2026 Q&A Series: Alex Egbuonu
Following the opening of the 2026 contact period in June, Alex Egbuonu’s recruitment picked up mightily with high major offers from schools such as Mississippi State, Marquette, Xavier, and most recently Auburn.
High major programs had added the junior to their fall open gym stops, as many more schools have shown interest in him. While the big-time college opportunities are very exciting, Egbuonu has been one of the top players in his class for a long time now.
Seeing his hard work and growth over the years start to come to fruition is truly gratifying. As we continue on with the 2026 Q&A series, I made a point to highlight the Nashua New Hampshire native near the start.
Here’s what we went through recently.
Alex, congratulations on the recognition you have been receiving from prospective colleges recently. What are some parts of your game that you have worked on improving recently?
First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to ask me questions about everything regarding my basketball journey, which means a lot to me!
This year I've realized the importance of conditioning and how it can take my game to the next level, as well as how necessary it is to play at the next level. This is because conditioning determines how long you can play. I now realize the importance of conditioning and have started to emphasize it.
Another thing that I have been working on is shooting the ball with a consistent form. I tend to either move my shooting hand to the right or the left, and it sometimes prevents the ball from going straight. I also sometimes tend to slow down my shot and I don't even realize it, and that makes the defender have time to contest my shot.
In this era of basketball, I have heard the phrase, “If you can’t shoot, you can’t play” and that is why I am working on keeping everything consistent.
During workouts, I always try to keep a constant reminder to stay low when dribbling the ball. My coaches are working with me on using my body and shoulders to help me get to my spots when attacking the basket.
They all believe that once I can learn how to use my broad shoulders and naturally strong frame to my advantage, I will be a matchup nightmare.
As I mentioned earlier, you’ve been a standout in New England for a long time now. I’ve talked to plenty of people who have seen you basically grow up during the grassroots seasons. Can you tell us a little about your basketball journey? When did you start playing basketball? Do you have any family history in the sport?
My mom used to play basketball in high school when she was younger, but other than that, no one else in my family has played basketball. I started learning about the game of basketball when I was four, at this time, I was living in Arkansas.
When I was five, my family and I moved to New Hampshire. My parents decided to sign me up for a kids' league at the YMCA of Merrimack. Many of the other kids parents saw that I could be really good, and so did my parents. This is what led me to want to play basketball on a more serious level.
From first to fourth grade, I started off playing basketball for a local Nashua program called “Jr. Biddy,” where I would play against other kids in Nashua. My coach at the time told me during my first practice with the team, “You must have a guardian angel watching over you huh?” This gave me the motivation that I could really make it far by just playing basketball.
When I was in third grade, my parents also signed me up for the Nashua travel team. I played on this all the way up to eighth grade and really built good connections, and still talk to a lot of those kids to this day.
From third grade to eighth grade, I've played for some incredible coaches like Coach Will Horne and Coach Jamie Spinner, who have coached at great AAU programs. A very memorable highlight from my sixth-grade year was my AAU team at the time, ASA Select, coached by Coach Spinner, becoming a top 10 team in the country.
I am currently playing under Coach Papile, owner of BABC.
Growing up I played a lot of sports like baseball, soccer and even swimming because I knew that it would be helpful in the long run.
Coach Leo Papile recently dubbed you as one of the “core four” for the BABC 2026 class with Amir Jenkins, Sam Fleming and Chase Geremia. Tell me about your experience with these four and some goals for your final grassroots season next spring.
My teammates are amazing, and I wouldn’t want to play my last year of AAU with anyone else! This upcoming spring will be our third season playing with each other on BABC. The chemistry we have is irreplaceable, and it shows when we play against teams on the Adidas circuit. Each year we have been short of making it to the championship, but we were never far off.
I feel as though this year we truly have a shot to make a lot of noise and surprise a lot of teams. Coach Leo and Coach Ruben have done an excellent job when it comes to the recruiting part and the new pieces we have added.
At the end of the day, we all know that our basketball journey will not end here, so we are all willing to do whatever we can to help the team when it comes to winning.
What are some goals you guys have as a team at Lawrence this year? How about you for your junior year?
As a team, I feel like we all have the same goal in mind, to win the ISL and to make it to the NEPSAC AA playoffs. Throughout my first two years at Lawrence Academy, we have never made it to the NEPSAC playoffs.
We want to be the team that brings Lawrence Academy basketball back to glory and make a playoff run. As a team, we use all the losses from last season as motivation when we are either in the gym working out or playing against each other. This year, I know we are going to surprise a lot of people.
Some individual goals that I have are to win Gatorade Player of the Year for Massachusetts, average a double-double when the end of the season approaches, and to be more of a leader on the court.
Overall, I want to prove to everyone that I am authentic and show everyone what I can do. I know it may sound like a lot I am striving to achieve, but I wouldn’t be saying all this if I was not confident in the work I have put in with my teammates to accomplish this.
We’ll end with this Alex. Since July, you’ve received four high major offers to some big time programs around the country. How has it felt to see your years of hard work earn you potential college opportunities? Do you have a dream school you’ve always wanted to play for? Any other schools showing interest you want to highlight?
It feels good to see that all the hard work and dedication is paying off. I owe a huge thanks to my parents for not allowing me to slack off and get lazy. I currently have offers from high majors like Xavier, Mississippi State, Marquette, and Auburn.
I know that this is still only the beginning as I still have two more high school seasons and one more year of AAU left, and other schools can reach out. I am not taking this experience for granted and am grateful and blessed to be able to be recruited to play basketball at the next level.
New schools that have reached out to either me or Coach Foustoukos, my coach at Lawrence Academy, include Miami, Georgetown, Villanova, Penn State, Seton Hall, South Carolina, West Virginia, Notre Dame, and Boston College.
Originally originating from the south, I have friends and family there. If you were to ask me this same question a couple of years ago, I would have said that my parents and I would love for me to attend school somewhere in that area. Now, ever since the recruiting process began, my family and I have decided to keep my options open.
The start of the NEPSAC season is on the horizon, and Egbuonu and his Lawrence squad are looking to build on last year’s season. Be sure to check them out live in action as things get underway in the coming weeks!
Sam Fleming
Alex Egbuonu
Amir Jenkins
Chase Geremia