KCKingdom
Fansided

KU Basketball: Ranking Top One and Done Players

Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 9
Next
Kansas Jayhawks forward Cliff Alexander. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas Jayhawks forward Cliff Alexander. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

One And Done Kansas Jayhawks

Number Eight: Cliff Alexander

 In my opinion, Cliff Alexander was a major bust. Anticipated to make an immediate impact on the Kansas Jayhawks front court with a big build and dynamic shot blocking ability, Alexander showed glimmers of the talent he was hyped up to be, but ultimately fell short.

Cliff Alexander averaged 7.1 points per game in his 28 games as a freshman, which from a distance is not a completely awful statistic for a big man. What really sticks out is that he averaged one block per game coupled with his average of one turnover per game.

This guy was supposed to be a towering presence on the post with his blocking defense, but it was just never meant to be. Bill Self took notice, which is why Cliff ended up averaging just 17.6 minutes per game. He ended his season in legal conflict with the NCAA, missing the final eight games of his freshman year.

Alexander should have never left KU after his first year. He had potential that needed work, but he decided to forego his sophomore season and enter the NBA Draft. A questionable decision at best.

As for his time in the NBA, Cliff Alexander went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, floated around the league for awhile with his lingering knee injury, and finally landed a spot on the Portland Trailblazers.

His one season in the NBA was like a repeat of his mediocrity at Kansas, but was even worse. He averaged 1.3 points, played in eight games, and only averaged 4.5 minutes per game.

Obviously to create cap space, Alexander was released following his first season. After floating around the NBA D-League he finally landed a spot on the Orlando Magic’s developmental team, the Erie Bayhawks.