Fleetwood’s Alexis Hess enjoying front-row seat for some of best basketball in nation
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
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Alexis Hess has learned a lot during her first year of college . . . about mechanical engineering, her major . . . about college life and time management . . . and about basketball.
Lots about basketball.
As a freshman at Kansas State the Fleetwood grad has a front-row seat for some of the best women’s basketball in the nation, including a trip to Iowa where the Wildcats took down Caitlin Clark’s team on their home court early in the season.
“The atmosphere in there was crazy,” said Hess. “Being able to get a win in their home arena, it was honestly such a memorable moment and I’m happy I was able to experience. We definitely made a statement with that win.”
Kansas State is enjoying its best season in nearly 15 years. The Wildcats are 25-6, ranked No. 16 in the nation and play No. 6 Texas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Monday in Kansas City. They spent the early months of the season ranked in the Top 10 after that win over Iowa and a 20-1 start.
The competition for playing time is fierce; Hess, a three-time All-State pick, knew it would be when she committed two years ago. She learned before the Wildcats’ first scrimmage in October that she would be redshirted this season.
“(I was) definitely disappointed,” she said. “I came here to play, but I knew that I had to look on the brighter side: I get an extra year of education and I still have four years of eligibility. I made sure that I found the positives in the decision.
“It was the right choice to make, because there’s 15 of us on the team and in the rotation there are only eight or nine girls (who see playing time). I decided it’s the best choice for me, because I didn’t want to let a year go to waste.
“I’ll be able to soak everything in and learn the system and listen to coach (Jeff) Mittie and what he’s saying so that I’m ready.”
(Tim Macrina photo)
Hess didn’t play on top teams during her four seasons at Fleetwood; the Tigers never won a division title and won only one postseason game during her four seasons. Still, she was a singular success, earning All-Berks honors four times and scoring over 1,400 points.
She sought out top-level competition by playing with Ohio United during the AAU spring and summer season. That helped her prepare for college ball — but only to a point.
“I played on a high-level AAU team, but honestly nothing compares to college,” she said. “It’s a whole different level. The competition level is like 10 times harder: The pace, the conditioning. Everything about it.
“No matter how good you are in high school, or in AAU, you start at the bottom and work your way up. The pace of the game is a lot faster. Being able to do everything I was before but at a faster pace is what I’ve been working on.”
Even though she won’t appear in any games this season Hess is still very much part of the team as a redshirt. She’s at all team meetings and functions, goes on road trips and sits on the bench with her teammates during games.
Most importantly she’s at practice every day going up against some of the top players in the nation, such as all-conference picks Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell.
“They’re making me better, as well as me making them better for the next game,” said Hess, a 6-1 forward. “It’s a good experience just build my skills, learn the pace of the game, work on things every day. (I’m) figuring out my strengths and weaknesses to be able to fix them later on.”
Because she’s on the scout team Hess actually is getting more minutes on the practice floor. That can only help down the line.
“I feel I’m getting better,” she said. “I see a huge step in progression from when I came in the summer: Strength-wise, skill-wise. The coaches have helped me with that, as well as getting all these reps in practice. I feel I’ve really developed as a player, so I think I will do well in the future.”
