May 12, 2004

Cowley’s Elam signs to play basketball at San Jose State

Looking to play basketball in a top conference, Cowley County Community College sophomore Alex Elam recently signed to play for Western Athletic Conference school San Jose State University.

“The major reason I chose San Jose State was because it is in the WAC,” Elam said. “Really, my whole goal in coming to Cowley was to get to the highest level I could play at, and the WAC is rated the eighth-best conference in the country.”

Elam averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists this past season as he helped Cowley to a record of 23-9. Elam was deadly from beyond the three-point line as he shot a team-high 40 percent.

His most memorable game came when he drained eight three-pointers and scored a career-high 35 points in Cowley’s 120-66 win over Kansas City on Jan. 28.

Cowley head coach Randy Smithson thinks Elam’s work ethic will help him succeed at the next level.

“He was always the first guy in the gym and the last guy in the gym,” Smithson said. “Al is one of those guys that is going to do the work it takes to continue to get better.”

The Spartans play their home games in the $36-million Event Center, which seats 5,000. The Event Center also has 10 racquetball courts, a large weight room, a mini-gymnasium and an aerobics room.

Two WAC teams made it the NCAA Tournament last year in Nevada and the University of Texas El Paso. San Jose State also will play WAC schools Hawaii, Tulsa, Fresno State, Boise State, Southern Methodist, Rice, and Louisiana Tech.

Elam will get a chance to play against a former Tiger teammate of his in Francis Koffi, who will be a senior at Fresno State.

“Al came here to go to one of the better leagues in the country, and the WAC is one heck of a league,” Smithson said.

San Jose head coach Phil Johnson was hired to help rebuild the program after serving as an assistant to Lute Olson at Arizona, and an assistant to Tim Floyd with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.

Although San Jose struggled last season, Elam is looking forward to helping the Spartans get back on track.

“My dad always says anything you do try to do it your best, so I am going to work hard and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Elam said.

Elam feels he owes a lot to Cowley for helping him reach his goal of playing NCAA Division I basketball.

“Before I came to Cowley, I really stressed whether I was making the right decision,” Elam said. “But now I know it was the right decision. What coach Smithson did in helping me develop as a basketball player and in my mental toughness, this has probably been the best experience in my life.”

Smithson has enjoyed the experience of coaching Elam and hopes to have an opportunity to coach more players like him.

“Alex has great character, his game and his mind have grown so much since he has been here” Smithson said. “We hope to get more Alex Elam types who can play the game and also do well in the classroom. We couldn’t be any prouder of him. But his story is just halfway written. His best basketball is in front of him.”