Alvin graduated from Beaver Falls High School, playing for a Frank Chan-coached team that amassed one of the best records in school history (26-3) that won the Section 3 title and advanced to the WPIAL championship game before falling to Fox Chapel. The Tigers advanced to the final four teams in the west bracket in the PIAA tournament, knocking off powerful Brashear, led by Sam Clancy, in the process. Alvin led Beaver County in scoring his senior year and was named the Most Valuable Player of Section 3. Following his senior season, Alvin was selected to play in the prestigious Dapper Dan Roundball Classic in Pittsburgh.

Alvin then took his talents to Clarion University, where he would become one of the Golden Eagles’ all-time greats. Alvin was a four-year starter at Clarion and is currently the third-leading scorer in school history with 1,661 points. He graduated having shot an incredible 55 percent from the floor in his career, with the majority of his shots coming from beyond 20 feet - this was in the days before the 3-point line was instituted in college basketball. Clarion won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West title three times during Alvin’s time at the school.

A teammate of current University of Kentucky coach John Calipari while at Clarion, Alvin led the Golden Eagles to the quarterfinals of the NAIA playoffs in 1980, averaging an incredible 27.1 points a game in the post season. A year later, upon Clarion’s entrance into the NCAA, Alvin sparked the team to the NCAA Division II national tournament in 1981.

During his four seasons at Clarion, Alvin led the Golden Eagles to 86 victories. A two-time PSAC-West first team selection in 1980 and 1981, Alvin connected on 217 of 263 career free throws, for a Clarion record 83 percent. Far from one-dimensional, Alvin also had 354 rebounds and 248 assists.

Following his senior season, the honors rolled in for Alvin, as he was named an NCAA Division II third team All-American as a senior and was the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Small College Player of the Year. Alvin then had a brief professional stint in the Continental Basketball Association with the Billings Volcanos. He was inducted into the Clarion University Hall of Fame in 1997.

Alvin has been a successful business owner in Richmond, Virginia, where he lives with his wife of 31 years, Eilene Atkinson Gibson and their two children, Whitney and Eric. Alvin has also sought to change lives, as he is a teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God in prisons, as well as throughout Africa.