English, Alexander
Basketball
b. Jan. 5, 1954, Columbia, SC
English scored 1,972 points in 111 games as a starting forward at the University of South Carolina, an average of 17.4 points per game. He was chosen in the second round of the 1976 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
As a rookie, the 6-foot-7, 190-pound English averaged just over ten minutes a game. That increased to almost twenty minutes in 1977-78. English then signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers, who had to compensate the Bucks with a first-round draft choice.
Indiana traded him to the Denver Nuggets during the 1979-80 season, and he blossomed as a scorer with Denver, averaging 23.8 points a game in 1980-81, 25.4 in 1981-82, and a league-leading 28.4 in 1982-83.
He continued to average 25 or more points a game for the next six seasons. English became a backup in 1989-90 and joined the Dallas Mavericks for his final NBA season in 1990-91. He then played in Italy for a year before retiring.
A very durable player despite his slender build, English was a quick, skilled performer around the basket and an excellent offensive rebounder.
In his 15 NBA seasons, English scored 25,613 points in 1,193 regular season games, an average of 21.5, and he also had 833 blocked shots and 6,538 rebounds. He added 1,661 points in 68 playoff games, an average of 24.4, with 371 rebounds.