Alex Pledger
| No. 35 – Southland Sharks | |
|---|---|
| Position | Centre |
| League | NZNBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
27 March 1987 Blenheim, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Listed height | 215 cm (7 ft 1 in) |
| Listed weight | 119 kg (262 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Hamilton Boys' (Hamilton, New Zealand) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2009 / Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
| Career history | |
| 2009–2011 | Waikato Pistons |
| 2009–present | New Zealand Breakers |
| 2012 | Auckland Pirates |
| 2016–present | Southland Sharks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Alex John Pledger (born 27 March 1987) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Southland Sharks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also a regular member of the New Zealand national team.
Pledger played NCAA Division I basketball for two seasons with the University of Missouri Kansas City Kangaroos. In his freshman season, he saw action in eight games while playing sparingly off the bench. Pledger saw significantly more action in his sophomore year, playing in 29 of 32 games while starting 23 of them. He averaged 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and added 31 blocks, which ranked third in the Mid-Continent Conference.
After a foot injury limited him to one game in the 2007–08 season, Pledger transferred to Belmont Abbey College in 2008 for his final college season. Pledger played in twelve games for the Division II Crusaders in 2008–09, averaging 12.1 points to go along with a team-leading 5.9 rebounds and 19 blocks.
After graduating from Belmont Abbey, Pledger returned to New Zealand and joined the Waikato Pistons. He played in eight regular season games for the Pistons in 2009, averaging 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds and helping the Pistons finish on top of the ladder with a 14–2 record. The Pistons went on to win their second consecutive championship in 2009 with a 2–0 Finals series victory over the Nelson Giants. His stint with the Pistons led to him being picked up by the New Zealand Breakers as a development player for the 2009–10 NBL season. In his lone season as a development player, Pledger appeared in nine games and averaged 1.7 and 1.4 rebounds. He returned to Waikato for the 2010 New Zealand NBL season and proved to be an impressive post player, averaging 11.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 17 regular season games. With a 13–5 second-place finish, the Pistons made it back to the Finals series where they were defeated by the Wellington Saints in three games.
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