Nineteen-year-old Bakersfield College sophomore center Alex Olcott is a vital part of the BC men’s basketball team.
BC head coach Rich Hughes said about Olcott, “He’s the key component to our success the last two years, and he’s a good player.
“He’s the guy you always want on your team because he’s a leader, and he’s pushing everybody everyday. One thing is that he doesn’t care about stats. He wants to win, and that’s hard to find these days.”
Olcott said about his experience in basketball, “I started in fourth grade because nobody said I could make the team, so I just tried out, and I did. It was fun, and I enjoyed it. It was recreational at first so it ended up be-ing a good thing for me.”
Oloctt’s uncle Richard Mahlmann played in Major League Baseball and inspired Olcott to succeed in sports. Mahlmann, a left-handed pitcher, was drafted in the 1968 MLB draft by the California Angels and attended Fresno State University.
Olcott’s opinion on attending a university after BC is still in question as Olcott said that he is not sure where he will go, but he is hopeful that he will play in college. Olcott will stop playing basketball at university play because he feels that he cannot compete with NBA-pace.
The season is nearing its end and Olcott reflected on it. “I feel like I can still improve, but overall we’re doing all right,” said Olcott.
Olcott has gone from being a guard in high school at Bakersfield High School to a center at BC. At Bakersfield High, Olcott took more 3-point shots, now at BC, Olcott plays more defensively.
“I used to be a facing-the-basket kind of player. Now I am a back-to-the-basket kind of player. It’s a one-hundred eighty degree switch.
“I feel like since it’s only been a year since I switched, it’s been pretty much a great improvement for me.” Hobbies for Olcott are limited because of the amount of time that he spends at practice. Olcott said, “I just play basketball and hang out with the guys and go to movies.”
Olcott said that he would like to work with chemical engineering in the future. “I want to work with air energy eventually. , that’d be fun.” Olcott elaborated, “I feel like I’d be a chemical engineer, maybe a head position somewhere. At least I hope so, and I want a family.”
Olcott insinuated that BC would have a better chance in the playoffs against Fresno. “I think we have a good chance of winning. I think we can beat Fresno. I know we can beat Fresno. They’ve beaten us three times already, so we can beat them.”
BC will only meet Fresno again if the team qualifies for the elite eight in state playoffs.
Hughes said that Olcott represents BC well. “Alex is the perfect team player, does whatever you ask him to do, works really hard. I don’t think he’s ever missed a practice since he’s been here or been late to anything.”
Hughes talked about Olcott’s progress into his sophomore year. “He’s a lot more confident this year. He hits some more threes than he did last year. He’s gotten better on posting up. Just confidence-wise, he’s got more confidence this year than last year. You just get that confidence level, which is working well for him.”
Hughes summed up Olcott’s role on the team by saying, “If he’s not playing, he’s the one that keeps guys positive on the bench or even talking to guys at his position at what they need to do.”