One Texas State starter has held onto the basketball that was placed in his hands at the age of 2.
Alex Peacock, junior forward, had his first glimpse of the game of basketball when his father, Turhan Peacock, gave him his first basketball.
Years later, he began to understand the overall concept of basketball and why it was important to his father.
“When I became of age, he told me that I could do what I want with it, but that was the sport him and my uncle understood the most,” Peacock said. “He told me I could play other sports as well, but this is the one he could really help out with.”
Peacock’s family were not outsiders to the sport. Peacock’s father and uncle made names for themselves in college basketball.
“My uncle played at Kansas and my dad played at Purdue,” Peacock said. “My uncle is actually in the Kansas Hall of Fame.”
Peacock, a Bloomington, IIl. native, began his high school athletic career at Normal Community High School in Normal, Ill.
“Growing up, I played basketball, football and baseball,” Peacock said. “Basketball was the one that kind of stuck. It is the one I had the most love for.”
Peacock averaged 19.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in his senior year of high school. Peacock was named to the Second Team Illinois Basketball Coaches Association 3A/4A All-State. The forward was also selected as the co-Pantagraph Player of the Year.
Peacock took his talents to Iowa Western Community College for two years after high school as an applied arts and science major. There, he was selected for the NJCAA All-Region XI Second Team.
Peacock averaged 10.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game at Iowa Western. He shot 48.6 percent from the floor and 75.5 percent from the free-throw line.
From there, he moved to San Marcos in the summer of 2017 to join the Bobcats.
“After my sophomore year at Iowa Western, Texas State was the one who showed the most love,” Peacock said. “I had already seen Coastal Carolina and another team in Nebraska. When I came on my visit here, it just seemed like home. It was the school that just felt like home and was the best fit.”
Peacock found himself coming off the bench with only two returning forwards, which was something new for him.
“Starting the season coming off the bench was different,” Peacock said. “I had not done that for most of my career.”
Early in the season, Peacock was asked to fill in for a starter. He takes this job seriously and is ready to do whatever it takes to keep his spot.
“When I got the position, I just wanted to make it mine,” he said. “I am a competitive person, and so when I want something you are not going to take it from me without a fight.”
Overall, Peacock is happy with where he is right now and only wants to work harder to get better. Although he started at a very young age, Peacock is far from ready to give up something that bonds him and the father figures in his life.