ALEX CARUSO FIRST arrived in Oklahoma City with a head full of hair and flickering hopes of an NBA career.
It was September 2016, and the Thunder had invited Caruso to a tryout for an Exhibit 10 contract -- an opportunity for a $50,000 bonus and a roster spot with the G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue.
He was one of six players at the workout, but unbeknownst to Caruso, he was the only one that Oklahoma City's management and coaches really wanted to watch.
Then-Blue coach Mark Daigneault, who was on the Florida coaching staff before Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti poached him, already had an appreciation for Caruso's relentless competitiveness dating to his college days at Texas A&M.