Tennessee basketball: Kyle Alexander could surprise the Atlanta Hawks

Former Tennessee basketball player Kyle Alexander is working out for the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. The Hawks could walk away surprised at the long rim protector.

Don’t look now but there could be four former Tennessee basketball players suit up on NBA rosters next season. Okay, maybe I’m being too optimistic, but there has been good news for VFLs and the most recent deals with Kyle Alexander.

Chris Kirschner, the Atlanta Hawks beat reporter for The Athletic, posted on Twitter that six players were on the list to workout for the Hawks on Monday. Kyle Alexander (Tennessee) joins Javon Bess (St. Louis), Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Paul Scruggs (Xavier), and Josh Sharma (Stanford).

Sharma is the only other center from the list, but when you compare his numbers from last season, they outshine Alexander’s. Alexander averaged 7.3 points per game while grabbing 6.6 rebounds. He also accounted for 1.7 blocks per game and was very important to the Vols interior defense.

However, Sharma scored over ten points per game while pulling down 7.1 rebounds. The 7-foot-0 center from Stanford shot 67.3 percent from the field while attempting 6.3 shots per game.

Luckily for Alexander, he is still learning the game and hasn’t settled into any terrible habits. One of his best abilities is his ability to protect the rim. The Vols ranked 16th in the nation in two-point percentage defense in large part to Alexander controlling the paint.

Alexander finished his career with 185 total blocks in four seasons. His rebounding also improved notably on the defensive end keeping teams from second-chance points.

Look, I would be lying to you if I said Alexander is NBA ready. One of Rick Barnes worst mistakes was not redshirting Alexander in one of his first two seasons. I understand Barnes needed players but the team finished 31-35. Alexander wasn’t worth any wins his first two seasons so it wouldn’t have hurt in the rebuilding stage.

However, with his strong work ethic, Alexander is going to be a professional basketball somewhere even if that somewhere is overseas.