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 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
After finishing fourth with a 14-10 record and reaching the semifinals in 1992, North Melbourne entered 1993 amid major change. Long-term head coach Bruce Palmer was not re-signed after leading the Giants to the semifinals in five of his six seasons and to the 1989 championship, with Melbourne Tigers assistant Brett Brown appointed in what was viewed as a cost-saving move as the club began facing financial uncertainty. Reigning co-MVP Scott Fisher (to Perth), David Graham (to South East Melbourne) and Ray Borner (to Geelong) were among the major departures, while Paul Maley, Pat Reidy, Darryl Pearce, Rod Johnson and Mark Leader returned.

Brown initially trialled import Chuckie White as Fisher’s replacement before signing Jason Reese (via Canberra), while Paul Rees (via Brisbane) and Larry Sengstock (via Gold Coast) were also added and Leader replaced Fisher as captain. After playing 22 games with Geelong the previous season, Alexander (via Geelong) moved to North Melbourne and also played with the North East Melbourne Arrows during 1993.

Alexander (0 points across 1 game) saw almost no NBL playing opportunities under Brown, making his only appearance against Canberra at the AIS Arena on June 5. Alexander played three minutes and went scoreless without recording a rebound, assist, steal or block. Paul Rees (18 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 assist) and Leader (14 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) led North Melbourne, while Fred Herzog (20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) helped Canberra win 94-81.

Reese (26.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals across 28 games) led North Melbourne in scoring, while Maley (22.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals across 28 games) led the team in rebounding. Reidy (16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2 steals across 29 games), Pearce (11.6 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.2 steals across 29 games), Rod Johnson (6.8 points, 3.9 assists, and 1.6 steals across 29 games) and Leader (6.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists across 29 games) provided the other major contributions. North Melbourne endured a four-game losing streak from July 30 through August 22 before recovering to finish eighth with a 13-13 record and claim the final playoff spot.

Alexander did not appear during the quarterfinal series against minor premiers Perth (21-5), with North Melbourne winning game one 105-101 before losing games two 108-98 and three 117-104 as the Wildcats took the series 2-1 and ended the Giants’ 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).

Matthew Alexander played six seasons across five NBL teams. This included the Geelong Supercats, Townsville Suns, North Melbourne Giants, Newcastle Falcons and Cairns Taipans. He averaged 4.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 111 NBL games.