Brian Bowen

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Brian Bowen
Brian Bowen.jpg
Bowen in 2018
No. 15 – Iowa Wolves
PositionSmall forward / Shooting guard
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1998-10-02) October 2, 1998 (age 23)
Saginaw, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Sydney Kings
2019–2021Indiana Pacers
2019–2021→Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2021—presentIowa Wolves
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Brian Bowen II (born October 2, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He originally committed to play college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals but was suspended by the team after a national college basketball corruption scandal which alleged that his family accepted payments in exchange for him choosing to attend Louisville. He later tried to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks, but due to an NCAA ruling, he removed himself from college and the 2018 NBA Draft altogether. Nicknamed "Tugs", he was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in high school in 2017.

High school career[]

Bowen at the 2017 McDonald's All-American game

Bowen played at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, before transferring to La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana, in 2015.[1] He had three points in the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game.[2] As a senior at La Lumiere, he had averaged 22 points per contest, while leading his team to a national championship at the Dick's Sporting Goods high school tournament.[3] In the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic, he scored a game high 26 points, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, and was named co-MVP.[4]

College recruiting[]

Bowen was the last five-star recruit in the class of 2017 to announce his college commitment. It was announced on June 3, 2017, that he would be enrolling at Louisville.[5] He reportedly also had offers from Michigan State, Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, Texas, DePaul and Creighton on the table.[6] In September 2017, a Federal Bureau of Investigation investigative report into a college basketball corruption scandal made an ostensibly anonymous reference to alleged payments to the family of a student-athlete named only as "Player-10" who was recruited by an institution named only as "University-6".[7] That university was described in such a way that it could only have been the University of Louisville. Player-10's signing was reportedly announced on or about June 3, 2017, and Bowen was the only Louisville player whose signing was in fact announced on or about that day.

At the end of the summer, he enrolled in classes and began participating in preseason team activities as scheduled.[8] On September 27, 2017, Louisville coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich were placed on administrative leave, and eventually dismissed.[9] On the same day, Bowen was also suspended from all team activities, but he continued to be enrolled in the school and he still had his scholarship. On November 3, 2017, Bowen was cleared by the FBI.[10] On November 22, 2017, Louisville announced that Bowen will not play or practice for the team.[11][12] Academically, he was still a student in good standing at the time.[13][14] On January 10, 2018, University of South Carolina coach Frank Martin announced that Bowen had enrolled at the university and would join the Gamecocks' basketball program. The university anticipated that Bowen would have to sit out the next two semesters, due to NCAA transfer regulations, meaning he would be able to begin playing within January 2019.[15] However, on April 18, 2018, Bowen announced his intentions on entering the 2018 NBA Draft, with him later being one of 69 players to enter that year's NBA Draft Combine.[16] He would do so without hiring an agent, meaning he originally planned to return properly, but only if his confirmation on his transfer would be approved by the May 30 deadline.[17] However, by that point in time, he had heard from the NCAA that he would have been forced to sit out for at least another season due to the combination of alleged benefits that were given to his family back when he committed to Louisville and his transfer soon afterward to South Carolina.[18] As a result, he officially announced his entry for the 2018 NBA Draft that day instead of returning to college.[19] However, on the June 11 international deadline, Bowen announced his withdrawal from the 2018 draft, which would allow him to either play in the NBA G League or overseas professionally before potentially returning in a future NBA Draft.

Professional career[]

Sydney Kings (2018–2019)[]

After withdrawing from the 2018 NBA draft during the final entry deadline, Bowen made the decision to forgo college and pursue a professional contract. On August 7, 2018, Bowen signed with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL.[20] During the 2018–19 NBL season, he played in 30 games while averaging 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. At the season's end, Bowen became automatically eligible for the 2019 NBA draft.[21]

Indiana Pacers (2019–2021)[]

