Prospect Spotlight: Carlos Alexander (2022)
We’ve already highlighted a few players from the class of 2022 who play for Team Thrill, and we continue with guard Carlos Alexander. As the AAU season continues and we inch closer to the second live period in July, Alexander’s main focus as an incoming freshman is to improve as much as possible so he can contribute at St. Frances Academy.
The Panthers were nationally ranked last season, so there will be much work for Alexander to do in order to find his niche in such a program, but the aggression that he has shown has been promising.
In many tournaments this season, Team Thrill has played up an age bracket and fared well against the competition. Alexander’s aggressive mindset helps counteract the physicality that comes with playing against older teams.
“I’m just trying to stay aggressive,” Alexander told Prep Hoops. “While also playing as a unit with my team and talking on defense.”
One area of improvement that Alexander mentioned multiple times has to do with his attitude. It’s expected as an eighth grader to get worked up about a missed call from the referee, a missed shot or a mistake on the floor. The good thing is that Alexander is mindful of it and continues to make it a key focus throughout the course of this summer.
How Alexander channels that intensity and passion is key, though. When you watch him, it doesn’t take long to see the effort he puts in on both ends of the floor. He pressures the ball well defensively, talks when off the ball and is always trying to anticipate the next pass. Offensively, he’s flashy especially when in transition. He can finish with flare around the rim and despite being left-handed, can finish with the right efficiently as well. The release on his jumpshot has to get quicker for the varsity level, but as he ages and gets stronger that’s something that should come naturally.
He has all of the tools to be the next tough-nosed guard to come out of St. Frances. He’ll be pushed every single day by Ace Baldwin, one of the top point guards in his class.
Alexander is a man of few words, so when asked his mindset of potentially playing at the varsity level for the Panthers, he had only this to say:
“I’m coming in to work.”
2022 PG Carlos Alexander continues his strong play for Team Thrill (MD). If there are five tougher floor generals in the class nationally, I want to see them. #UAMemorialClassic pic.twitter.com/yfqkMBG78Y
— Eric Hampford (@eric_hampford) May 26, 2018