Alexander healthy, hungry for Bruins
A year ago, St. Patrick-St. Vincent High basketball player Jaden Alexander fractured his tibia and missed significant court time.
Alexander has been one of the healthier players on the court for the Bruins this season. It’s St. Pat’s opponents that might feel like reaching for the Pepto Bismol.
Last week, Alexander scored a combined 82 points in victories against El Cerrito, Albany and Jesuit. He poured in 37 points on 10 of 19 shooting and added 12 rebounds in the win over the Marauders.
He is the Times-Herald Athlete of the Week.
Alexander was a productive player as a sophomore a year ago but he’s crossed the bridge to full-fledged star a season later.
“He has a business-like approach to basketball,” Bruins head coach Derek Walker said Friday evening after the win over Albany. “I’ve seen him work out and it’s all work. It’s not fun and games. He shows up to the gym to get better.”
Alexander, 17, is a Fairfield resident who started his prep career as a freshman on the junior varsity team at Vanden High.
“My parents wanted me to go to a private school and (for basketball) I was getting shots but I wasn’t getting the right recognition that I knew I could have gotten. I came here for a better opportunity.”
Last season’s team was driven by point guard Akil Edwards, who has graduated. Alexander was just trying to mesh with his new teammates last year.
“I was trying to find my game. I was trying to fit in,” Alexander said. “There’s some difference between JV and varsity too. Akil was the leader and he held everyone accountable., got on everyone. Everybody had to stay up to par.”
Alexander said he missed a lot of time over the summer due to the injury but bounced back with a couple of tournaments for Team Rampage, an AAU team in Solano County.
The junior said his mental game improved between sophomore and junior year too.
“I think confidence was the key thing,” he said. “I think I doubted myself a lot last year. I would over-think things. I learned some things and learned from my mistakes. This year, I’m not afraid to make a mistake. That doesn’t bother me anymore. Last year, I played timid and shy.”
Like a number of Bruins before him, Alexander has been playing above the rim this season.
He threw down a transition dunk against Albany in the first quarter and had a number of impressive ones in the preseason.
“I might have had three or four dunks (as a sophomore),” he said. “I guess I didn’t really know how to get it up there. I wasn’t that aggressive. Once again, I was playing shy and timid. I really didn’t look for those opportunities that much.”
The Bruins are 2-0 in the Tri
County Athletic League Rock Division with the wins over El Cerrito and Albany but the schedule gets much more difficult this week as they host St. Mary’s (12-5) and Salesian (12-3) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
“We want to show that we’re still up there,” Alexander said. “We don’t want to take our foot off the gas. We really want to win the TCAL this year. We feel like we can compete with all of the teams this year.”
Honorable mention
• Katelyn Anderson (Bethel girls soccer) had two goals in a win over Kennedy.
• Matthew Elliot (Bethel boys basketball) had 22 points in a win over McClymonds and 14 in a win over Richmond.
• Alexci Johnson (St. Pat’s girls soccer) had three goals in a win over Hercules.
• Daylan Johnson (Vallejo boys basketball) had 18 points in a win over Richmond and 10 points and 13 boards in a win over Pinole Valley.
• Basil Othman (Benicia wrestling) was second overall at 140 pounds at the Tim Brown Memorial in Sacramento.
• Kayla Revelo (St. Pat’s girls basketball) had 16 points and 18 boards in a win over Edison and added 11more against St. Mary’s.
• Alexis Villagomez (Vallejo boys soccer) had two goals in a win over Hercules.