The Daily Nole

FSU Women’s Hoops: Graduate Transfer Alix is a “Perfect Fit”

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Guard A.J. Alix has never spent much time outside of Texas, but she’ll be taking her talents to Tallahassee for a senior season that she hopes ends in Columbus.

“I just want to thank my family for supporting me,” Alix said, including her former coaches and teammates. “It’s been a long two months, but I just want to thank everybody.”

Alix, a graduate and former TCU guard, announced Sunday night that she would finish her collegiate career at Florida State. Last season, she led the Horned Frogs, averaging better than 13 points and 4.6 assists per game.

“Everything about it is amazing,” Alix said of her new school. “I had a great connection with the coaches. They made me feel comfortable, made me feel at home. Playing with elite players next year is going to be amazing.”

After WNIT appearances in her first two years in Fort Worth, TCU finished just 12-18 last season. Alix will be joining a team that has made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Seminoles are losing four seniors, including their two primary ball-handlers in Leticia Romero and Brittany Brown. FSU however, still has a talented cast returning, headlined by reigning ACC Player of the Year, Shakayla Thomas, ACC Sixth Player of the Year, Chatrice White and sharpshooter Imani Wright.

“I feel like we can go far, like national championship far,” Alix said. “We have the tools. I feel like I’m the perfect fit. I’m ready for it.”

For FSU to get back to the Elite Eight and perhaps its first Final Four, Alix will need to mesh well to replace what’s leaving in the backcourt. Brown was an All-ACC defender while Romero was an All-ACC first team performer and an Olympic silver medalist for Spain. Alix acknowledges that the void she has to fill will not be small.

“She’s a great person on and off the court,” Alix said of Romero. “It’s going to be a challenge to fill those shoes. I got a lot of work ahead of me. I feel like I can do it, but it’s going to take that work.”

Numbers-wise, Alix’s production wasn’t that much different from Romero’s. Romero was more efficient, but in terms of scoring and assists, Alix’s averages were higher. Her steals per game average was less than a tenth of a point lower.

Despite averaging better than 13 points, shooting a team-best 39 percent from deep and being named All-Big 12 honorable mention two years in a row, Alix said the most important aspect of her game is as a facilitator.

“(FSU is) getting a pass-first point guard,” she said. “I can shoot it, I can score the ball, but I’m looking to make everyone around me better. I’m looking to build my teammates’ confidence. I feel like once I share with my teammates, that’s when I can score the ball and that’s when things open up for me.”

Among many things that appealed to Alix about Florida State was the coaching staff. Alix will have the chance to play for the school’s all-time winningest coach in Sue Semrau, who has guided FSU to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances in 12 years and three Elite Eights.

“It’s a blessing to even get an offer,” Alix said. “Coach Sue and me, we’re super close. On my visit, we were out to eat and she said ˜I feel like I can trust you’. I looked at her and I said ‘you can’. It’s crazy that I just met them through the recruiting process and I’m never been as close to any coaches throughout the process. I feel like I’m that coach on the court and I think she can teach me a lot of great things to get me where I want to be.”

Alix isn’t worried about the move from the Big 12 to the ACC, which had seven teams in the NCAA Tournament last season, including two in the Elite Eight. The change of venue is also something she finds exciting. The biggest challenge, she said, is adapting to a new system.

“All coaches have a different way of coaching,” she said. “I have to learn all the terms. I feel like I’m a quick learner, so I think I can get it. When I’m on the court, I’m competing with myself. I’m not worried about who is guarding me, who I’m going to have to guard. I feel like my biggest challenge is coming in and learning everything.”

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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