How Grit and Grind Took Alex McLean from 18-Year-Old Basketball Newbie to Coaching the Washington Wizards and Paige Bueckers

When some coaches finally make it to the NBA, they might be tempted to coast for a while. But from the time he was a kid, Alex McLean has never taken his foot off the gas pedal. Born with God-given musical gifts, he became so proficient on multiple instruments that the world-famous Juilliard offered him a full scholarship. Though he came late to basketball, Alex chose the hardwood over the concert hall and decided to try and win a spot on a college roster. And so began a new path that would eventually lead to him working with John Wall, Bradley Beal, and multiple other NBA All-Stars.

His early days on the court were not so successful. Because most of his peers had started playing in elementary school, they had several years of play under their belts, whereas Alex had spent this time in music practice and recitals and only seriously started hooping at age 18. His handles, jumper, and passing all needed work, but he decided that he’d earn more time with defense and rebounding. Alex figured that if he could be out there playing longer, then he’d have more opportunity to fine-tune his other skills in game situations.

This approach worked well as Alex’s game improved by leaps and bounds during two years of junior college play. “I wasn't very good, even though I was quite big – already 6’ 6’’ or 6’ 7’’ and still growing,” he said. “It was tough, man, because I wasn't good and was coming off the bench. I'd have a game where I’d show a little, but I was struggling. At the time I was dating a girl who was an All-American lacrosse player, and in one game, she scored more goals than I had points.”

Taking on the Haters

After two seasons at the JUCO level, Alex took a year off to further advance his individual offensive talents with trainer Jerry Powell from Basketball Results. “The work has to always come before the belief,” he said. “So if you're going to put in the work, later on down the line people will believe in you, and you'll start believing in yourself. But in the very beginning, it's a journey on your own, and you have to overcome those battles. Every day when you're bad, you’ve got to grind.”

Doing so was just as difficult on the blacktop as it was on the hardwood. It wasn’t only the hard fouls and tough competition that Alex had to stare down each time he got into a game, but sometimes also loud, relentless announcers at summer leagues (think back to those old AND1 Mixtape Tour videos).

“Playing streetball in New York is tough, and I remember one time this guy who was on the mic just ripping into me,” Alex said. “Finally in my third summer there, things started to click, and I felt like I was on a revenge tour, trying to get MVPs. I started to make a name for myself, prove people wrong, and talk back to guys like that.”

Alex’s improvement earned him the kind of offers he’d been working so hard for. He initially signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Missouri, but changed his mind when Liberty U came calling. The school had started making some noise in the NCAA Tournament as an underrated mid-major and would provide him with more playing time than he expected at a Power 5 program.

“Liberty was the perfect fit for me,” Alex said. “I believed in God, but when I got there, we had to go to church three times a week and couldn’t wear hats. I’m from New York so that was hard at first. But I needed the structure and grew in my faith. It was exactly what I needed. One of the top guys at Liberty took me under his wing, we got a new coaching staff, and then I was starting.”

He made the most of his opportunity, posting bigger totals in points and rebounds than at any other point in his career thus far. These performances were enough to earn Alex offers from several European pro teams when he graduated. After nine years traveling across the continent, Alex was considering heading to China on a lucrative deal but was offered an assistant coaching role at Liberty U. The latter only paid a paltry $800 per month, but Alex had already torn both his Achilles tendons and realized that this might be the perfect opportunity to transition into coaching.

Feeding the Beast

Only three weeks into his new position, he got a call from Tommy Sheppard, who’d just taken over as GM of the Washington Wizards. He asked Alex if he might be interested in heading to DC to oversee the team’s G League player assignments. Alex had once imagined being in the position of trying to move up from the development level to the NBA, but never saw himself helping other guys make the jump. Now he had an unexpected offer that he couldn’t pass up. Even though he’d just landed a dream job, Alex refused to settle for anything less than excellence.

“Every day I have to grind and hit my maximum output,” he said. “I didn’t grow up with money – we didn’t have anything. I’ve gotta feed the beast, keep fighting complacency, and empty the tank daily. Pain is a motivator. I want to achieve something because I come from a place with a lot of poverty and drugs. I want to overcome these things by any means necessary. God's gonna open the doors that I’m not able to, and then I’m gonna get to work.”

He brought this determined attitude into the Wizards organization from day one, eventually earning the confidence of the coaches, front office staff, and players like John Wall and Bradley Beal. But like at every other stop of his unique basketball journey, he first had to build a firm foundation from the bottom up.

“I started out working with the lowest guys on the chain, which is great because that's what I come from,” Alex said. “Coaching is a transfer of energy – two people could say the same thing but have a totally different impact. If you have a good relationship with the players and they trust you, you’ll be better able to convey information and they’ll go harder. Then you start to carve out a niche.”

Alex’s total commitment to getting the most out of the Wizards’ players who were scrapping for the last couple of roster spots earned him a promotion to head of player development. As his reputation grew, college stars like UConn scoring machine Paige Bueckers started reaching out to work with him during their offseason. The message he gives them is that no matter how much they’ve already succeeded, they need to bring the heat daily to fulfill their full potential.

“Are you willing to do the things everyone else is not doing?” Alex said. “And then, can you sustain that? You’d better think, ‘There is no limit to what I can do. I could change the game for generations.’”      

You can keep up with Alex on Instagram @alexmcleanbball and listen to our full conversation with him here. If you like what you hear, please leave a 5-star rating and short review, and subscribe. That will help us get connected with more ballers like you.