St. John’s basketball freshman guard Posh Alexander fueled by motivation

St. John’s basketball guard Posh Alexander is fueled by motivation from outside forces. 

All good competitors know how to use hate and motivation as fuel and it’s something St. John’s basketball freshman point guard Posh Alexander has been doing since high school.

The Our Savior Lutheran (N.Y.) standout and Brooklyn, New York native was widely regarded as a four-star prospect by many recruiting rankings as he dominated the New York City competition.

Then, Alexander broke his arm and saw his stock start to plummet because he was not able to take the floor.

He used that as fuel and motivation to rehab his injury and get back to the court as quickly as possible.

“When I broke my arm…I was looking at the rankings and my name was slowly getting off the list,” the St. John’s freshman told John Fanta on Big East Shootaround.

“I took a screenshot [of the rankings] and put it as my screensaver and waking up everyday looking at my screensaver motivated me.”

Alexander finished his high school career as a three-star recruit, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings, ranked as the No. 254 player in the Class of 2020, No. 28 combo guard, and No. 6 player in the state of New York.

“I played against these [other recruits] and I gave it my all,” Alexander explained to Fanta, “I had days where I cried and wanted to give up, it was my family that kept me in it.”

That motivation fueled the 6-foot guard to wake up every morning and run before texting his coach to see if he would open the gym for him to work out.

“I had something to prove.”

But Posh Alexander has more to prove in his freshman season with the Red Storm.

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After a victory over Utah Valley on Saturday afternoon, Alexander explained that due to the lack of fans in arenas this season, he can hear what opposing players and coaches yell on the bench when he has the ball.

“Seeing [players and coaches] yell out, ‘Oh he can’t shoot, he can’t shoot’ and then making a couple threes and now they have to guard be above the arc, it’s good for me because I know I’m fast and quick enough to get to the rim and get past my defender.”

That motivation was all Posh Alexander needed to get back in the gym and work on his three-point shot as he was 3-of-16 from three-point range in his first 12 games with the Johnnies and is 5-of-17 in his last four games.

“By them saying that, it motivates me to shoot the ball, because I know I can shoot. It’s all about my confidence,” Alexander explained after he scored a career-high 20 points against the Wolverines.

“I know I’m going to make a couple shots and then [the defense] is going to have to guard me above the arc, then I can just blow past any player, score and make plays for my teammates,” as the freshman is fifth in the Big East averaging 4.4 assists per game.

St. John’s basketball guard gets more motivation from opposing coach

If motivation fuels Posh Alexander, opposing coaches and players should stop giving the point guard bulletin-board material but Providence head coach Ed Cooley gave Posh Alexander something to sit on ahead of the first matchup between the Johnnies and Friars on February 6 in Rhode Island.

Alexander was named as the Big East Freshman of the Week after St. John’s defeated No. 23 UConn and Utah Valley behind 19.0 points and 4.0 assists per game from the freshman guard.

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However, Cooley thought his freshman, Alyn Breed, should have been recognized with the honor after posting 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists in a win over No. 11 Creighton and 18 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists in a loss to No. 3 Villanova.

Alexander has started all 16 games for the Johnnies this season, the only player on the roster to do so, and is averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 46.7-percent from the floor.

Before St. John’s can worry about Ed Cooley, Alyn Breed, and the Friars, the Red Storm travel to Chicago to face the DePaul Blue Demons (3-5, 1-5 Big East) on Wednesday, January 27 at 9:00pm EST (Fox Sports 1).