Where does one begin when highlighting the Drury basketball career of one of the program’s greatest? The best place may very well be his first game in a Panther uniform. Alex Hall, #33, took to the floor for the first time on November 16, 2009 when Drury hosted Southwest Baptist University in venerable Weiser Gym. That night Alex was 10-14 from the floor, 8-11 from three-point range and 5-5 from the charity stripe. The Panthers won, 99-86, and #33 led all scorers with 33 points in his first game. That jersey #33 would ultimately be retired on February 21, 2015. Few players have a career and even fewer programs have a player they can enjoy watching for four years with the skills of Alex Hall.
Though he is known primarily for his scoring and shooting ability, Alex did whatever was necessary to help his team win. In his four years at Drury the Panthers made three NCAA-II National Tournaments, highlighted obviously by the 2013 NCAA-II National Championship team. That special season the Panthers finished with a 31-4 mark. In his four years the Panthers were 94-30 overall, good for an amazing .725 winning percentage.
Individually, Alex’s accomplishments included earning First Team All-America honors by several organizations his senior season. Over his career he earned All-America honors and numerous other accolades including All-Region and Region Player-of-the-Year honors. He was a four-time Great Lakes Valley Conference selection, twice earning first team honors.
When looking at his career from a purely Drury basketball record perspective his accomplishments place him among the all-time greats. Alex is Drury’s #3 all-time leading scorer with 2,200 points. His uncanny ability to score from long range places him at the top of the list for three-pointers made in program history with 389. In the magical 2012-13 season Alex made 125 treys, a single-season record. It is worth noting that he was 125 of 269 that year, good for an amazing .465 long range shooting percentage. That same season Alex set the single-season scoring record with 711 points, good for a 20.3 scoring average. Alex also holds the Drury record for most consecutive free throws made, connecting for 35 straight his freshman season. He was a proven offensive weapon from the moment he stepped on the basketball floor. But more than that, Alex could score when the moment called for it.
In the magical nine-game post-season run of 2013, Alex averaged 24.7 points per game. In that stretch he was 64-75 from the charity stripe (.853), including a 12-12 outing vs. South Carolina-Aiken in the Elite 8 (he scored 33 points). He was 37-70 from long range (.526), including a 7-10 performance vs. Western Washington in the NCAA-II semifinal (he scored 35 points). In the national championship contest he was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, including a pair of free throws with :23 on the clock to give the Panthers a 74-73 lead and the final margin of victory for the 2013 national title.
Panther head coach Steve Hesser has fond memories about his All-America player. “Alex Hall had an outstanding four year career at Drury. He was the ‘rifleman’ who had the ability to beat the other team from a long distance out on the floor. He was a competitor and was a good teammate. In particular, Alex and Brandon (Lockhart) complemented each other so well. I used to call them ‘Butch and Sundance’ and they were like peanut butter and jelly in that they fit together in their styles of play. The thing that probably best characterizes Alex was, number one, he was a tough kid who never backed down. Sometimes we had to prod him to get in a stance and guard somebody. But with that being said, he was tough, he’s a competitor and he could really shoot the dang basketball. He is a special player in the history of our program and will always be. Congratulations to him on this honor. It is very well deserved.”
Alex graduated from Drury on May 18, 2013 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. A Management major, he continues to reside in his hometown of Springfield and is now a medical device sales representative for Smith & Nephew. It hardly seems like it has been five years since his marvelous Drury career, and that special 2012-13 season, came to a close. But those memories and the accomplishments of one of Drury’s greatest basketball players will always be fondly remembered. For on this day, Saturday, December 1, 2018, the Drury Community, along with family, friends, coaches, teammates and fans, share in Alex Hall being forever enshrined as a member of the Drury Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2018).
