WALTHAM, Mass. – The idea of Cliff Alexander leaving college after one season came as a surprise to no one.
He was among the six players to work out for the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Although Duke’s Jahlil Okafor was considered by many as the top incoming freshman this past season, it was Alexander who was the Naismith High School Player of the Year in addition to being named Mr. Basketball USA.
Okafor left the Blue Devils after helping lead them to a national championship and is expected to be one of the first two players selected in the June 25 NBA draft.
Alexander is trying to play his way into the first round, a far cry from where many anticipated the 6-foot-9 forward to be at this point in his basketball career.
“He deserved it,” Alexander said of Okafor. “He had a great season. I had an up and down season.”
Indeed, the path to the draft for Alexander took an unexpected detour in February when the NCAA launched an investigation into “impermissible benefits” received by Alexander’s mother.
The Kansas Jayhawks suspended him indefinitely, and the promising Alexander never returned to action for Kansas after the probe began.
According to reports, his mother Latillia Alexander received a loan from a finance company in August 2014 that specializes in loans to players projected as first or early second-round picks.
As one of the nation’s top prep players in 2014, Alexander was more than qualified.
However, the problem was the loan originated before Alexander had ever played a game for the Kansas Jayhawks which meant he was receiving benefits prior to declaring for the NBA draft - an NCAA no-no.
Not surprisingly, Alexander has been asked about the situation by NBA executives throughout the pre-draft process.
“My mom got tricked into something that she didn’t know what she was doing,” Alexander explained. “She never went through this process before, and we needed money at the time.”
Alexander isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last player to enter the draft that has to take time explaining an off-the-court incident or issue.
Austin Ainge, Boston’s director of player personnel, said incidents and issues away from the court certainly are factors that have to be considered prior to drafting a player.
“It’s big. Our culture that we’re trying to establish here is important,” Ainge said. “We spend, the coaches spend time with these guys maybe more than their families. So you want to make sure they can exist in a team setting and be part of what we’re trying to build.”
As far as Alexander’s NCAA-related matter, it doesn’t appear to be an issue that the Celtics are overly concerned about in regards to Alexander.
“I think we all know what happened and it’s certainly not the end of the world,” Ainge said. “I don’t think it reflects everything that Cliff is about. He has a story about it that makes some sense when he tells it.”