(KBTX) - Aggie and former A&M Consolidated star Alex Caruso has a chance to be the first Aggie since Walter “Buddy” Davis in 1958 to win multiple NBA Championships.
Caruso won it all with the Lakers in 2020. Buddy Davis won an NBA title with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1956 and the St. Louis Hawks in 1958.
Caruso’s Oklahoma City Thunder are tied with the Indiana Pacers 1-1 after the Thunder took game two 123-107.
In game two of the NBA Finals, Caruso had 20 points for the second time this playoffs. He never eclipsed the 20-point mark during the regular season.
“He just relishes the moment,” Alex’s dad, Mike, said. “The bigger the stage, the bigger the stakes, the more it excites him and challenges him. And he loves playing in that sort of series.”
But it’s not his offense that’s been most impressive this postseason. Dating back to his time in the Maroon and White, defense became Caruso’s calling card.
“It’s like he’s two seconds ahead of everybody else on the court,” Mike said. “And that’s from an offensive standpoint - he knows when he’s going to make this cut because this defensive player is not going to be in position or where he moves to get a shot. And the same thing on defense. He knows what the offensive team is trying to do and how he’s going to take away what they do most of the time.”
Mike Caruso was the starting point guard for the late, legendary coach Eddie Sutton. Mike adopted Sutton’s coaching philosophy during his own coaching career: “Take a shot that you can make half the time. If you can’t make 50% of those shots, you shouldn’t be shooting it and play defense and take away the strengths of the other team.”
Alex has risen to the occasion, often times guarding the other team’s best players during this playoff run. And as his teammates joke, the ‘old guy’ on the team, Caruso, has been their leader.
“He’s always had that leadership inside of him,” Mike said. “And he even did it with, you know, guys like LeBron and Anthony Davis and some of those guys who have been around even longer than him. He’s always willing to share his thoughts and insight.”
That leadership, the Caruso’s hope, will guide the Thunder to three more wins.
“We got fitted for his first NBA championship ring,” Mike explained. “He put it on his index finger. He got it on the index finger, and now the next one’s going to be on the middle finger. So he’s looking to fill up his hand with championship rings before it’s all over.“
Game three of the NBA Finals is set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Mike won’t have to travel far for each game. Instead of a coast-to-coast like many NBA Finals matchups, it’s just a short, one-hour and 15-minute flight from OKC to Indianapolis.
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