New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado is already a fan favorite down in the Big Easy. But up in Queens, where Alvarado spent his pre-college years, Alvarado has earned a big reputation.
With the Pelicans in town to take on the New York Knicks, Alvarado's high school alma mater — Christ the King High School, located in Queens — decided to hold a jersey retirement ceremony for the second-year pro, per the New York Post's Andrew Crane.
Alvarado, now wearing no. 15 for the Pelicans, wore no. 10 for the Christ the King Royals.
Following Christ the King's victory over St. Francis Prep, head coach Joe Arbitello — who also coached Alvarado — presented the lockdown defender with his framed high school jersey. Alvarado, bringing along his Rising Stars MVP trophy, had his Pelicans teammates among those in attendance.
As a standout at Christ the King, Alvarado repeatedly demonstrated the impressive defensive abilities that allowed him to lock down a rotation spot with the Pelicans. He also owns the first quadruple-double in school history, a difficult feat to perform at any level.
Listed at 5-foot-11 when he left the program, Alvarado opted to accept an offer to play for Georgia Tech instead of Rutgers and Seton Hall.
At the time, ESPN draft analysts had this to say about him:
“He's more than the sum of his individual parts, at least from a physical perspective, because his best asset is his will to do absolutely anything necessary to win. He's ideal for any first year head coach because he helps to establish a culture and level of expectations from day one.”
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