UC Merced’s Wu content as role player

Alexis Wu’s stat line rarely jumps out of the box score.

And that’s just fine with the UC Merced senior.

Her game has to be seen live to understand the impact she has on the Bobcats each game. There’s a stigma associated with the term role player, but it’s a label Wu happily embraces, gladly letting others do the scoring while she does the dirty work that’s helped UC Merced achieve its best season in school history.

The Bobcats (12-11) will try to keep that going Sunday when they travel to Vallejo to take on top-seeded Menlo College in their first California Pacific Conference Tournament appearance. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Cal Maritime.

“I’ve never really cared about getting recognition,” Wu said. “I’ve always been happy to do whatever my team needs me to do to win.

“I would rather be recognized for my defense or assists. I like doing the little things, because I feel it makes a difference in the end.”

It’s made a big difference in UC Merced’s third year of competition.

At 5-foot-4, Wu isn’t an intimidating presence on the court. She makes up for her lack of height with effort and acumen.

With the ability to get to the basket and a good mid-range jumper, Wu is definitely capable of more than her 6.9 points per game. Instead, she focuses on the minutiae, leading the team in assists (69) and ranking second in rebounds (89) and steals (43).

In addition to her physical abilities, Wu possesses the intangibles coaches look for. She has an intense competitive spirit, poise when the game is on the line and is a natural leader. It makes her the perfect calming force on a still very young Bobcats team.

“Alexis is the natural leader by example,” Bobcats coach Kevin Pham said. “She never takes a play off in practice. She brings a natural intensity and enthusiasm to the game that rub off on her teammates.

“She took the challenge of coming in and being a leader even though it was just her first year of playing in college. I don’t think it was easy for her, but she handled it really well.”

Wu said her journey to Merced almost didn’t happen.

After tearing the ACL in her right knee just before the start of her senior season in high school, Wu believed her playing days were over.

She enrolled at San Diego State and focused on the next phase of her life. It wasn’t long before her itch for the game demanded scratching, however.

“I was really happy at school. I was in a major I really enjoyed and was hoping to turn it into an internship,” Wu said. “After two years, I really missed playing basketball, though. Intramurals just wasn’t getting it done for me.”

She talked with people familiar with her game and settled on looking for Division II schools in need of guard help.

“I just started Googling D-II schools and reached out to them,” Wu said. “A lot of them didn’t get back to me, and the ones that did, my units weren’t going to transfer over easily.

“My boyfriend went to UC Merced and had been a part of the practice squad. He put me in contact with coach Kevin. It was kind of weird coming in, because I was older and expected to take on this leadership role with a bunch of really young girls.

“I’ve always had kind of a captain’s role in high school, so I was comfortable with it. But at the same time, it was my first time ever playing college basketball, too. So I was supposed to lead, but I also felt like I had so much to learn.”

Fortunately for the Bobcats, Wu did so at an accelerated rate. She’s found her comfort zone in her second season with the team and has shined. UC Merced hopes she can do so for at least one more game as it prepares to take on NAIA Division II No. 13 Menlo.

“The goal all season has been to beat them, so it would be nice to accomplish it in our third try,” Wu said. “In our first two games, we proved to ourselves that we can play with them. I think what we learned is it’s not just about playing hard. We’re going to do that no matter what. We have to play smart and calm, too. We need to really focus on taking care of those little details, and we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 9:21 PM with the headline "UC Merced’s Wu content as role player."