2012 Basketball Preview: Alex Rogers

A walk-on transfer from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Alex Rogers paid his own way through a year of school for the chance to play on Thad Matta’s team. His hard work and passion paid off when Matta awarded him a scholarship this past off-season. Now a fully-fledged member of the team, Alex has a chance to prove what he can do.

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
High School: Oak Hills
Position: Guard (1)
Year: Junior
Height: 6-2
Weight: 200

High School Awards:

• Captain and MVP of Oak Hills Highlanders. (Senior)
• Honorable Mention All-Cincinnati. (Senior)
• Greater Miami Conference (GMC) Championship. (Junior)
• District Runner-Up. (Junior)
• GMC Championship. (Senior)
• Second Team All-GMC. (2009)

Prior to OSU: Rogers came to Ohio State after competing for Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., where he started 34 of 55 career games, averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds. As a sophomore at Christian Brothers he started 27 of 28 games, reached double figures three times, including a career-high 14 points and seven assists vs. Arkansas-Monticello, and recorded a career high four steals vs. Arkansas Tech.

Career Stats

Stats are from his seasons at Christian Brothers University.

 Strengths: Rogers will bring a toughness to the team that will help Craft and Scott. He has the ability to be a tenacious defender in Coach Matta’s system and will look to take the opportunity to display those this season. In the 27 games he started for Christian Brothers he didn’t have flashy stats but he played a lot of minutes because of his ability to coach on the floor and know what he was suppose to be doing.

Rogers seems to fit the mold of a Thad Matta guard. He is an solid distributor, averaging a little more than 2 assists per game, but is not afraid to do some of the scoring himself at times when the opportunity arises. More importantly, he’s a great rebounder, picking up 3 rebounds per game his last season at CBU. For comparison, Aaron Craft picked up 3.2 rebounds per game last season. Those are good numbers for a point-guard.

Weaknesses:

His most glaring weakness stands out from the stats like a sore thumb, and can be stated in a single sentence. Rogers is not a good shooter. While his first season saw him hit just under 50% from the floor, his 20% shooting from three was not so good for a guard. Even mediocre shooters at the guard position often hit 30% from beyond the arc. His sophomore year saw things get worse in the shooting department, as he sank only 38% of his baskets from the floor – though he did get better from long range.

Shooting is not a necessity for a Thad Matta player to see the floor – that factor tends to be defense. However, Rogers will need to work on his shooting in a big way if he wants to see minutes for this team.

Role for the Team:

The Buckeyes are loaded at the guard position and Rogers will fit in nicely as he did the past year. His reputation for being a tough defender and working his tail off for the team will be a huge plus to this squad. The Buckeyes need to be challenged in practice and Rogers has the ability to provide some different looks from a defensive stand point. Look for him to get some playing time early in the season prior to the start of the B1G as he clearly has earned an opportunity to do. Whether or not that transfers into continued playing time down the stretch will depend on what he shows in his time on the court.

2012 Basketball Previews:
Sept 27th – Aaron Craft
Oct 3rd – Amedeo Della Valle
Oct 5th – Trey McDonald
Oct 7th – Evan Ravenel
Oct 9th – Alex Rogers
Oct 11th – LaQuinton Ross
Oct 16th – Shannon Scott
Oct 18th – Lenzelle Smith Jr.
Oct 23rd – DeShaun Thomas
Oct 25th – Sam Thompson
Oct 30th – Amir Williams
Nov 1st – Coaches