Terrific student. Great player. A born leader.
Can’t cook.
On her way to being named for the second time the Gatorade Player of the Year in West Virginia, Alexis Bordas netted 99 three-pointers, averaged 24 points and about six rebounds per game while leading he Lady Patriots of Wheeling Park to a Class AAAA state title. Bordas has scored more than 1,700 points through her junior year and she committed to Division I Duquesne University in Pittsburgh just a couple of weeks ago.
That means Bordas will play against teams like Princeton, Pitt, St. Bonaventure, and Purdue, and none of those opponents scare her.
A kitchen, though?
“Nothing about playing basketball on the college level frightens me,” the sharpshooter said. “But I think living on my own is the scariest thing right now because I’ve not done that at all. I have a wonderful family who are very supportive so not being surrounded by them is going to feel definitely different when it’s time for me to go to college.
“I’ll get used to it, I know, but right now, honestly, I can’t cook very well,” she said with a laugh. “So, that’s something I’m going to have to learn how to do.”
The Bordas family announced on August 19th that Alexis had chosen Duquesne over several other options, including WVU, Columbia University, and West Liberty, and the high school senior said the “People Factor” made the difference.
“Everyone I’ve met, from the coaches, the players, and the academic advisors were all great to me,” Bordas said. “Facilities are one thing, and Duquesne has great facilities, but with me, it was more about the people because that’s who I’ll be spending the next four years with whether it’s in-season or not. Teammates aren’t just teammates. They are the people I’ll be living with, so you want to know you can be friends and family with them, too, and that’s how I feel about the people I’ve met at Duquesne. It’s what convinced me that Duquesne had the balance I need for basketball and for academics.
“People have asked me if I’m scared about playing on the next level, and I think playing AAU has prepared me for that because most of my teammates and opponents have or will be playing college ball in the future,” she said. “Winning the national AAU championship this summer was a huge experience for me, but not just because we won but because of who I played against and what they taught me along the way. The recruiting process was a great experience, for sure.”
Alexis was a seventh grader at St. Vincent’s in Elm Grove when she met her very first college coach, but the first real offer was extended by the Lady Hilltoppers, and then came Youngstown State. In all, Bordas collected full-ride scholarship offers from eight schools.
“The short answer is yes; I am happy the process is over. It was a great experience, and it started with me at a pretty early age. It was a lot of fun for me to see so many different college campuses. I enjoyed that part a lot,” Bordas explained. “This past year, though, I really wanted to finish because of all of the phone calls and the traveling on weekends. It was always great to talk to the coaches, but I’m glad I’ve committed so now I can concentrate on my senior year and my last season with Park.
“I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything,” she said. “I am thankful for everyone, but I knew I was ready to make my decision this past summer. I knew I didn’t want it to extend into my senior year. I know now that Duquesne is going to be great for me and I’m excited to play on the next level.”
Up The Road
Her dad has an office in the Gateway Center in the downtown and she’s a big Steelers and Pirates fan.
That much, she knows.
How to drive and arrive on the Duquesne University campus?
“Well, no, not yet,” Bordas said with a smile. “But once I’m there, I know what my schedule will be. School, practice, dinner, workout, and bed. Or something close to that day after day.
“I know there will be time off from basketball, and free time to come home,” she said. “But that’s how I’ve wanted my schedule to be it through high school and it’ll be the same in college. I love that schedule. It’s how I choose to go about what I do every day.”
Alexis has worked with trainer Jeremy Hayes with Fadeaway Fitness for several years, and those sessions, she feels, helped excel as a member of the West Virginia Thunder AAU team that captured the Under Armour National Championship in July.
“Winning the national championship was an incredible experience. There was a total of 32 teams and we started playing the tournament in April and it continued through the summer,” Bordas detailed. “So, you just keep playing and if you lose, you’re out, of course, but we didn’t lose, and it was incredible.
“It was great because of my teammates, and because we got to celebrate with silly string and water guns.”
Now, though, she’s returned to Wheeling Park High for her senior year, and when her final season for the Lady Patriots begins at home against Spring Mills on December 6, the roster will be very different than the one that captured the state championship in March.
Not only were starters Natalie Dougherty, Meritt Delk, Jillian Huffman, and Ryleigh Hicks lost to graduation, but guard Lala Woods will miss her senior season this summer after suffering a torn ACL in June.
“Lala and I have played together since we were in kindergarten so I hated to hear that she hurt her knee and had to have the surgery. It’s terrible that she has to go through that, but I know her and I know she’ll work even harder to get ready to play in college,” Bordas said. “It sucks we won’t be able to play together again, but as far as high school, at least she played and won a state championship.
“We’ll have a whole new team,” she said. “Along with not having Lala, we lost great players to graduation so we’ll have a completely different way to go about what we’ll do. We do have some terrific seniors on the team who will finally get a chance to make a difference on the varsity level, and we will have some great underclassmen, too. We’ll be different, but I think it’ll be a good different.”
