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Senior Alexis Alexander
2/12/2018 8:59:00 AM | Women's Basketball
by Michele Schmidt, Assistant Sports Information Director
What do the Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Park, Beyoncé and Ben Stein (Bueller, Bueller) all have in common? Lexi Alexander, of course. All three have played a role, along with many teammates, friends and family, in shaping the Brooklyn Park, Minn., native's life.
What do the Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Park, Beyoncé and Ben Stein (Bueller, Bueller) all have in common? Lexi Alexander, of course. All three have played a role, along with many teammates, friends and family, in shaping the Brooklyn Park, Minn., native's life.
If you have had the pleasure of meeting the gregarious starting point guard for the Jackrabbits, you probably know that her personality lights up a room. You have seen her dancing through warm-ups on the court and flashing the big smile. Yes, that is Lexi, but dig deeper and this Gemini has many layers that will surprise you.
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First off, if you ask Alexander about her height, she will remind you that the average height of a woman in the United States is 5-foot-4 and she is taller than that. Oh, and there is only one time in her life that her height has bothered her. Enter Candace Parker.
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"I remember being in the doctor's office when I was younger and being told I wasn't going to grow much taller. I had this whole mental break down. I was crying and yelling 'I wanted to be as tall as Candace Parker!' She was my idol," she recalled. "I wanted to be as tall as Candace Parker. I was crying, saying, 'I'm never going to be as tall as Candace Park. No!' That whole year I felt short. I hated being short."
But Alexander's teammates helped shape her attitude.Â
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"I think because all my friends really shot up and were tall, I never felt short. Maybe because I was used to being around them that I didn't feel short. I've never been around people shorter than me. I'm used to being around my height or taller," she said. "My best friends are taller, I mean taller. I'm just comfortable about it. They have never made me feel short so it was probably on them, too. The only time I feel short is when we are hanging out and I take the time to really look up or when we are standing in front of a mirror and I think 'You really are tall.'
"Even coming here, I never felt short. My team never said I was little. Being a freshman and they were seniors and older, but not the height thing. I don't know why I never noticed it or felt it. I guess I feel it when I'm in the lane trying to get a rebound and someone taller grabs it above me. Nobody has made me feel short, none of my teammates and that is a testament to them. They still respect me even though I'm not as tall as them," she said.
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Alexander's world includes positive people. People striving for more, which is why Beyoncé has been part of her life.Â
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"I don't want to say I'm an entertainer, but I feel like I can entertain people. I just love it. I feel like she (Beyoncé) knows what she wants. She has a vision for everything. And she is confident in herself," she said. "I feel like that has been a lot of our struggles, not being confident in ourselves. On our worst day, we are still the best. I think everybody should know that. I still try to convince myself of that all the time. We have this view of who Beyoncé is and in reality, she is just a person. I feel like showing off this confidence in yourself and then just having this vision just like Beyoncé does."
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Alexander, who plans on being an entertainment lawyer, has always looked for more, but now, with maturity and Ben Stein, she has taken the next step.
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"I say this in the least cocky way, I don't feel like I'm going to live an average life. I've never really spoken about this out loud. A guy I know took what I thought in my head and repeated it to me. He verified everything I had in my mind. Now, I will say it sometimes out loud," she said. "I don't feel like I'm going to live an average life. I still feel weird saying it because I don't want to sound cocky. I feel like there are great things on the horizon. I don't know what it is yet. I learned that you have to surround yourself with people who think like you and who are trying to improve their lives and don't want to live an average life. This book, 'How Successful People Win by Ben Stein', opened my mind. You have to think successfully and it will come."
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Candce Parker, Beyoncé and Ben Stein have had their impact on Alexander, but mom and dad had just as much if not more.
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"My parents told me to just smile through it. You just have to find the good things. What can I improve? What is the positive in this situation? I feel like I'm a happy person because my parents are goofy and joke around and they are happy people," she said.
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The next time you see Alexander, she could be on the east or west coast helping the Lauren Hills of the world fight the record companies or she could have her own business. Where ever she lands, she will larger than life and living an above-average life.
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