Scouring the Nation (Part 7)

In this segment, I explore two of the leading offensive weapons in Division III, who battled one another in a high scoring affair.

In John Jay College's home contest against Brooklyn College, leading scorer Jerome Alexander really began to assert himself towards the end of the second half. The fifth leading scorer in all of Division III (26.1 ppg) is an aggressive slasher who scores the vast majority of his points attacking the basket. By the mid-way point of the first half, it became clear that the end-to-end tempo really favored his style of play, as he thrived getting to the basket in transition. Alexander possesses a solid first step and an understanding of how to get by his defender with the change-of-pace dribble. He also knows when to utilize the jump stop in order to create space. As such, he is capable of getting around multiple defenders, even in halfcourt sets. And, standing at 6'4, Alexander could potentially develop the ability to shoot over his defenders. In order to do this, however, he must raise the release point on his shot and speed up his shooting motion. Otherwise, he will have to consistently fade away from the basket just to get his shot off. He also must extend his range in order to keep defenses honest.

In terms of his decision making, Alexander made a few careless turnovers driving into traffic once the Brooklyn College's defense converged on him. However, he generally played within himself most of the time, and found open teammates after getting in the lane. At the next level, it is clear that Alexander will thrive beating his man off the dribble and finding open three point shooters. Further, Jerome is a decent athlete who is able to hang and finish through considerable contact. He is also capable of collecting rebounds, particularly on the offensive end, when he decides to assert himself.

From a defensive standpoint, Jerome Alexander has considerable promise if he is able to maintain a consistent focus. Earlier in the first half, Alexander failed to assert himself, lagging behind plays and not really focusing in on perimeter shooters. The 2nd half was a totally different story though. Jerome's defense on Brooklyn's Tyshawn Russell for stretches really sparked John Jay's rally late in the game. In terms of his discernible tools, Alexander possesses good lateral quickness and functions well as a positional defender on the perimeter. However, he must sacrifice his body more often, though, by taking charges.

Overall, Jerome Alexander is one of the top scoring threats in Division III. His ability to attack the basket and create for teammates makes him a valuable player at any level. Alexander also possesses immense potential on the defensive end, but must look to play with the same degree of focus throughout each and every game. While he still must amend certain aspects of his game to be successful at the next level, Alexander has good potential to develop into a solid contributor for a European squad after his collegiate career is behind him.


For the opposing team, Brooklyn College's lead guard Tyshawn Russell really dominated throughout most of the contest, widening his team's margin of victory to twenty points during some stretches. Not only was he capable of playing off the ball and slashing in traffic, but he also took on most of the point guard responsibilities. Much like Alexander, Russell thrives at attacking the basket with his blindingly fast first step. Standing at 5'10, Russell has a slight build, which he willingly throws around whenever he drives to the hoop. Unlike Alexander, though, he usually looks to finish by blowing by defenders at the rim, instead of opting for the pull up jumper. In this contest, Russell completed several spectacular plays, demonstrating that he can contort his body in the air and finish around multiple defenders. Russell possesses exceptional athleticism and is rather dynamic off the bounce. He also has incredible hang-time and the requisite athleticism to play at a higher level of basketball.

When he received the ball on the perimeter, Russell often looked for open teammates, appearing almost hesitant to dial his own number in the second half. He often swung the ball and was not given credit for hockey assists, which nonetheless set his teammates up for open shots. With that said, he does have more turnovers than assists on the year, and this is primarily attributable to his lack of upper body strength. It should be noted that Russell is one of the few options on Brooklyn College that can create their own offense. As such, he often becomes an object of defensive strategies. In order to score during these stretches where he is the subject of the opposing team's defensive focus, Russell must improve his perimeter jumper. On the season, he is connecting on an abysmal 27.8% of his 3 point attempts. While he did nail a few of his attempts from distance in his contest with John Jay College, it is clear that he tends to rush his outside shot at times.

Defensively, Russell has quick hands and was able to push the ball in transition after stealing it from the opposition. He also possesses the lateral quickness to defend at a higher level. However, his lack of upper body strength is alarming, as this will almost certainly be exploited by virtually every other college-level guard who has spent some time in an intense strength training program. Overall, if Russell can improve his physique, he will become stronger with the ball and his assist to turnover ratio will likely normalize as a result. This will ultimately allow him to emerge as a coveted long term prospect for teams competing overseas.

(Images by John Jay College Athletics & C. Gottlieb)