EAST LANSING — There was a time last year where Isa Alexander really didn’t want anything to do with basketball.
And much of that had to do with not being able to play the sport she came to Michigan State for.
Alexander had played in just three games in 2023-24 before suffering a foot injury that kept her off the court for the remainder of the season.
The 6-foot-3 forward was on track and eager to get back to playing for the Spartans a year ago. But then just five days after she was cleared to play for the 2024-25 season her hopes were dashed again with another injury — this time tearing her ACL.
“Right after I didn’t want to touch a basketball,” Alexander said Tuesday Oct. 21 during MSU’s media day. “I didn’t want to go to practice. Obviously, I still went because I wanted to support my team. I was kind of in a really bad place.”
A support system helped Alexander find her way back. She leaned on teammates, coaches, her mother and her friends for support. And MSU associate director of athletic performance Claire Sporer also had a role in helping Alexander gradually find her way back to falling back in love with basketball again.
The more she was cleared to start doing basketball activities as she worked her way back from the ACL injury helped Alexander start to redevelop the same passion for the sport she had when she first started playing.
“It kind of felt like when I was 7 years old again and it was like, oh this is actually kind of fun,” Alexander said. “It was like you run and do this, then you jump and do that.”
Eventually, Alexander found her drive to get back to being on the court as she watched the rest of her MSU women’s basketball teammates play last season.
Now that chance has arrived for Alexander, who is eager to find a way to contribute for the Spartans as they aim to build off of back-to-back seasons with 22 victories that featured NCAA tournament appearances.
“I think I’m a great screener and good offensive rebounder,” Alexander said. “I know how to track a ball, so being able to just add that on top of what everybody else on our team can already do can get us to another level.”
MSU coach Robyn Fralick is thrilled to have Alexander back and said her presence can give the Spartans, who are ranked No. 23 in the preseason Associated Press poll, good versatility with matchups.
Fralick also sees Alexander being a valuable asset to counter other teams with size in the Big Ten.
“To be out two full seasons — that’s hard,” Fralick said. “The patience through that, the courage through that — one thing from her being out two years I’ve absolutely picked up on with her is she’s learned a lot about the game. I think of even two years ago to when she was playing until now, her feel and understanding of what’s going on has gotten a lot higher.
“She gives us a lot of versatility and gives us a different look. (She has) a lot of size, (is a) real rim protector and can guard.”
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow hm on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Two years of injuries behind her, MSU’s Isa Alexander finding love for basketball again
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
