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This has been a long and difficult road for Brodsky, of Woodcliff Lake, who says he has devoted himself to basketball the last several years in an effort to play professionally. If it werenʼt for hundreds of cold calls and emails, he says he would have never gotten this opportunity to play in Luxem- bourg.

“We spoke on a Thursday and I flew out the next day,” Brodsky told Northern Valley Press in late July. “I was the only guy who was a walk-on. Everyone else there had played high level college Division1, there were guys from Clemson and Iowa State there, big-time basketball schools.”

In high school, Brodsky helped Dwight-Englewood to a 23-5 overall record his senior year, but only averaged about seven points per game.

At 6-foot-4-inches Brodsky showed real promise, scoring a game winner at the Bergen Holiday Festival championship game and averaging seven rebounds, but Brodsky says he hadnʼt quite grown into his body yet, weighing approximately 160 pounds.

After high school he began playing basketball for Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, and then transferred to Binghamton University, a Division-1 school in upstate New York.

“Over Covid is where I really had that improvement,” Brodsky told us. “I came back much s strides that year, thinking I could finally play at that high level as a w played alongside Brodsky as a member of the Binghamton Bearcats basketball team for two seasons, said, “He is one of the hardest workers I know. Alex was constantly in the gym before and after practices.”

He added, “One practice Alex and I were doing a shooting drill. It took him such a long time to complete it but the way he fought through and persisted that he wouldnʼt leave until he completed the drill, itʼs telling of his character and work ethic”

Brodsky, 24, grew another inch throughout college and says he got serious about hitting the eight room every day, now weighing about 205 pounds.

“If I eat three times a day, I work out three times a day, but it bviously takes a toll on you mentally. When you go overseas there is a stress level involved because you can get cut week to week. Everything you own can be gone, your car, your apartment,” he said.

At Binghamton he earned an MBA and undergrad degree in business administration and management, graduating cum laude.

At this point, the biggest questionis where he goes from here. His stat lines in Luxembourg are impressive, averaging more in his rookie season than NBA veteran Alfonzo Mckinnie averaged when he played in the same division, but he is still a long way away from locking down a career in professional basketball.

d All About It!

d All About It!

“The pay is really not very good when youʼre starting out, so I have to evaluate how long I want to do this for,” Brodsky said. “I havenʼt signed anything yet, but hopefully in the next few weeks I will figure out where to play moving forward.”

Brodsky says he has effectively put his life on hold to devote himself to basketball, missing family vacations, social gatherings, and major life events. With this in mind, we asked, Are you addicted to basketball?

“Yes, 100%,” he said, “After so much time and so much effort, I wish it wasnʼt this way, but if you do everything you can for something it requires so much sacrifice. It isnʼt even a question of if I want to play or donʼt want to play basketball, itʼs like drinking water. Even if I go down to the Jersey shore on vacation, I have to find a basketball court and bring my weights.”

Brodsky said he has three basketball courts in mind every time he goes down the shore, and also knows virtually every court in North Jersey. He can be found most days at Lifetime Fitness shooting baskets, running drills, and working on his game.

When the weather turns nicer he shifts his workouts to an outdoor court in Montvale, or to the shooting guns in Ho-Ho-Kus and Tenafly, where he can practice rebounding and passes with some velocity.

“The flip side to basketball is itʼs eventually going to break your heart,” Brodsky said, “At some point the road ends, so how are you going to contribute to society as a regular person once this ends?”

He summarizes his own “pretty crazy” story this way: “I went from being a JV player, to being cut from a Division III team, to playing intramural basketball, to playing Division I and ultimately professionally. I am hoping to inspire people in this area.”

While he certainly does need to start thinking about life after basketball, Brodsky says that time isnʼt quite up for his career just yet. He is fully committed to playing next season and hopes to continue improving day in and day out, whether as a professional player in the European leagues or just shooting hoops in his driveway here at home.