No Go For Joe

Despite an impressive campaign, Joe Alexander will not be representing the Bucks in this year's NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Not only did he have less votes than the Thunder's Russell Westbrook, but the winner of the fan vote, Rudy Fernandez, more than doubled Alexander's total. The numbers are sort of embarrassing.

At first, I considered Alexander to be a long shot because a white guy from West Virginia that now comes off the bench for the Bucks doesn't exactly scream star power. But as the voting continued, and Alexander's effort to get in the contest became more and more impressive, I thought the dark horse might be able to pull it off. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

I liked the NBA's idea of opening up a slot for fan voting, but as soon as Rudy Fernandez was one of those contests, we should have known it was over. Anytime you have a foreigner eligible for fan voting, nobody else really has a chance. As hard as the Greater Milwaukee area may have pushed for Joe to get in, it's sort of hard to compete with the entire country of Spain. It's the same reason why Yao Ming will always be an all-star, and why Yi Jianlian may very well be one this year.

It was a good run though, and it pushed Joe Alexander into somewhat of a national spotlight. No please, Hammond, don't give him up if you are going to trade for Conley.