Alec Willis enters his second season as the assistant men's basketball coach. Upon graduating from St. Joseph’s, the 2018 alumnus immediately entered into coaching; serving on both the varsity and freshmen staffs at Moore Catholic High School. It was during his time at Moore Catholic where he coached directly alongside former Big East All-American, and, now, NBPA Certified Agent/Head of Player Development for Priority Sports & Entertainment, Kyle McAlarney. This relationship allowed Willis to gain tremendous insight on coaching, specifically Player Development, and it was during this time Willis was able to assist McAlarney in the training process of NBA All-Star, Gordon Hayward. As the relationship grew, so did Willis’ involvement in player development -- and in the Spring following his first year on staff at St. Joseph’s -- Willis was allowed to join Priority Sports’ NBA PreDraft Program, a program that saw four of its players get drafted in the 2023 NBA Draft.
As a Bears student-athlete, Willis was a four-year starter (2014-2018) and was named a team captain midway through his sophomore year. Amassing 915 career points, he finished his career third in the Bears’ record books for career three-point shooting percentage (37.1%) and fourth in three-pointers made (188). Off the court, Willis was President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and was named a semifinalist for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup Award — the first Bear student-athlete ever to be recognized for this national award that is given across all three divisions. At the time of his graduation, Willis was also the fourth Bear in any sport to receive CoSIDA Academic All-District Team accolades.
Willis earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is currently the Head of Digital Marketing & Photography for Tom Crimmins Realty, as well as, a fully licensed Real Estate Salesperson where he resides in Staten Island.
One additional role that means a great deal to coach Willis is the role he plays in helping the Richard Willis Memorial Fund, his families 501(c) 3 charitable organization, which was created in memory of his Grandfather as a way of keeping the values he spent his whole life embodying alive; values of volunteerism and community service. The goal of the organization is to raise money that will be donated directly back to the youth of Staten Island in the form of various scholarships and donations to other local youth charities.
