Joe Alexander leads West Virginia in scoring.

Other articles by Patrick Finley:

Injury aftermath turned life of Wildcat athlete inside out Pascua Yaqui school's 'Shaq attack' delivers warning of Internet dangers In regional for 22nd straight year, Cats expect success Mowatt on 'big stage' for remainder of season Arizona football team not penalized Livengood: Five UA sports fall below NCAA target Athletes bring their dreams to Tucson Following father's footsteps made imprint on Raines Jr. Cats' attitude worries Ray A year from varsity, team seeks club title

Health Care
Mountain View Retirement Village
LPN Trades/Construction
arizona portland cement
maintenance electrician Education
Indian Oasis Baboquivari Unified School District
Teachers / Principals General
Alvernon North Apartments
Maintenance Tech PT Health Care
Carondelet Surgery Center
Billing Real Estate
Sea Property Management
Manager Restaurants and Clubs
Zinburger
All Positions

Joe Alexander was a forward, but not a post player.

But not according to Bob Huggins' definition.

The West Virginia coach wanted the junior to play his way. Slow down, wait for the defense to react. Alexander never had to do that in high school.

"I played in the post, but never posted up," he said. "It constituted getting a rebound and putting it back in."

For seemingly the entire season, Alexander would revert to playing his own game — that of a wing player trapped in a 6-foot-8-inch frame.

At halftime of a 79-71 loss to Connecticut on March 1, Huggins ripped into Alexander. He then finished with a career-high 32 points on 14-of-24 shooting.

Counting that game, Alexander has scored 161 points over the past six games.

The 21-year-old leads the Mountaineers with 16.8 points per game.

"Joe's a talented guy," said Huggins, whose Mountaineers will play the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. "He continues to learn and continues to get better."

Alexander had to grow fast. He lived abroad with his family — his dad worked for Nestlé — for eight years. He spent two years in Taiwan, one in Hong Kong and five in Beijing.

He played basketball in China, but the competition was weak. He returned stateside for his junior year of high school, and attended one year of prep school after graduation. He then started every game as a sophomore under John Beilein, who left after last season for Michigan.

At the start of this season, Huggins and Alexander talked about his future. Alexander swore he wanted to play professionally, and Huggins knew Alexander's work ethic made that a possibility.

"That was the conversation we had, him telling me basically that he thinks I have potential and he recognized I was working," Alexander said. "Playing in the post isn't quite as easy as everyone thinks it is, especially if you're undersized in the Big East."

It won't be easy against Arizona, either. West Virginia will start 7-footer Jamie Smalligan, but he averages only 12 minutes per game. Alexander likely will be matched against 6-10 forward Jordan Hill.

Alexander said he will try to do what he's done all season — use a few moves hand-picked by Huggins. The WVU coach has given Alexander a few tricks, including the old-school bank shot from the wing. The biggest thing, Alexander said, is a "backout move." He catches the ball on the block, then spins around to face his defender.

"Then there's a whole lot of options," he said. "Pull up, pump fake or just try to go right off the dribble."

It suits his game — one formulated by his skills and Huggins' crafting.

"All he did was teach me the basic fundamentals of post play," Alexander said. "Anyone that knows those, and works hard at those, can play against almost anyone."