WVU’s men’s basketball team had its end-of-the-year awards banquet last night at Waterfront Place and as I walked from the parking garage across the street toward the hotel, I rounded a corner and came to an intersection with Joe Alexander and his roommate, Jamie Smalligan, who traveled to the gala together.
Joe Alexander, NBA Draft prospect, was not happy to see me.
It wasn’t anything personal — I don’t think — but you could tell by the look on his face and the change of the pace with which he walked that he was caught a little off guard. It was very subtle. I doubt it was anything intentional and he’d surely say he showed no signs, but, in truth, I’m used to such responses. They’re easy to spot now.
Maybe he didn’t realize the media was invited. He did, after all, make light of that with a quick, characteristic one-liner. He also said I wouldn’t be allowed in because I was wearing jeans. So maybe it was Joe being Joe, the dry-witted-though-still-witty kid who deadpans good quotes and makes jokes sound dead serious. More than likely, his brain fired quickly and, to me, it seemed that whether he knew beforehand the media was going to be there or not, he suddenly realized the media was there and he was the reason why. Â
For the first time since he told FoxSports.com – (strumming fingers on keyboard…strumming…strumming) — he was entering the NBA Draft April 9, he’d meet with the local media. To discuss his decision. He’d been careful to maintain a low profile and speak to no one but his inner circle about the process, but that chosen path was about to reach a dead end.
He was more glib and deceptive than normal and only once seemed interested in the discussion and that was when someone suggested he was simply curious to see where he stood. “It has nothing to do with being curious,” he said sharply. “I’m not curious. I have a good idea where I stand.”
A moment later, assistant coach Erik Martin interceded to dismantle the meeting and Alexander went off to mingle with the rest of the crowd, which was basically more groups of assembled strangers who, one couldn’t help but notice, were asking a lot of the same questions he was so uninterested in answering for the media.
So I’m mad at Joe Alexander, right? Can’t believe he’d stiff us, elude us, deprive us of the ability to do our jobs, right?
Nope. Actually, I can’t blame him for a moment. Too many people are too concerned about how Alexander’s decision affects them and not him. Don’t get me wrong. His teammates are remarkably neutral and even though they make no secret that they want him back because the team will be so much better with him, you sense they know he can — will? — be a high pick and they want him to go and grab that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if it’s within reach.
Yet there are a lot of people who want him to stay for WVU. Period. They want to cheer him, want their team to do well, want to say he is theirs. Â
I admit I’m curious about what he’ll do. He’s a great player, a great kid and, to be honest, he makes my job really simple. I wouldn’t mind at all if he stayed because I know I’m getting good material for another year, but I’ve also seen how hard he’s worked, how greatly he’s improved and how much he deserves a shot if he believes it’s there for the taking. Last night, the only thing I wanted to ask him was how he was doing. I sensed, even before all of this, that he was bothered by it all and I was curious to see how a composed kid like himself kept his composure in a time like this. Who does he talk to? How does he get away? Why don’t people respect his privacy?
Yet he was asked repeatedly if he was staying or going. Well, how the hell is he supposed to know? It was terribly irresponsible and it’s sadly common. He hasn’t done anything toward the process other then enter into it and stay in it so that he appeared on the official early entry list released yesterday. Yet for some odd reason, he and his teammates were asked again and again if Joe would be back or be in the draft. Madness.
Off the soapbox and into the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, I demand no retraction!Â
Mack said:
If I gave you a year, would you be able to come up with four more Hawley Field plays to round out a Top 5 of all time? I doubt it.
I really tried to win this challenge, but I couldn’t do it. It was my belief last Saturday’s game-ending inside-the-park home run was an all-time moment at Hawley Field. Also in the top five was the Billy Biggs lights-out no-hitter in 2002 and … well there’s … ah, screw it. Where’s Coach Greg Van Zant?
“No question it’s up there and we’ve had several great moments at home this year. But that was something special because we’d controlled that game. We were up 10-5 and I thought we were in really good shape. Then all of a sudden we go into the eighth inning and Connecticut scores a bunch of runs and jumps ahead. But we kept our confidence and we knew we were going to score a run in the eighth or ninth inning. And fortunately for us, Austin Markell hit a ball off the top of the wall to win the game for us when right now, every win is really important.”
Continue reading…