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    Leaving for good?
May 22, 2008

Leaving for good?

Alexander impresses at workouts

By Mike Casazza

MORGANTOWN — A few days ago, Wellington Smith fired off a text message to Joe Alexander, wishing his friend and teammate the best as he continues his experimentation with the NBA.

It said, quite simply, “Do work.”

Alexander was in Las Vegas working out with famed trainer Joe Abunassar and a number of NBA prospects and players. A while later, Alexander replied in typical Alexander style.

“Work is being done.”

It was unquestionably an understatement.

“He’s killing it,” Smith said.

As the days go by now, it appears those around Alexander and West Virginia University’s basketball program are coming to accept the possibility his time with the Mountaineers is expiring.

Alexander has been so impressive in his workouts that what happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas. Reports of his performance quickly spread through the draft grapevine.

One such story came from DraftExpress.com President Jonathan Givony, who witnessed Alexander’s exploits out west.

“If I were a betting man, I’d tell you right now he’s not going back to West Virginia,” Givony said. “I’d say it’s highly unlikely right now.”

Need a sign? The pre-draft camp begins next week in Orlando, Fla., and it seems as though Alexander will be among the 15 or 20 players invited to the physical and the combine. It doesn’t look like he’ll play in the camp’s games in front of team scouts and executives.

Not exactly the act of a man desperate to make an impression. Invitations for team workouts should follow soon thereafter.

Teammates who watched Alexander’s emergence this season understand how history is repeating itself in this offseason. They now are wishing him the best, hoping he stays healthy throughout the process and trusting he’ll make the decision that’s best for him.

Then, there’s the coaching staff, which welcomed Devin Ebanks to the program Sunday and awarded him the team’s 13th and final scholarship. Yet the coaches still are recruiting for next fall, keeping an eye on Division I coaching changes and players who might get released from a signed letter-of-intent, as well as junior college players who will graduate in the summer.

The explanation is obvious.

“In the event he doesn’t come back, we’ve got to see who’s still available for the (2008) class as far as size,” assistant coach Larry Harrison said. “If Joe goes, we’re going to need another big man.”

Givony’s site has Alexander at No. 16 and going to the Philadelphia 76ers in its most recent mock draft.

“We had him in the low 20s early on,” Givony said. “We talk to different guys and different teams when we do these and we asked, ‘Who sticks out? Who’s too high? Who’s too low?’ The one name we consistently got was Joe Alexander. He was too low. He still might be in the 20s on some team boards, but he’s going to rise as soon as he gets into workouts and interviews. He’s a mid-teens kind of guy.”

Understand Givony is an informed source. His company subscribes to the same video indexing service as do about 20 NBA teams. He watches players all year long, and when he’s curious, he can go to a catalog of Alexander clips and study anything from left-handed drives to the basket to the way he defends the pick-and-roll.

“We break guys down as in depth and maybe even more in depth than most NBA teams,” he said.

Teams seek his opinion, especially now when they’re not allowed to watch the workouts Givony watches. Givony thinks Alexander can stick.

“If you want to project, which is what the NBA draft is all about, I’d feel comfortable projecting him as maybe a starter-caliber small forward or a 20- or 25-minute guy,” he said.

“He’s not there yet and I can see him struggling the first year, maybe two, because his skill level right now is not high enough for a small forward. But it can easily get there.”

It is, of course, impossible to know what Alexander is thinking.

One only can wonder how much he values a deeper NCAA Tournament run and a night in the green room as a lottery pick at next year’s draft.

Perhaps Alexander simply is focused on making a dream a reality and getting drafted at the first opportunity. Maybe he understands the financial difference between going, say, No. 18 this year and No. 8 next year isn’t too big of a deal because the big money is to be made in the second contract and not the first.

What is clear, though, is Alexander has what the NBA wants.

“If you’re trying to build an NBA small forward from scratch,” Givony said, “Joe Alexander would be a pretty good prototype.”

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