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JOE ALEXANDER

Joe Alexander (born December 26, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. Alexander was selected for the 2007 All-Big East squad and was an All-American Honorable Mention. He was selected eighth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Early life
Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Alexander moved to Silver Spring, Maryland when he was two. Six years later, his family relocated to China when his father got a job working for Nestlé. Alexander lived for the next six years in China (in Hong Kong for six months, and then in Beijing) where he became nearly fluent in Mandarin. While Alexander lived in Hong Kong, he attended the Hong Kong International School in Tai Tam. Alexander attended the International School of Beijing, Shunyi from 1996-2002, where he first became acquainted with basketball. His brothers, John and Jeremy, became the first foreigners to win the Beijing High School basketball MVP award and did so in successive seasons.
Alexander then returned to the United States to live in Mt. Airy, Maryland, where he spent his junior and senior seasons playing for Linganore High School. While he only played a minor role coming off the bench his junior year, his senior season he boasted averages of 14.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, which earned him first-team Monocacy Valley Athlete League Chesapeake conference honors. Alexander was named team captain his senior year and selected to the Frederick County all-star first team. He was named Mt. Airy Gazette player of the year, 2004 Frederick Gazette player of the year, earned first-team honors from the Frederick Gazette and Frederick News Post, and was on The Washington Post's honorable mention all-Met team. Alexander also set school records for blocks in a season (90) and season field goal percentage (58.0).
After high school, Alexander gained only limited attention from Division III schools (including Washington College, where his brothers were playing) and some Division II programs. At that point, Alexander was 6'6" (1.98 m) and only 170 lb (77 kg); a Division I athletic scholarship was out of the question. Determined to make his dream a reality, he opted to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia.
Playing behind Pitt star Sam Young and Villanova's Shane Clark, Alexander saw limited playing time while at Hargrave.

College career

Freshman season
Alexander enrolled at West Virginia University in 2005 after attending Hargrave Military Academy for the 2004-2005 season. As a freshman, he played in 10 games, while starters Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey led the starting senior class. On November 13, 2005, Alexander scored his first collegiate basket against Wofford.[1] His best game his freshman year was against Washington & Jefferson College where he scored five points and blocked five shots on December 3.

Sophomore season
Alexander finally started in the 2006-2007 season. Against DePaul on January 28, 2007, Alexander posted a career-high 23 points. With 1:30 seconds left in the game, West Virginia led 61-48 after Alexander's shot clock-beating 3-pointer and a three-point play But from what looked to be a good season, Alexander's season declined in the second half. After an 11-point performance versus Providence on February 2,Alexander went without scoring over double-digits for the rest of the regular season and the Big East Tournament. Alexander also only totaled 18 points in the Mountaineers' NIT run, which ended with a championship win over Clemson on March 29. Alexander scored no points and grabbed one rebound in 16 minutes. His performances included a 4-point game in a 74-50 victory over Delaware State on March 13, a 3-point game in a 71-66 win over North Carolina State on March 20,a 2-point game in a 63-62 win over Mississippi State on March 27.He averaged 10.3 points per game, 1.9 assists per game, and 4.3 rebounds per game for the season.

Junior season
After the NIT championship, head coach John Beilein left the team for the head coaching job at Michigan. Afterwards, West Virginia alumnus Bob Huggins left Kansas State for the head coaching job at WVU. Huggins emphasizes humor and strength training and as a result Alexander went from 210 pounds to 230 pounds and has often remarked that the training allowed him to avoid fatigue and weight loss.
In the season-opening exhibition game against Mountain State, Alexander scored 19 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, totaled 5 blocks, and had one steal in the 88-65 win. In the 75-61 victory over New Mexico State, Alexander scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The next game, a victory over UMES, Alexander scored 22 points with 8 rebounds. In the 70-53 victory over Winthrop, Alexander scored 19 points and again grabbed 10 rebounds.Alexander then scored 17 points in the victory over Auburn and a then career-high 26 points over Duquesne.Alexander scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against Maryland-Baltimore County on December 15, then followed up with 20 points and 6 rebounds against Canisius on December 22, 2007.In the 88-82 loss to Oklahoma on December 29, Alexander scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, and in the loss to Notre Dame on he only scored 9 points. He then put up 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists in the victory over Marquette on January 6, 2008. However, in the January 10 loss to Louisville, Alexander scored 22 points, including 14 straight in the second half. In the 73-64 victory over St. John's on January 17, he scored 15 points.
After dealing with injuries, Alexander bounced back on February 2, 2008 with 19 points and 8 rebounds in West Virginia's 77-65 away win against Providence. On February 14 in the 81-63 victory against Rutgers, Alexander totaled 15 points and 9 rebounds. Then in the 89-68 victory against Seton Hall on February 17, he registered 13 points and 9 rebounds. In the 78-56 loss to Villanova on February 20, Alexander scored 11 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. In the February 23 home game versus Providence, Alexander scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in West Virginia's 80-53 win. In the 85-73 victory over DePaul on February 27, Alexander scored 17 points to reach the 20-win mark for the season. In the 79-71 loss to Connecticut on March 1, he scored a career-high 32 points and added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The following game, on March 3, a 76-62 home victory over Pittsburgh, Alexander tied his career-high of 32 points (on 10 of 16 field goals) set the previous game and also added 6 rebounds. He began his performance with his team up 40-30, when he scored six consecutive points to raise the score to 47-30 in the second half. Alexander finished the regular season in the 83-74 overtime victory over St. John's at Madison Square Garden on March 8 with 29 points and 10 rebounds, including 7 in the extra period. For his efforts on the season - averaging team-highs of 16.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game - Alexander was named to the first-team All-Big East squad. He was the sixth Mountaineer in school history to earn first-team All-Big East honors.
In the start of the Big East Tournament, the Mountaineers beat Providence again, 58-53. Alexander contributed with 22 points and 6 rebounds. In the second round of the tourney, the Mountaineers upset the #15-ranked Connecticut Huskies on March 13, 78-72. Alexander contributed with a career-high 34 points,the most ever by a Mountaineer in a Big East championship. He also added 7 rebounds.Thegame marked his third 30-point game of the season. However, as the Mountaineers lost in the semifinal matchup against the #8 Georgetown Hoyas, Alexander finished the Big East Tournament with 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting, and 5 rebounds.
The Mountaineers' run to the semifinal round of the Big East Tourney propelled the team to a #7-seed in the NCAA Tournament, with a first-round matchup against the #10-seed Arizona Wildcats. ESPN, in their West region breakdown, named Alexander the best player in the region next to UCLA's Kevin Love.In the first-round victory over Arizona, Alexander scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. In the second-round victory over the #2-seed Duke Blue Devils, he scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Mountaineers won 73-67.In the Sweet 16 75-79 overtime loss to #3 Xavier on March 27, Alexander scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the tournament.
Alexander finished his junior season leading the team with 16.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. Alexander was second on the team with 1.5 blocks per game and third with 2.4 assists per game and 31.6 minutes played per game. He finished the NCAA Tournament by averaging 18 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.


Rookie season
On April 9, 2008, Alexander declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft, and later signed with an agent, forfeiting his college eligibility. He was drafted 8th overall in the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. In the 2008 NBA Summer League, Alexander averaged 9.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while starting all 5 games. In a December 7, 2008 Bucks loss to the L.A. Lakers, Alexander led the team in scoring with 15 points. On December 25, Alexander was chosen as one of three rookies to get the chance to participate in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. He finished third in the voting, losing to Rudy Fernández of the Portland Trail Blazers.