Coppin State women’s basketball graduate student Jaia Alexander recently chatted with PressBox about her decision to transfer back home last year, settling in with a new coach this year and more. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 2021-22, earning MEAC Player of the Year honors for her efforts. She had previously spent two seasons at Clemson and three at Butler, though she missed two years with the Bulldogs. Alexander is a native of Baltimore and graduate of Roland Park Country School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in basketball?
Jaia Alexander: It’s always been a family thing. My two older brothers played basketball. They played it all the way up to the college level. My dad played. So it kind of just became a thing to fit in with the family, I guess. I wanted to just like my brothers and my dad. It became something that we all bonded over.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
JA: I would say my dad, [Reginald], has always kind of been my biggest influence. I think my game is pretty similar to his. He had that gritty attitude, getting on the boards, scoring. He was a scoring machine. So I just think it definitely was my dad. I definitely took after his game. He played for a minute at the D-III level, but he ended up giving it up.
PB: What is your favorite memory at Roland Park Country School?
JA: My favorite memory at Roland Park, that’s an easy one. Junior year, we were in Charleston, S.C., and we ended up winning that whole tournament. I got MVP and it was just a great time. It was one of the best moments I had in high school basketball.
PB: Why did you choose to transfer to Coppin State after two seasons at Clemson and three at Butler?
JA: I chose to come to Coppin just simply because it was close to home. I got to finish my career with my family watching. And plus the atmosphere at Coppin State, it was unlike any other program, and I think they showed that last year during the season with all the fans that came out. The staff supported me, my teammates supported me. It was definitely just a family atmosphere and I felt like I belonged there.
PB: What’s your favorite memory so far at Coppin?
JA: My favorite memory so far at Coppin is probably beating Marshall, [77-69], on the road last year, especially being down. That deficit that we were facing, everybody kind of counted us out. The crowd was heckling us. Things weren’t looking too good, but that [24-9] fourth-quarter spurt — I had 14, and then my teammates hit some big shots and we ended up pulling it off on the road and we shocked them right in their own gym.
PB: Coppin has a new coach in Jermaine Woods. What’s been the vibe so far? What can fans expect?
JA: The vibe has been great. We’re basically just rebuilding the culture over there. We’re just having more of a trusting, loyal type of environment where we can all just count on each other. We all have each others’ backs. Basically, the fans can expect a better year than last year, for sure. The goal is [nothing] short of a championship, but we’re going to be exciting, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to give it all we have. And we have some pros on the team this year, some potential pros, and we’re going to show what we have. It’ll be fun, it’ll be exciting and we should definitely win some games and shock some people again.
PB: Who is standing out in practice so far?
JA: We have Nadjy Tyler. She’s our big. She missed last year — she had a torn ACL — but she’s back this year. She’s looking good, moving good, best shape of her life. We’ve got Colleen Bucknor. Colleen has gotten bigger, stronger from the weight room. She’s more confident in herself. She’s going to look good. We’ve got Jewel Watkins. She was [on the MEAC All-Rookie Team] last year. Jewel looks good, more confident as well. She’s moving great. And then we’ve got myself coming back, so I think we’re good. Plus we’ve got a big lineup, we’ve got some size, so I think we should be pretty good.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Coppin State?
JA: My favorite thing about Coppin State has to be probably just the energy, the supportive atmosphere. The home games are insane. The support that we get, that I get is like no other school that I’ve been to, just the support that we receive.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
JA: It’s my hometown, so I guess I have to go with the crabs. I love it here. I [ate] crabs all summer.
PB: What’s your favorite crab spot?
JA: Bo Brooks [Crabhouse & Tiki Bar].
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
JA: I would go with CB, Colleen Bucknor. We’re both into shoes off the court, so we spend so much time together looking up shoes, counting up our money trying to buy shoes, putting it together. That’s basically our friendship right there. If a shoe comes out that I like, I send it to her. She sends it to me. We just bond over shoes a lot. We’re totally into that.
PB: Who did you look up to early in your career at Clemson or Butler?
JA: I think at Clemson, since I was so young I had someone on the team that I looked up to. I looked up to two people, really: Nelly Perry and Aliyah Collier. At the time, coming into the ACC as a young buck, I just didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know where I would fit. I think looking at both of them, Nelly Perry was the leading scorer on our team and I wanted to be her. I wanted to help the team win and score just like she was. Aliyah Collier just really taught me how to work hard. She taught me that effort is everything. Once you give effort, it doesn’t really matter, it’ll work out for you in the end. I think both of them really helped me find myself at the collegiate level, because that’s kind of how I’ve played since Clemson — just scoring and effort. That’s all I try to do.
PB: What advice would you give younger players?
JA: I would tell them just not to give up. I think I’m really big on resilience. I’m really big on you’ve just got to try again. Just keep coming. You keep coming, it’ll work out. You’ll come up on the other side, for sure. It definitely won’t be easy. There’ll be times where you question your love for the game, but I just think if you’re there for yourself and you have a good circle around you of people that are there for you, then it’ll work out. Just don’t give up on yourself.
PB: What are you goals after basketball, whenever it ends?
JA: Hopefully that’s a long time from now, but when it does end I plan to work in the front office for the WNBA, hopefully doing their marketing, and if not the WNBA then any other professional sport. … I got my undergrad in business marketing and now I am working on my master’s in criminal justice.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Coppin State Athletics