Cliff Alexander: The #1 in 2014

Cliff Alexander As a Sophomore

Just over one year ago in the HoopHall Classic, Chicago big man Jahlil Okafor took over the crown from his good friend Tyus Jones as the top player in the class of 2014. With a 26 point, seven rebound performance against Long Beach Poly, Okafor wrapped up an impressive two month span of impressive play which began from the opening tip of his junior year with a 34 point performance in the Chicago Elite Classic. Now, one year later, it is his Chicago counterpart in Cliff Alexander that holds the crown after a dominant 30 point, 13 rebound, and five block effort in an upset win over Montverde, the top team in the country. 

While one has to be careful not to overreact as many will certainly do after seeing Big Cliff’s latest exploits, this takeover has been coming for several months. In AAU play, Cliff Alexander joined up with Okafor and the Mac Irvin fire and finally got to play against the top talent in the country. Throughout the AAU circuit, Cliff averaged close to 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. It was supposed to be Okafor’s time to shine in his third year playing at the 17U level, but instead he suffered injuries throughout the spring before playing an integral part for the U19 gold medal USA team averaging 10.8 points per game against players several years older. This is by no means a knock on Okafor who constantly deals with double and triple teams and zone defenses night in and night out, but it is a reflection of how dominant Cliff Alexander has been as a senior.

In the winter of 2012, Alexander and Okafor, both sophomores went head to head in a regular season match-up. While Okafor was the more highly regarded player, the match-up was scored a draw as Alexander finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. A few months later in the spring and after a noteworthy sophomore season, Alexander put together a commanding display against his age group in the NY2LA Swish N’Dish. At the time Alexander was slowly rising up the rankings from the high teens to just outside the Top 10. After watching his performance I noted “ESPN currentlyhas Jahlil Okafor, another Chicago big man ranked #2 in the 2014 class; howeverI would have these players ranked #2 and #2a.” The two went at it again as juniors in the playoffs and once again the match-up was deemed a draw as Alexander went for 14 points compared to Okafor’s 13. Despite the national discrepancy, Alexander was chipping at Okafor’s heals.

Now in his senior season, it was Alexander who used the Chicago Elite Classic as a stepping stone. In a game against Bishop Gorman which featured two five-star junior big men in 6’10” Stephen Zimmerman and 6’9” Chase Jeter, Alexander went for 22 points and 20 rebounds. Needless to say the two 2015 prospects were not ready for Alexander’s power and tenacity. So far Alexander is averaging close to 27 points, 17 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game and his team is undefeated with him in the line-up. 

Alexander is an explosive athlete that loves to run the floor and with a frame similar to DeAndre Jordan he produces a plethora of rim-rattling dunks and blocks on a nightly basis. He tries to destroy the rim at every chance and is an extremely quick leaper which helps with his explosive dunks and blocked shots around the rim. There is no question that Okafor has better foot work around the basket along with a go-to spin move, but Alexander’s offensive arsenal has been improving rapidly. Against Montverde he had several spin moves on the baseline and showed off an impressive ability to find open teammates in the paint. Two weeks ago against North Chicago, Alexander pulled a nifty up and under move in the post which resulted in his only non-dunk or lay-up for the game (out of 13 made field goals). In AAU play Alexander showed off a 12 foot jump shot at times, but this is still not one of his current strengths. His game is made out of raw power and aggression; however his overall skill level is starting to catch-up and definitely on an upward trajectory.

After knocking off the number one team in the nation, Alexander’s dominance will now be talked about by more than those in the city of Chicago. By no means has Okafor’s play slipped but instead Cliff Alexander has started to emerge from his large shadow and unfortunately the two are not scheduled to match-up as seniors unless their teams meet in the playoffs. Last year Okafor used the HoopHall Classic to take the crown as the top player in 2014; however this year Big Cliff used the same tournament to topple the king and supplant himself as the #1 rated recruit in high school.