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Draft Report: Joe Alexander Of West Virginia
Joe Alexander combines elite athleticism and a pure offensive game to emerge as one of the draft’s elite versatile scorers.
He busted out for West Virginia in 07-08 and the biggest difference between his sop re and junior season is the quality and complexity of his footwork in the post and before using the dribble while in the triple threat position.
As a sop re he would score off a single dribble move and pivot; during the middle and latter part of his junior season there would be multiple fakes, spins and crossovers before scoring, which would give him shot attempts despite a double team or simple good defense that would be unavailable to him in the past.
His balance is impeccable and his incredible elevation allows him to do pretty much anything he wants to do on so many different parts of the floor, particularly in the midpost. He often reverse pivots when catching the ball in this area of the floor, which sets him up nicely to shoot his jumper if his man gives him space.
He can beat his man off the dribble, but once he loses the triple threat he becomes easier to defend because his dribble shakes are on the average side; his best dribble moves are north/south.
Alexander is one of the most dangerous players I’ve ever seen in how he flies down the lane; he can pull up at 5-feet and bank a runner or turn the corner and flush it on just about anyone. He also has a large radius of range on a little one-hand scoop shot and more impressively on how far he can take off on dunks.
He can also go from rapid dribble to pull up jumper on a dime.
Alexander moves very well without the ball, stealthily getting into space and finding the creases of the defense. He makes use of nice lateral movements from block to block, block to elbow, elbow to corner, etc. to get himself open. He will flash to the elbow for a catch-and-shoot and hit the jumper in one very fluid motion. Alexander makes hard productive cuts, especially after he completes a pass.
You can probably blindfold him and he’d still know where he is on the floor.
He has good-sized hands (palming the ball MJ style sometimes in the halfcourt) and rarely fumbles anything on the catch.
Alexander can hit from just about anywhere on the floor with his jumper; he has a great 3-point shot and is fully comfortable with the mid-range jumper, which has become increasingly uncommon.
His form is compact but he gets great elevation on his shot, allowing him to comfortably shoot over most defenders. He has good arc and rotation and his misses are rarely ‘bad’ misses and his makes are typically pure swishes or sophisticated bank shots.
He loves the bank shot and will shoot them premeditated from up to 18-feet out and occasional from highly unusual angles. From day one he will be in the 90 percentile amongst NBA players with his use of the glass.
Alexander’s shot mechanics are incredibly consistent and he rarely misses open 3-point attempts.
He has a great instinctual feel for when he needs to break towards the basket or go back out on the perimeter in transition when nothing is there.
He isn’t a prodigal passer but is developing, learning he can do things he didn’t know were possible, as well as the limitations in this area of the game which will decrease turnovers.
He has a host of options available to him when he jump stops into the paint because of his pivot work and passing abilities.
He makes an occasional brilliant outlet pass from underneath the basket past halfcourt to trigger an easy early offense opportunity. Alexander also is an effective point forward when he grabs a defensive rebound, seeing the floor and handling the ball very well at a legitimate 6-8.
Alexander’s defensive talents rest largely on his great leaping ability and length. He is an active on-ball shotblocker and will affect shots and passes he can’t get a finger on. He also can get high into the air to get blocks in help defense; there is really no way to understate the kind of vertical he has.
He sometimes over commits on the perimeter but I like the intensity and it’s easier to scale someone back then to implant a motor that isn’t there.
Alexander is a blue-collar rebounder on both sides of the floor, which of course pairs nicely with his athleticism and how well he anticipates a shot attempt to get a jump on the inside position.
I expect Alexander to become a slam dunk champion and occasional All-Star in the NBA, the latter could even be more likely than the former.
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