Alex Poythress is a very athletic 6'7" forward from Clarksville, Tennessee, hometown of Pat Summitt, Shawn Marion, and Trent Hassell. He's made the quick and relatively smooth assimilation into the Georgia Stars AAU program , where he teams with Duke recruit, Tony Parker. The laconic forward spoke with us about the latest in his recruitment, playing with Parker at this level and the next, and his impressions of Duke.

Let's start with recruiting. What schools are after you right now?

The schools would be Vandy, Memphis, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Alabama, Stanford, Duke, Texas..I've got a lot. Ohio State, Minnesota, and Marquette.

Which of those are offers versus those expressing serious interest? [private]

UConn has offered. Georgia, Florida, Vandy, Tennessee, Miami, Alabama, Stanford, Marquette, and Memphis. There might be a couple of other schools, but that's all that I can remember right now.

That's plenty. Now, which schools came in recently to watch you during your "open gyms?"
 

Duke, Ohio State, Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Memphis, Marquette, Vandy, and Tennessee. Alabama came to my open gym as well.

Do you have any timeline for when you'd like to decide by?

I'd like to cut my schools down by the end of the summer and then take my visits in the fall.

And you must be a pretty good student to have some of those schools interested in you.

Oh, yeah, I have a 3.9.

Congratulations.

Thanks.

Finally, there's somebody around here cracking the books.

(laughs) Oh, yeah. I try.

Can you describe your game for an audience that may not have seen you play in person?

I'm like an athletic wing player that can post up small defenders and can take bigger defenders away from the basket. Just being a really versatile player that can help a coach or a team in whatever way is necessary.

In terms of a position, what do you view yourself as?

A wing player. A 3 or a 4.

What would you like to improve upon?

I'd like to get my outside shot to become more consistent and work on my ball-handling as well.

Who are some players that you try to emulate?

I don't really try to emulate nobody. I just try to play out there.

Who's been the most difficult match-up or player for you to defend so far?

The most difficult match-up was probably against Andre Drummond. We played him in Arkansas.

Sure, he's an athletic 6'10' to 6'11" guy.

Yeah, he was tough guy to defend.

Whenever you decide on a program, what are you ideally looking for?

Schools that have demonstrated good player development, a quality coaching staff, academics, and finally just a good fit for me.

What schools have you visited so far?

I've visited Florida, Georgia, Memphis, Vandy, Tennessee, and Alabama

Will distance be a factor for you?

No, sir.

What would you like the audience to know about you away from the court?

I like to play tennis.

Excuse me.

I like to play tennis.
 

Wow. That's another thing that I don't hear very often.

(laughs) Yeah, yeah.

Do you play on the school's team?

Yeah, I play.

What are you first singles?

No, I'm doubles.

And can you talk about playing alongside Tony Parker?

Oh, he's a good player. He's unselfish. He'll like pass the ball, if he doesn't have his shot. He's a good, dominant post player.

What's you current height and weight?

I'm 6'7 1/2" and 216 pounds.

Whenever you get close to deciding, who will you turn to for guidance?

Probably my mom and my high school coach.

Physically, what are you going to try to work on this summer?

Just lifting a lot of weights. Building my arms.

In terms of in your community, with your success on the court and in the classroom, do you view yourself as a role model?

Yes, at my school, we have this thing called freshman focus. I just try to help the freshmen get acquainted to high school and stuff like that. I do that as like a leader.

You're a mentor?

Yeah.

Lastly, you and Tony have a bit of an overlap in terms of schools that are interested in you. Have you talked about playing in college together?

No, we haven't talked about it yet, but we might though because we're roommates and stuff like that.

One of the programs that you and Tony have in common is Duke. What do you know about their program and can you talk about them a little bit?

I know Duke is a good school and has a very good track record. Coach K's a great coach. They've been in the finals and like all of this stuff. They're in the finals like every other year.

Which coach came to visit you recently?

Coach James.

Do you follow college basketball pretty closely?

Yeah, I love watching basketball.

Thanks for your time.

Oh, alright, thanks. [/private]