Bowen was not selected in the 2019 NBA draft. On July 1, 2019, Bowen signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers and their G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.[22] Bowen averaged 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in the G League.[23] On November 29, 2020, the Indiana Pacers announced that they had re-signed with Bowen to a two-way contract.[24] On April 23, 2021, the Pacers waived Bowen.[25] Bowen later filed a lawsuit at the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina against Adidas and others who he claimed derailed his NBA career, but the case was dismissed on May 26, 2021.[26]

Iowa Wolves (2021–present)[]

On September 20, 2021, Bowen signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.[27] However, he was waived prior to the start of the season.[28] On October 26, he signed with the Iowa Wolves as an affiliate player.[29]

Career statistics[]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Indiana 6 1 5.2 .300 .000 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.0
2020–21 Indiana 6 0 2.5 .250 .000 1.000 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5
Career 12 1 3.8 .286 .000 1.000 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.8

NBL[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Sydney 28 28 15.5 .462 .351 .788 3.0 .6 .3 .1 6.5
Career 28 28 15.5 .462 .351 .833 3.0 .6 .3 .1 6.5

References[]

  1. ^ "Five-star guard Brian Bowen of Saginaw Arthur Hill transfers to La Lumiere (Ind.)". MLive.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "2017 McDonald's All-American Game box score". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Louisville basketball lands Brian Bowen, its top-ranked commitment in nine years". kentucky. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Nathan, Alec. "Jordan Brand Classic 2017: Brian Bowen, Lonnie Walker Take Co-MVPs in Showcase". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "Scouting report: Louisville basketball pledge Brian Bowen". courier-journal.com.
  6. ^ "Louisville lands surprise commitment from Brian Bowen, last five-star in 2017". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  7. ^ "University of Louisville college basketball program targeted in FBI investigation". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "Freshman Brian Bowen removed from Louisville team activities". 247Sports. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "Louisville's Pitino and Jurich placed on leave". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  10. ^ "FBI clears top Louisville recruit Brian Bowen in investigation". MSN. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  11. ^ "Brian Bowen, player tied to Rick Pitino's firing, will not play for Louisville". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  12. ^ http://www.wdrb.com/story/36907758/crawford-louisville-makes-right-move-in-releasing-bowen-for-immediate-transfer
  13. ^ "Sources: Cardinals suspend Bowen indefinitely". espn.com.
  14. ^ http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2017/09/29/brian-bowen-louisville-basketball-scandal-suspension/715697001/
  15. ^ http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011018aaa.html
  16. ^ http://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-anthro/#!?sort=PLAYER_NAME&dir=-1
  17. ^ "NBA Draft 2018: Ex-Louisville recruit Brian Bowen enters NBA Draft but wants to play at South Carolina". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  18. ^ https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/05/brian-bowen-elects-to-stay-in-draft.html
  19. ^ http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/053018aab.html
  20. ^ Givony, Jonathan. "Ex-Louisville, South Carolina commit Brian Bowen to play professionally in Australia". ESPN. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  21. ^ Givony, Jonathan. "NBA draft: 233 early-entry prospects declare for 2019". ESPN. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  22. ^ "Indiana Pacers Sign Bowen, Gant and Wilcox". NBA.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  23. ^ Cohn, Justin (March 13, 2020). "G League follows NBA: Halts season". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  24. ^ "Pacers Sign Seven Players". NBA.com. November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  25. ^ "Pacers Sign Brimah, Waive Bowen". NBA.com. April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  26. ^ "Judge dismisses lawsuit by former Louisville basketball recruit Brian Bowen Jr., who says Adidas derailed his NBA career". ESPN. May 26, 2021.
  27. ^ "TIMBERWOLVES SIGN BRIAN BOWEN II, MATT LEWIS, ISAIAH MILLER AND CHRIS SILVA". NBA.com. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  28. ^ "Timberwolves Waive Brian Bowen II, Matt Lewis, Isaiah Miller And Chris Silva". NBA.com. October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  29. ^ "Iowa Wolves Announce Training Camp Roster and Finalize Coaching Staff". OurSportsCentral.com. October 26, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.

External links[]

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