Joe Alexander was a workout warrior prior to being taken early in the lottery of the 2008 NBA Draft but his potential never came through.
Scouting is not easy. Year-by-year hundreds of people within NBA organizations are tasked with combing through hours of game film and pages of notes breaking down the next crop of entrants attempting to make it into the league. A big piece of scouting is watching players play in person. But with talent all over the globe, it’s hard for teams to allocate the proper resources in-season.
The NBA Draft Combine was created to get the top tier players all in the same space in hopes of making these evaluations easier on all parties. The eye test has been debated and discussed on a loop for nearly as long as humanity has had eyes. It is instinctual to believe what you see over what you consume with any of your other senses.
Though it now is treated as a media spectacle, the Combine has yet to follow through on a promise of allowing NBA teams to see the best of the best face off against each other. That is still reserved for private and team workouts.
In 2008, a draft dominated by the choice between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, one player who had phenomenal workouts broke through — West Virginia’s Joe Alexander.
He attacked the rim ferociously, ready to slam home a dunk on the head of any defender foolish enough to jump with him. He was just as tenacious when going after rebounds. In the post, he was agile and quick-footed. His leaping ability allowed him to get off a decent look with every touch and by his final collegiate season, he had the muscle to really bully players in the paint.
Alexander was not just a stretch forward who sat on the perimeter and needed others to create shots for him. He was an athlete and an elite one at that. He recorded a 38.5-inch vertical jump at the 2008 NBA Draft Combine (Derrick Rose’s came in only an inch and a half higher).
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward was coming off an impressive junior season in the Big East — when it still was the true Big East — where he averaged 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. During the Mountaineers run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, he upped those numbers to 18 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. When he opted to leave West Virginia early he was considered a likely first-round pick.
Then the pre-draft process began. In a gym by himself — or scrimmaging alongside other prospects — all of the tantalizing tools and abilities Alexander possessed were spotlighted in these sessions.
When DraftExpress visited a workout of his with trainer Joe Abunassar, they had the following to say about him, “He attacked every drill with the same balls to the wall aggressiveness … combined with his terrific athleticism and seemingly very high character should make him somewhat of a hit on the NBA private workout trail.”
They were spot on. He rose up draft boards and was drafted eighth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. Joining a veteran-laden roster that featured Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, Richard Jefferson, Keith Bogans, Luke Ridnour, and Austin Croshere meant that the team wouldn’t immediately count on the rookie for contributions. Still, Alexander would see action in 59 games.
In 12.1 minutes per game, his numbers were pedestrian (4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, 41.6 field goal percentage, and 34.8 3-point field goal percentage). His rookie season was his longest in the NBA and he was playing in Europe for good by 2014
His time overseas saw him make good on the promise that the 2007 First-team All-Big East and AP Honorable Mention All-American flashed but his next time playing for money in the United States came during The Basketball Tournament.
In 2015, Alexander told Basketball Insiders, “Ultimately, not being in the NBA is on me, but as far as ‘who is a bust?’ you have to look at Milwaukee and the management that drafted me. If you want to label anyone with the term ‘bust’ it’s the Bucks.”
With players like Harrison Barnes predominantly playing power forward in today’s NBA, who knows what could’ve been had Alexander been used in a small-ball role — similar to how he played for Bob Huggins in his breakout season at West Virginia.
The biggest takeaway is that what happens in 1-on-0 drills doesn’t always translate to 5-on-5 NBA action. The history of basketball is filled with what-if scenarios and Alexander is just another example.