Christ the King (NY) High School had the game put away against Xaverian High School on Dec. 22, 2016, but Jose Alvarado wasn’t done. Coming out of his team’s last timeout, Alvarado was a steal and assist shy of a quadruple-double.

Never in the history of Christ the King — a high school that boasts alumni such as Lamar Odom and holds four New York State Championships — had a player secured a quadruple-double.

In the huddle, Alvarado’s coach, Joe Arbitello, informed him he was on the brink of history. Then, Arbitello watched as Alvarado swiped a steal and assisted on the other end, entering the Christ the King record books in the process. He finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals. 

Over the past three years, Alvarado has continued his all-around game as Georgia Tech’s (13-13, 7-8 Atlantic Coast) backbone. He’s averaged at least 33 minutes in each of his first three seasons and has been in the top-10 in the ACC in steals the past two seasons. Though he missed seven games with a right ankle injury this season, he remains Georgia Tech’s irreplaceable floor general and defensive leader.  

“He’s the head of our snake,” head coach Josh Pastner said. “He’s our guy. When he’s not playing, like earlier in the year when he had an injury and we missed him for all those games, we really struggled.” 

Earlier this season, the six-foot guard broke the Yellow Jackets single-game steals record, tallying nine to go along with 26 points in a victory over N.C. State. 

“It’s crazy that my name is forever going to be in Georgia Tech history,” said Alvarado.

The numbers are the benefactor of Alvarado’s competitiveness, the trait that made him attractive to Georgia Tech in the first place. Growing up, he said one of his main influences was Chris Paul’s feisty demeanor and hatred of losing.

The winning began in high school, when Alvarado took Christ the King to the New York City championship twice. Particularly in his junior year, Arbitello said, Alvarado keyed the team’s title run.

“When we recruited him, winning was more important to him than actually breathing,” Pastner said. “He was just a winner. Everywhere he’s been, he’s won.” 

Alvarado has grown into that role once again with Georgia Tech. He’s played the full 40 minutes in a game 13 times while at Georgia Tech. In the seven games he missed with a right ankle injury, the Yellow Jackets went 3-4, with wins coming against Behune-Cookman, Nebraska and Elon. Upon his return, he played 29 and 36 minutes in back-to-back days.

Alvarado has battled back from injury before. After being in the top-five in scoring, assists and steals among ACC freshman in 2017, he went down with a left elbow injury on Feb. 11 that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Despite hitting “rock bottom,” he said, with the help of people around him, he came back his sophomore year and felt better than he did before, Alvarado said.

Whether it’s him or his past coaches, the same message echoes: Alvarado is a winner who impacts the game in a plethora of ways. 

“He wants to win more than anyone else on the court,” Arbitello said.

Published on February 22, 2020 at 3:15 pm

Contact Cameron: cbmckeon@syr.edu