MILWAUKEE — Ask Milwaukee Bucks forward Joe Alexander about his rookie season in the National Basketball Association and he flashes back to his early days at West Virginia University.

That is not necessarily a good thing.

"It's been like my freshman year in college was . . . real, real frustrating," Alexander said. "It seems like everything you do is wrong and in your own head you think it's right, but it turns out to be wrong again. That's just the way it is because you're inexperienced.

"It was harder than I thought it would be because by the end of your college career, everything is just so easy because I knew the game real well. But I didn't anticipate the game being so different at this level and there being so much more thought involved and strategy involved."

Two games, including one Monday night against the Orlando Magic at the Bradley Center, remain in what has been a challenging and trying season for Alexander, who was the eighth overall pick of the 2008 draft. At times, the intricacies of the pro game have been a bit overwhelming for the 22-year-old Alexander.

Coming out of college, Alexander was known for his exceptional athleticism but was viewed as a green prospect who would need plenty of seasoning in the NBA. The Bucks knew they would need patience with Alexander in teaching him the pro game and that has proved to the case.

"The mental part is absolutely the hardest part," Alexander said. "Physically, there's nothing wrong with the skills that I have. I can do that, which just shows you how much mental preparation and work that goes into the games because someone like me who physically can obviously play, I wasn't able to play when I first came in. That shows how much strategy and thinking and mental control (is involved)."

Among the problems Alexander has encountered has been harnessing his energy and just being in the right place at the right time on the court.

"I didn't know where to be," Alexander said. "It's not about thinking too much. It's just not knowing where to be. The professional game is a game of inches and angles where if I'm facing slightly the wrong way, I'm going to get burned. Or, 6 inches to the right or left and I'll be in the right spot. So those are little things that you have to learn and it takes a long time to do that."

Alexander's need to learn has been noted by his teammates, as well.

"Joe is so raw athletically," veteran forward Malik Allen said. "He still has a ways to go but the big thing is just channeling his athleticism. He's always been so used to going fast. Also, just learning the NBA game and playing in a system. They've asked him to play a couple different positions (small forward and power forward) so I think that's been on his mind but overall, his effort has been great and he's been willing to learn and I think that's the biggest thing. He's starting to show some flashes of being able to play."

Alexander's work ethic has never been questioned. He is often on the practice court working with assistant coaches long after the other players have left. On game nights, he is on the court early working on his game. The encouraging thing for Alexander and the Bucks is that, slowly but surely, progress is being made and that is translating into playing time.

Alexander has played in 57 games, averaging 4.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game. But coach Scott Skiles has turned to him more often in some recent games.

"It's very encouraging," Alexander said. "I think that if at the end of this year my minutes had really gone down, it really would have been tough for me mentally because I'm OK with not being considered good and not playing a lot. But I'm not OK with not getting better and not improving. So I'm really, really glad that toward the end of the year my minutes started to pick up because that's a sign of getting better."

Skiles agrees.

"He's made progress," he said. "It's not always evident in the games but it's evident to us when we're around him every day. Lately, I've been giving him some more minutes and he'll block a shot or he'll do something to affect the game. He's still got to get himself a little bit more under control. Slow down a little bit. But he's starting to take his shot with a little bit more confidence and he's moving around the floor better. He's made good progress."