It was written a few days ago that as time passes, it seems more and more likely Joe Alexander is gone.

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.”

The story holds true. Alexander began in the 20s on that particular draft board and was at No. 16 at the time the story was written. He was No. 13 a day later. In fact, he was No. 13 in multiple mock drafts yesterday.

The skinny: Alexander could be the sleeper of the draft. His combination of size, athleticism and shooting ability has GMs drooling right now. He’s still learning the game, but on a team like the Blazers, his versatility could be an immediate asset.

So today comes along and … well, take a guess what happened. Even if that’s not entirely accurate and, perhaps, a bit high — and I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily true — it’s indicative of the trend.