For three years, Posh Alexander was one of the faces of St. John’s basketball.
The Brooklyn kid who played the game like his next meal depended on it, who picked up the opposing point guard full court and became an immediate fan favorite with his nonstop effort and dogged determination.
Tuesday, he returns as the enemy, as one of surprising Butler’s leaders, looking to do to St. John’s guards what Johnnies fans rooted for him to do to the opposition for years.
After a down year last winter, Alexander has rediscovered his game with the Bulldogs, looking much more like the player who was so productive in his first two seasons in Queens than the one who struggled so much as a junior.
“The thing that impresses the most about him is how much he cares about people and his teammates. He has just done a tremendous job from Day 1 of helping freshmen,” Butler coach Thad Matta said on Monday ahead of the reunion. “There’s a hidden thing in him, that he wants to win like nobody I ever coached before. He’s got dreams, he’s got his aspirations, but he loves to see his teammates play well. That’s a great attribute that he has.”
There was a brief period, shortly after Rick Pitino took over at St. John’s (9-4, 1-1), that it looked like Alexander could remain in Queens.
Pitino was open to keeping him.
But both sides eventually agreed they would be better going their separate ways.
“I think Posh in is a great place. He’s starting. All the guys who left, they’re all playing great,” said Pitino, who declined to go into specifics on the situation. “It worked out great for everybody involved. We know he’s a terrific basketball player. I’m happy he’s doing great.”
Pitino turned over the roster, the only returning players being Joel Soriano and Drissa Traore, and brought his point guard from Iona University, Daniss Jenkins, with him.
Alexander remained in the Big East and helped Butler get off to a fast start, with 10 wins in its first 13 games.
Matta surrounded Alexander with shooters, giving him the space rarely afforded to him at St. John’s.
So far this year, he’s averaging 10.7 points, 5.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals.
Matta raved about Alexander the person, calling him a terrific teammate.
Immediately upon his arrival, he was helping out younger players.
Adviser/former AAU coach Shandue McNeil thinks Alexander has matured and understands better now what it takes to win playing for a coach who believes in him.
“They needed him to be successful,” McNeil said. “That was very important to him.”
He has been a hard worker and has taken to coaching well.
One big adjustment for Alexander, according to Matta, was realizing defense went beyond stopping his own man.
He had to learn to play help defense.
“He’s doing a great job of running our team. That’s something that I promised that I would teach him how to run a basketball team,” the Butler coach said. “Posh is an emotional kid, he can get emotional throughout the course of a game. But if you look at it, he’s done a lot better. I got into him at a halftime a few games ago, because he was kind of fading on me. He came out, had a great second half.”
It figures to be an emotional night for Alexander.
St. John’s was his home for three years.
But he hasn’t told Matta the game has any extra significance.
He only played with Soriano and Traore, so it’s not like the Johnnies are full of former teammates.
“I think he’s in a good spot going back there and I hope he plays well,” Matta said. “He really hasn’t said, like hey, ‘This one means the world to me.’ That’s one of the things I love about him. He knows this is game three of a 20-game schedule in the Big East, because he’s been there before. I know he wants to play well, and that sort of thing.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum (sprained ankle) practiced on Monday, but his status is still uncertain for the game.
He missed St. John’s win over Hofstra on Saturday.