Ex-Kansas forward Cliff Alexander injures knee in pre-draft workout for Los Angeles Lakers
Tuesday brought some more bad cards for former Kansas forward Cliff Alexander.
During a pre-draft workout in Los Angeles, Alexander suffered a mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, according to reports. Alexander is expected to miss three to five days, according to ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford, but he appeared to avoid a major injury.
Alexander was in town to meet and workout in front of Lakers coaches and officials. The Los Angeles Times first reported the injury.
The setback came one day after Alexander drew attention for some comments he offered during an interview with DraftExpress.com. In the interview, Alexander said he was “dealt a bad deck of cards” during his freshman season at Kansas.
“It just didn’t go as planned, as I planned it,” Alexander said.
When asked whether he was alluding to an NCAA investigation that derailed his season, Alexander said no.
“Just overall, everything,” Alexander said. “When I was playing, I wasn’t very dominant. I didn’t live up to my expectations, the way I was supposed to, and then when the suspension came, it just made me go downward.”
When asked about his limited playing time during his freshman season, Alexander said: “I’m gonna leave that to Coach (Bill) Self.”
Alexander, a 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, averaged 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds while playing 17.6 minutes per game during his freshman season. A former top-10 recruit, Alexander also dealt with injuries to his foot, chest and back before the suspension ended his only college season. Earlier this spring, he declared for the draft and headed home to Chicago to prepare for the draft.
Alexander is projected as an early- to mid-second round pick in most NBA mock drafts. According to Draft Express, Alexander is predicted to be drafted No. 42 overall. NBA Draft analyst Chad Ford of ESPN has Alexander ranked No. 32 on his big board of draft prospects.
To reach Rustin Dodd, call 816-234-4937 or send email to rdodd@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rustindodd.
This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Ex-Kansas forward Cliff Alexander injures knee in pre-draft workout for Los Angeles Lakers."