Where did Alex Caruso go to college? Taking a look at Thunder guard's college career
Alex Caruso played four years with the Texas A&M Aggies from 2012 to 2016. After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, the guard played for one year with Oklahoma City Blue, the G-League Affiliate of OKC Thunder. He then joined the LA Lakers, with whom he won the NBA Championship in 2020.
In 2021, Caruso moved to the Chicago Bulls in free agency, and in June 2024, he was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey.
A look at Alex Caruso's college career
After an underwhelming freshman season, Alex Caruso progressed in his sophomore year as he averaged 9.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals. He started in 33 of the 34 games and his assists total (170) was the sixth-highest by an Aggie in a single season. Caruso was named Texas A&M's Most Outstanding Player at the annual awards banquet.
Caruso had career-high averages in his junior year, finishing with 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.1 steals. For a second straight season, Caruso led the Southeastern Conference in assists (182) and became the first SEC player to achieve this since Florida's Nick Calathes in 2008 and 2009.
In his senior season, Alex Caruso averaged 8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals and became Texas A&M’s all-time leader in career assists (649) and career steals (276). For his efforts in leading the Aggies to Sweet 16 in March Madness, Caruso was named to the second-team All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive Team honors by the NCAA's coaches.
He was also third-team All-SEC accolades from the Associated Press and was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by CBS Sports.
Alex Caruso grew up around the A&M program having worked as a ball boy. His father, Mike, played with the Creighton Bluejays for four years and is now working as an associate athletic director at Texas A&M. Talking about his transition from high school to college, then G League and finally NBA, Caruso said (via nba.com):
"I got to A&M, and me and this other guy, J-Mychal Reese, were the two local kids. J-Mychal was Top 40 in the nation, No. 1 in 6th grade, the prize recruit, and I was the guy who was, ‘All right sweet, we got a kid to stay home and he’s actually pretty good.’
"I wasn’t ready to play Division I basketball at the time, but we weren’t very good, and I got thrown into the fire. Honestly, it kinda just worked for me. I’ve always been someone that played better with better competition and learned by experience.
"From high school to college to the NBA, it all correlated. It took me (time at each level). From the G League to the two-way contracts, getting a taste, and now I’m reaping the benefits of those first few years of learning."
With a new team in 2024, it will be interesting to see how Alex Caruso gets on in Oklahoma.