four-year player at the University of Alabama and had a significant impact on the program. The defensive standout was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team twice and was named the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. New Orleans drafted him with the No. 35th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Since joining the NBA, Jones has continued to shine on the defensive end. He has been second in the league in steals since 2021 and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First team, the only non-center or power forward to make the team.
New Orleans hosts their only home preseason game against the Orlando Magic before heading on the road for the remainder of the preseason. The Pelicans open their regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 23.