BIO: Matthew Alexander was born in Warrnambool (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Warrnambool basketball program. Alexander received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1990. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1990, 1991).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Matthew Alexander made his NBL debut with the Geelong Supercats at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

While a influx of cash had seen the Supercats return to the playoffs on the back of great seasons from Shane Heal, Bobby Locke, Daren Rowe and Jim Bateman, the team had been fighting to stay alive. The club’s financial woes almost saw them out of the league if not for a interest free loan they received from the NBL to keep them in the competition. The lack of finances resulted in the club unable to re-sign the majority of it’s roster, having to replace coach Barry Barnes with former St Kilda Saints player Steve Breheny and losing five of the team’s top six scorers to other clubs. Vince Hinchen (to Perth), Shane Heal (to Brisbane), Terry Dozier (to Newcastle), John Dorge (to South East Melbourne) and Jim Bateman (to Gold Coast) all exiting.

The Supercats attempted to fill the gaps by signing naturalised import Cecil Exum (via North Melbourne), Wayne Larkins (via South East Melbourne), rookie Matthew Alexander. Import Lafester Rhodes was also signed with the team playing out the season with only eight players getting regular minutes.

Rhodes (23.5 points, 7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks) put up impressive numbers during his stint with Geelong, but six games in and the team elected to replace him with Chris Harris (20.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.3 steals). Geelong was able to get productive seasons from both the returning Bobby Locke (31.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 steals) and new additions Exum (17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks) and Larkins (12.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists). Despite this, Geelong would still plummet to the bottom of the ladder, finishing dead last (2-22). This equalled the second fewest win total in a NBL season, a record set by Geelong’s zero win season in 1988.

Alexander would see limited playing opportunities with the Supercats, appearing in 22 games and averaging 5.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1 assists.

NORTH MELBOURNE GIANTS
1993
In 1993, the Giants chose not to re-sign long-term head coach Bruce Palmer who, since taking over in 1987, had led them to the semi finals five of six years and to the 1989 championship. His successor would be found in young Melbourne Tigers assistant Brett Brown whose appointment was deemed a cash-saving move by a team beginning to face years of financial uncertainty. Another sign of the Giant’s financial struggles became evident when they lost star import Scott Fisher to the ‘deeper pockets’ of the Perth Wildcats.

Brown began his search for Fisher’s replacement first with import Chuckie White, who failed to cut it during pre-season, before settling on Jason Reese. Reese was known around the league as ‘workhorse’ and dominant inside scorer that had spent the past two seasons with Hobart (1991) and Canberra (1992) and Mark Leader, who had became a naturalised Australian in 1993, replaced Fisher as team captain.

Reese went on to lead the team in scoring (26.4 ppg and 8.9 rpg), fellow import Paul Maley led the team in rebounding (22.5 ppg and 9.1 rpg). Alexander saw minimal playing time, failing to score a point across the entire season.

North Melbourne finished the season (13-13) sneaking into the final playoff spot. There, they would face familiar foes, Scott Fisher and the Perth Wildcats who had finished the season in first place (21-5). Despite winning game one at home (105-101), the Giants would lose games two (98-108) and three (104-117) to Perth to put a end to their season.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1994
Newcastle revamped its group in 1994, moving on from leading scorer Everette Stephens to hand the keys to former league MVP Derek Rucker, while Matthew Alexander (via North Melbourne) and Paul Simpson and Tonny Jensen (both via Townsville) were added to deepen the rotation.

Rucker opened with 18 assists in the first outing and followed with 40 points in Game 2, but an 0–3 skid prompted coach Tom Wisman to push for broader involvement, a shift that arrived in Round 4 at Geelong when he handed out 24 assists (with some reports listing 27) alongside a major scoring burst to deliver the club’s first win.

The Falcons finished 13–13 and ninth, missing the postseason to Illawarra on tiebreak despite identical records, with the early hole ultimately proving decisive, while Derek Rucker (25.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 10.6 assists, and 2.9 steals) led the league in assists and earned All-NBL Third Team honours during a midseason lift.

Terry Dozier (20.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), Michael Johnson (14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), and Tonny Jensen (13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) rounded out the primary scoring support, while seeking more playing time, Alexander’s move to Newcastle saw his numbers jump to 4.6 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, with him appearing in all 26 of the Falcons games)

1995
During the 1995 season, Alexander averaged 5.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists and helped the Falcons finish the regular season in a eighth place (17-9).

TOWNSVILLE SUNS
1996
Townsville retained almost all of its 1995 nucleus, with the lone tweak seeing Grant Kruger and Maththew Alexande (both via Newcastle) replace Lucas Agrums and Glen Stump (both released). Built around the headline trio of captain Derek Rucker, Clarence Tyson, and Cameron Dickinson—and coming off the club’s best campaign to date—expectations were buoyant. For Matthew Alexander, the brief was clear: high-energy minutes as a combo forward, rebounding, cutting, and keeping the tempo up with the second unit.

The blueprint stayed the same—Rucker’s push in transition, Tyson’s gravity at the rim, and Dickinson’s shot-making on the perimeter—and when those pieces synced, Townsville could blitz opponents.

After heavy setbacks to Perth (89–103) and Adelaide (77–117), the Suns punched back with a statement over Hobart (123–94), riding big nights from Dickinson (30 points), Rucker (28 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists), and Tyson (24 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals). Alexander changed the game’s tone off the bench with a burst of activity (14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 17:30).

A three-game stumble followed—including a slip to Gold Coast (99–102) and back-to-back defeats to Melbourne—before Townsville steadied with wins against North Melbourne (97–95) and on the road in Brisbane (104–89). In the Bullets result, Rucker (35 points and 16 assists) and Tyson (30 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists) combined for a knockout one-two, while Alexander (2 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 9:38) added hustle minutes as the rotation tightened.

The pattern held: when Rucker and Tyson topped 60 combined, the Suns were a tough out; when they didn’t, results swung the other way against sides like Gold Coast (twice) and Geelong. The finish, though, was all momentum—wins over Illawarra (130–122), Newcastle (114–100), and playoff-bound Canberra (103–100) closed a three-game streak and locked in 11th at (9–17).

Individually, the top end shouldered most of the load. Derek Rucker (26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.6 steals) dictated pace and late-clock offense. Clarence Tyson (22.8 points, 14.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks) owned the glass and took home club MVP. Cameron Dickinson (20.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 steals) cemented himself as the leading local scorer. Around them, Keiron Mitchelhill (7.2 ppg), Shane Froling (7.2 ppg), and Grant Kruger (5.8 ppg) rounded out the core rotation. For the focus player, Matthew Alexander (4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists across 19) provided timely bursts—highlighted by the Hobart game—and the inside play that helped keep Townsville’s second unit on the front foot.

CAIRNS TAIPANS
2000/01
Having been unable to find a roster spot in the NBL for five years, Alexander got a second chance with the Cairns Taipans. There he added veteran leadership for a team which had only been in the league for one season and averaged 3.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game. The Taipans finished the season in ninth place (6-22).