Coach Vince Alexander officially joined Laker Nation after being named the head men's basketball coach in March 2021.
Career Highlights
- 366 Career Wins
- 31 All-Conference Players
- NABC Regional Coach of the Year (2008, 2013, 2014)
- Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014)
- Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championships (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014)
- Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championships (2010, 2013, 2014)
- Peach Belt Conference Finals Appearances (2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014)
- Elite Eight Appearances (2013, 2014)
- Final Four Appearance (2014)
A NCAA Division II veteran, Alexander boasts a 366-337 record and has coached 31 All-Conference players across four institutions. He came to Morrow with 20 years of head coaching experience.
The 2024-25 season saw the Lakers finish with a record of 7-21 but saw some very strong performances. Coach Alexander's squad went 5-1 against SIAC teams including taking down Clark Atlanta, Edward Waters, and Morehouse. Coach Alexander saw the emergence of Aaron Pitts and DJ Wright who was first and second on the team in scoring. Pitts also scored his 1,000th career point this season. This season also saw the Lakers allow the fourth fewest points a game (73.5).
In the 2023-24 season, Alexander and the Lakers finished the season with a record of 7-21 and finished 3-15 in the Conference. This season saw the Lakers knock off a nationally ranked USC Aiken team on January 27th after Wes Williams buried a three with just seconds left in the game. The season also saw the Lakers take down NCAA Tournament qualifier, Emmanuel, in the first game of the season, 74-59, and swept USC Beaufort. Alexander also mentored Wes Williams, who finished his career tied for second all-time in three-pointers attempted and tied for sixth in three-pointers made.
In all, Coach Alexander learned that three of his former players went to go play professional basketball overseas. Included in that list is Ricardo Saams Jr. and Kobie Johnson. Saams Jr. played in Luxembourg while Johnson played in Azerbaijan.
In the 2022-23 season, Alexander and the Lakers finished the season 3-25, but this season came with a couple of milestone moments. In the 62-49 victory over Savannah State on December 3rd, Alexander earned his 350th career collegiate victory. This season also saw Ricardo Saams Jr. become the 9th Laker to total 1,000 career points. In addition, on February 11th, Saams Jr. broke the Clayton State University program record for the most career rebounds.
In his first season, Alexander and the Lakers went 8-20 (3-15 PBC). In that season, the Lakers played four ranked teams and played Georgia Tech and Georgia State in exhibition games. Coach Alexander produced one All-PBC selection in Jalen Shaw, who earned a pair of PBC Plays of the Month and one PBC Player of the Week honor.. Coach Alexander also mentored Xavier Womack and Ricardo Lynch, who signed to play professionally oversees.
Alexander joined Clayton State after a two-year stint as an assistant coach for Division I Rice University.
Prior to Rice, Alexander served as the head men’s basketball coach for Saint Leo University where he won over 50 games in four seasons. In his first season with the Lions, Alexander guided the team to a 19-12 record, the most wins by a head coach in their first season at Saint Leo.
Alexander's fast style of play saw the Saint Leo offense go from 64.2 points per game in the season prior to 83.4 points and an improved field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
Before joining Saint Leo, Coach Alexander spent 10 seasons (2005-15) at South Carolina-Aiken as the head men’s coach and amassed 196 wins with a .634 winning percentage and six 20-win seasons. Alexander remains the all-time winningest coach in school history.
While at Aiken, Alexander coached 14 All-Conference student-athletes including a pair of PBC Player of the Year recipients in Chris Commons (2008 & 2009) and Re’mon Nelson (2013). In 2014, Alvin Brown was named PBC Defensive Player of the Year while DeVontae Wright earned Tournament MVP honors in the same season.
From 2007-08 to 2013-14, USC Aiken won 168 games, turning around a program that had posted six consecutive losing seasons from 2001-07. During that span, the Pacers collected four PBC Regular Season Championships (‘08, 2012, 2013, 2014), five conference tournament championship game appearances (’08, ’09, ’10, ’13, ’14) and three tournament titles, including back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.
Both seasons culminated with trips to the Elite Eight and, in 2014, the Final Four. Adding to his accolades, Alexander was named the Herbet Greene PBC Coach of the Year in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 14. He also earned NABC Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2008, 2013 and 2014.
