Joe Alexander (born December 26, 1986 in Taiwan) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks. Alexander was selected for the 2007 All-Big East squad and was an All-American Honorable Mention. He was drafted 8th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Early life

Born in Taiwan, Alexander lived there briefly, moving to Silver Spring, Maryland when he was two. At the age of eight, his family relocated to China when his father got a job working for Nestle. Joe lived for the next six years in China (Hong Kong for six months, the rest in Beijing) where he became nearly fluent in Mandarin. While Joe lived in Hong Kong, he attended the Hong Kong International School in Tai Tam. Alexander attended the International School of Beijing, Shunyi from 1996-2002, where he first became acquainted with basketball. Joe's brothers, John and Jeremy, became the first foreigners to win the Beijing High School basketball MVP award and did so in successive seasons.

Joe Alexander then returned to the United States to live in Mt. Airy, Maryland where he would spend his junior and senior seasons playing for Linganore High School. While he only played a minor role coming off the bench his junior year, his senior season he boasted averages of 14.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, which earned him first-team Monocacy Valley Athlete League Chesapeake conference honors. Alexander was named team captain his senior year and selected to the Frederick County all-star first team. He was named Mt. Airy Gazette player of the year, 2004 Frederick Gazette player of the year, earned first-team honors from the Frederick Gazette and Frederick News Post, and was on The Washington Post’s honorable mention all-Met team. Alexander also set school records for blocks in a season (90) and season field goal percentage (58.0).

After high school, Joe gained only limited attention from division III schools (including Washington College, where his brothers were playing) and some division II programs. At that point, Joe was 6-6 and only 170 lbs; a division I athletic scholarship was out of the question. Determined to make his dream a reality, Joe opted to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia.

Playing behind Pitt star Sam Young and Villanova's Shane Clark, Joe would see extremely limited playing time while at Hargrave.

College career

Freshman season

Alexander enrolled at West Virginia University in 2005 after attending Hargrave Military Academy for the 2004-2005 season. As a freshman, he played in 10 games, while starters Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey led the starting senior class. Alexander scored his first collegiate basket against Wofford. His best game his freshman year was against Washington & Jefferson College where he scored five points and blocked five shots.

Sophomore season

Alexander finally started in the 2006-2007 season. Against DePaul, Alexander posted a career-high 23 points. With 1:30 seconds left in the game, West Virginia led 61-48. Alexander beat the shot-clock with a 21-foot three-point shot that has become memorable in the West Virginia season. But from what looked to be a good season, Alexander's season declined in the second half. After an 11-point performance Providence College, Alexander went without scoring over double-digits for the rest of the regular season and the Big East Tournament. Alexander also only totaled 18 points in the Mountaineers NIT run, which ended with a Championship win over Clemson. Alexander totaled 10.3 points per game, 1.9 assists per game, and 4.3 rebounds per game for the season.

Junior season

After the NIT Championship, head coach John Beilein left the team for the starting job at Michigan. Afterwards, West Virginia alumnus Bob Huggins left Kansas State for the head coaching job at WVU. Huggins emphasizes humor and strength training and as a result Alexander went from 210 pounds to 230 pounds and has often remarked that the training allowed him to avoid fatigue and weight loss.

In the season-opening exhibition game against Mountain State, Alexander scored 19 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, totaled 5 blocks, and had one steal in the 88-65 win. In the 75-61 victory over New Mexico State, Alexander scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The next game, a victory over UMES, Alexander scored 22 points with 8 rebounds. In the 70-53 victory over Winthrop, Alexander scored 19 points and again grabbed 10 rebounds. Alexander then scored 17 points in the victory over Auburn and a then career-high 26 points over Duquesne University. Alexander scored 20 wicked points and grabbed 8 rebounds against Maryland-Baltimore County, then followed up with 20 points and 6 rebound against Canisius. In the 88-82 loss to Oklahoma, Alexander scored 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, and in the loss to Notre Dame he only scored 9 points. He then put up 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists in the victory over Marquette. However in the loss to Louisville, Alexander scored 22 points. In the 73-64 victory over St. John's, Alexander scored 15 points.

After dealing with injuries, Alexander bounced back with 19 points and 8 rebounds against Providence. In the 81-63 victory against Rutgers, Alexander totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds. Then in the 89-68 victory against Seton Hall, he scored 13 points and then grabbed 9 rebounds. In the 78-56 loss to Villanova, Alexander scored 11 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. In the victory over Providence, Alexander scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. In the 85-73 victory over DePaul, Alexander scored 17 points to reach the 20-win mark for the season. In the 79-71 loss to Connecticut, Joe Alexander scored a career-high 32 points and added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The following game, a 76-62 victory over Pittsburgh, Alexander tied his career-high of 32 points set the previous game and also added 6 rebounds. Alexander went 10 for 16 on his field goals, while never making a three-point shot all game. Alexander began his performance with West Virginia up 40-30, when he scored six consecutive points to raise the score to 47-30 in the second half. His consecutive games of a career-high 32 points raised his total of the two contests to 64 wicked points and 16 rebounds. Alexander finished the regular season in the 83-74 overtime victory over St. John's with 29 points and 10 rebounds. For his efforts on the season - averaging team-highs of 16.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game - Alexander was named to the first-team All-Big East squad. He was the fifth Mountaineer in school history to earn first-team All-Big East honors.

In the start of the Big East Tournament, the Mountaineers beat Providence again, 58-53. Alexander contributed with 22 points and 6 rebounds. In the second round of the tourney, the Mountaineers upset the #15-ranked Connecticut Huskies, 78-72. Joe Alexander contributed with a career-high 34 points and 7 rebounds. The game marked his third 30-point game on the season. However, as the Mountaineers lost in the semifinal matchup against the #8 Georgetown Hoyas, Alexander finished the Big East Tournament with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

The Mountaineers' run to the semifinal round of the Big East Tourney propelled the team to a #7-seed in the NCAA Tournament, with a first-round matchup against the #10-seed Arizona Wildcats. ESPN, in their West region breakdown, named Alexander the best player in the region other than UCLA's Kevin Love. In the first-round victory over the #10-seed Arizona Wildcats, Alexander scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. In the second-round victory over the #2-seed Duke Blue Devils, he scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Mountaineers won 73-67. In the Sweet 16 loss to the #3 Xavier team, 75-79 in overtime, Alexander scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the tournament.

Joe Alexander finished his junior season leading the team with 16.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. Alexander was second on the team with 1.5 blocks per game and third with 2.4 assists per game and 31.6 minutes played per game. Alexander finished the NCAA Tournament by averaging 18 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Professional career

Rookie season

On April 9, 2008, Joe Alexander declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft, and later signed with an agent, forfeiting his college eligibility. He was drafted 8th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. In the 2008 NBA Summer League, Alexander averaged 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while starting all 5 games.

References