PLAINVIEW — Alexey Carvalho, one of the Top 10 scorers in Wayland Pioneers basketball program history, is scheduled to be inducted Nov. 4 in the university’s Athletics Hall of Honor.
Carvalho is among five Wayland Baptist University alumni to be honored during the induction ceremony, which is slated for 9 a.m. in Banquet Room 211 in McClung University Center. The induction ceremony is free and open the public.
Throughout his basketball-playing career, Carvalho suited up for multiple teams in a variety of countries on three continents, but the Brazilian may not be more proud of any of the colors he wore than Wayland’s blue and gold. From 1987 to 1991, Carvalho not only learned a new language and earned his degree, but he also developed into an All-American and became one of the leading scorers in WBU men’s basketball history.
After being the leading scorer in the 1986 Brazilian Junior Championships, averaging 28 points and seven rebounds a game to be named a South American Junior All-Star, Carvalho was being recruited by West Texas A&M but ended up at Wayland. While Carvalho learned English, he and the coaches spent several months communicating mostly through on-campus interpreters who could speak Spanish. Carvalho also became very familiar with a translation dictionary.
“Everywhere I went I had it,” he said, noting his determination toward his education. “I never failed a course and graduated in four years with 146 credits.” He went home with a degree in business administration with a minor in marketing.
On the court, the 6-foot-6, 215-pound power forward averaged 13.4 points throughout his 131-game career as a Pioneer, including 19.7 points his senior season when he shot 58 percent from the field and averaged 7.8 rebounds. That same season he scored a career-high 31 points against Schreiner and twice grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds. Carvalho was named District 8 Player of the Year and NAIA Honorable Mention All-American.
During Carvalho’s four years on the court, the Pioneers produced a win-loss record of 103-29 and twice advanced to the national tournament, going 30-6 and 29-4 those seasons. He scored a total of 1,761 points, which at the time ranked No. 6 in program history; today, it’s No. 8.
Carvalho went on to play for the Brazilian national team and played professionally in Venezuela, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, averaging more than 20 points per game. He played until 2006, retiring as a player at age 38. In 2017, Carvalho returned to the U.S. and earned his MBA with a specialization in sports management from a school in Florida.
Today, Carvalho lives in Portugal, where his mother was born and raised. He lives with his two children: Manuela, who is pursuing her master’s degree, and Jose, who plays basketball and graduated high school last spring. Carvalho works as a real estate consultant and recently received his coaching certification.
Also on the induction docket are women’s basketball standout Rosemary Brown Bowser, wrestling program shaper and first head coach Johnny Cobb, baseball great Brett Cook and golf great Andrew Williamson.
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