In 2013, he was a finalist for the Clarence “Big House” Gaines National Coach of the Year award.
During the 2007-08 season, Aiken lost in the conference title game to Clayton State 89-87. That game went into three overtimes and was the first and only conference tournament title the Lakers have won.
Alexander began his collegiate head coaching career at Mansfield University, where he led the Mountaineers from 1999-05, posting an 89-74 record. He earned his first 20-win season during the 2003-04 campaign and helped guide the team to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division championship in 2005.
Alexander earned his Associate of Arts degree in physical education from Blinn College (Texas) in 1987 and received his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and recreation from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1989. He earned All-Conference and All-Region honors at Blinn and served as the team captain for two seasons at Oklahoma Baptist.
Alexander Year by Year Record
| School |
Season |
Record |
Pct. |
Conf. Record |
Conf. Pct. |
Result |
| Clayton State |
2024-25 |
7-21 |
.250 |
1-17 |
.056 |
N/A |
| Clayton State |
2023-24 |
7-21 |
.250 |
3-15 |
.166 |
N/A |
| Clayton State |
2022-23 |
3-25 |
.120 |
1-17 |
.058 |
N/A |
| Clayton State |
2021-22 |
8-20 |
.289 |
3-15 |
.167 |
N/A |
| Saint Leo |
2018-19 |
13-16 |
.448 |
10-10 |
.500 |
SSC Quarterfinals |
| Saint Leo |
2017-18 |
12-19 |
.387 |
8-10 |
.444 |
N/A |
| Saint Leo |
2016-17 |
12-16 |
.429 |
6-10 |
.375 |
N/A |
| Saint Leo |
2015-16 |
19-12 |
.613 |
10-6 |
.625 |
SSC Semifinals |
| USC Aiken |
2014-15 |
13-16 |
.448 |
8-11 |
.421 |
PBC Quarterfinals |
USC Aiken
|
2013-14!*
|
33-4
|
.892
|
18-1
|
.947
|
PBC Champions
NCAA Regional Champions
NCAA Final Four |
USC Aiken
|
2012-13!*
|
25-8
|
.758
|
15-4
|
.789
|
PBC Champions
NCAA Regional Champions
NCAA Elite Eight |
USC Aiken
|
2011-12!
|
21-8
|
.724
|
14-4
|
.777
|
PBC Semifinals
NCAA First Round |
| USC Aiken |
2010-11 |
17-10 |
.630 |
10-8 |
.555 |
PBC Quarterfinals |
USC Aiken
|
2009-10*
|
20-11
|
.645
|
11-7
|
.611
|
PBC Champions
NCAA Second Round |
USC Aiken
|
2008-09
|
25-8
|
.758
|
16-4
|
.800
|
PBC Finals
NCAA Regional Final
|
USC Aiken
|
2007-08!
|
27-4
|
.871
|
19-1
|
.950
|
PBC Finals
NCAA First Round |
| USC Aiken |
2006-07 |
9-22 |
.290 |
3-14 |
.176 |
PBC Quarterfinals |
| USC Aiken |
2005-06 |
6-22 |
.214 |
4-16 |
.200 |
PBC First Round |
| Mansfield |
2004-05! |
18-11 |
.621 |
10-2 |
.833 |
PSAC Semifinals |
| Mansfield |
2003-04 |
21-7 |
.750 |
8-4 |
.666 |
PSAC Quarterfinals |
| Mansfield |
2002-03 |
18-11 |
.621 |
6-6 |
.500 |
PSAC Quarterfinals |
| Mansfield |
2001-02 |
9-16 |
.360 |
4-8 |
.333 |
N/A |
| Mansfield |
2000-01 |
10-16 |
.385 |
6-6 |
.500 |
PSAC Quarterfinals |
| Mansfield |
1999-00 |
13-13 |
.500 |
3-9 |
.250 |
N/A |
| Four Institutions |
Total |
366-337 |
.520 |
197-205 |
.490 |
24 Seasons |
! - Regular Season Champions
* - Tournament Champions
1999-2005 (Mansfield University - Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference)
2005-2015 (USC Aiken - Peach Belt Conference)
2015-2019 (Saint Leo University - Sunshine State Conference)
2021-Present (Clayton State University - Peach Belt Conference)
Updated 3/19/2025
