Joe Alexander

Joe Alexander (ג'ו אלכסנדר; born December 26, 1986) is a Taiwan-born American-Israeli professional basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.

There he attended the International School of Beijing from 1996 to 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.

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 despite having a Very Solid Senior Season.

At that point, Alexander was 6' 6" (1.98 m) and only 170 lb; 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.

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.

His best game his freshman year was against Washington & Jefferson College where he scored five points and blocked five shots on December 3.

Alexander finally started in the 2006–2007 season.

Alexander, who at 6ft 8in plays both forward positions, was selected for the 2007 All-Big East squad during his collegiate career with West Virginia and was an All-American Honorable Mention.

Against DePaul on January 28, 2007, Alexander posted a career-high 23 points.

With 90 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.

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 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.

He was selected eighth overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

He is the first-ever Taiwanese-born NBA player.

Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Alexander moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, when he was two.

When he was eight, his family relocated to China when his father got a job working for Nestlé.

His maternal grandfather was Jewish, which made him eligible for Israeli citizenship while playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Alexander lived in Hong Kong for six months and then in Mainland China for six years, becoming conversant in Mandarin.

While Alexander lived in Hong Kong, he attended the Hong Kong International School in Tai Tam.

Alexander and his family lived in a separated ex-pat community with other Americans in Beijing.

In 2010, the ISB Dragons basketball team officially retired Alexander's jersey in an elaborate ceremony in the school gym, a ceremony where Alexander himself was present.

Alexander then returned to the U.S. to live in Mount 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.