IU Basketball transfer portal spotlight: Sam Alexis

IU basketball has added 10 players this spring from the transfer portal. Player by player, we’ll take a look at each addition in our “transfer portal spotlight” series.

Today: Sam Alexis

Previously: Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright, Reed Bailey, Lamar Wilkerson, Jasai Miles, Tayton Conerway, Jason Drake, Nick Dorn

Bio: 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior forward from Apopka, Florida

Previous schools: Florida (2024-25, one season), Chattanooga (2022-24, two season)

Career stats: 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots, 1.1 assists in 17.3 minutes per game. Alexis is a career 52.5 shooter from the field, a career 28.6 percent 3-point shooter and a 51.6 percent free-throw shooter.

Career accolades: 2024-25 national champion at Florida, 2023-24 third team All-Southern conference, 2023-24 Southern conference all-defensive team, 2022-23 Southern conference all-freshman team, 2022-23 Southern conference honor roll

Recruitment background

After appearing in 24 games for last season’s national championship team at Florida, Alexis entered the transfer portal this spring and committed to Indiana before taking a campus visit.

His commitment was the second of the day on April 24, the same day Elon transfer Nick Dorn announced his pledge to the Hoosiers.

Notes on his game

After an outstanding sophomore season at Chattanooga, Alexis entered the transfer portal in the spring of 2024 and landed at Florida. In his second and final season with the Mocs, Alexis shot 55 percent from the field and averaged 10.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocked shots and 1.8 assists in 26.4 minutes per game.

He started his third season at Florida as a rotation regular, but an injury took him out of the rotation in February and he never saw the floor much down the stretch for the Gators, who beat Houston in the national championship game.

Indiana is counting on Alexis to provide minutes at the five as the Hoosiers don’t have a traditional center on the roster. Alexis showed he’s capable of elite production on the glass at Chattanooga as he ranked third in the Southern conference in offensive rebounding percentage as a sophomore and fourth in defensive rebounding percentage.

Scouting report

“What’s most impressive about Alexis is his efficiency inside the arc. He takes quality shots and scores the ball very effectively near the rim. With that in mind, his jumper does need some work if he’s going to really round out his offensive game. He was solid as a freshman from beyond the arc on very limited attempts, but his ability to convert has fallen off with an increase in volume as a sophomore.

“While there’s reason to believe he can get his shooting consistency back from the perimeter like it was his freshman season, it’s worth noting that he is a very poor free throw shooter.

“Outside of simply scoring the ball, Alexis is a solid connector for his size. On any given night, he has the passing upside to lead his team in assists. He is also an excellent rebounder and a consistent double-double threat because of that.

“Defensively, Alexis has become a really impactful shot blocker. His ability to protect the rim has been a positive development as it relates to his defensive upside this season, with reason for optimism on that end overall moving forward. A late bloomer, Alexis played JV as a junior in high school, then really broke out from both a skillset and body standpoint.” – Draft Digest on Alexis in the spring of 2024

Sam Alexis highlights

Category: Commentary

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