March 4, 2005
By Dan Carroll
Sports Information Assistant
"I liked football the most growing up, but I got too tall for that." Tall may be the first word that you think of when you see Brandon Bowman, but spend some time with him and that will not be the only one. The 6'9" junior forward from Santa Monica, California is as multifaceted off the court as he is on it.
After filling the Hoyas' void under the basket left by Mike Sweetney two years ago, Bowman remains low key about being Georgetown's new big man on campus. Off the court Brandon spends his time "listening to music off course, and hanging out with some friends and my teammates." He doesn't just listen to music--he also plays it. Bowman has been playing the piano since he was 10 years old. "I like playing different pieces; Bach Beethoven...my parents kind of pushed me into it but then it grew on me."
Off the court, Brandon also spends a great deal of time on another major concern of his: getting his degree in sociology. He is a student-athlete who truly has not lost sense of why he is at Georgetown, an attribute he credits to his parents. "They always told me what I could get...if I got a degree how many more options I would have in life." Given his background, Brandon believes he is in a good position to thrive in his studies. "Last year, Professor Habel's sports and society class caught my attention. Looking at the different aspects of what's going on in sports, I think that's something I could really relate to."
Bowman may be musical and studious, but above all right now he is focused, and that focus is clear. "The most important thing, as of right now, is to win." Luckily for the Hoyas, winning is something Bowman is no stranger to. Along with teammate Ashanti Cook, Bowman was a member of the 2002 California State Champion Westchester High School squad. Neither is winning something Brandon takes lightly, "My greatest achievement was when we won the state championship." And what an achievement it was; Bowman scored 20 points in Westchester's 80-75 win over Oakland Tech to capture the CIF Division I State Championship. Westchester went on to finish #5 in the USA Today Super 25 boys basketball rankings.
Even though he came to Georgetown from a basketball powerhouse, Brandon knew he would have to take his play to a new level at the Hilltop. "It was hard in the way that you had to get a lot stronger in such little time. Coming in here I weighed about 180. At the end of my freshman year I was 210." Brandon also had to adjust off the court, coming to a city that was quite unlike his Southern California home. "It's a lot different from where I come from. People talk differently. They dress differently. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I can get used to it like I have, but it was kind of a culture shock when I got here."
Throughout it all, Bowman never lost his focus, and he returns to the court this season as the Hoyas' top scoring and rebounding threat. Last season, Bowman was second on the team in scoring with 15.9 ppg (trailing 2004 senior Gerald Riley) and first on the team in rebounds with 8.1 per game. He scored 20 or more points 6 times last year, including a career high 30 points against Delaware State.
Bowman has not only established himself as a leader statistically, he has also earned the respect of his teammates. Longtime friend and teammate Ashanti Cook says of Brandon, "It's been exciting to see Brandon develop. He's fast, tall and athletic, he a good shooter and he's versatile. I think he's a great player." Bowman has also been a great teammate off the court. Say's Cook, "It's been nice having somebody around who is familiar while adjusting to college life here at Georgetown. The pace here seems much faster than the pace back home and that can be a little tough, but working with a familiar face definitely helps." Cook, who also graduated from Westchester in 2002, thinks their experience together is a contributing factor to their success on the court. "We have good chemistry and a real comfort level from having played together so much, so we can anticipate each other well."
According to Bowman the recipe for success as a student athlete is a simple mixture of hard work and patience. He offers simple words of advice for younger players that apply both on and off the court, "Work hard, keep your goals in mind, and always have set goals in life. Don't ever give up on what you're doing, because what you do now will pay off in the future. Whatever you doing now, working hard, not working hard or whatever, you will receive your reward in the future, whether it's bad or good." Bowman also advises young players to make the most of the time they have playing the game. "Keep in mind that everything goes by so fast, you have to take advantage of opportunities; you don't want to look back and say, I should have done this or I should have done that."
Although Brandon is always ready to go out and win, he says this is an especially exciting time for Georgetown basketball, as the excitement surrounding the program has made its way into the locker room. Not surprisingly, that excitement has everything to do with the arrival of Coach John Thompson III. "Everyone seems to be more upbeat, more interested, people like to listen to what he has to say." Brandon himself is ecstatic to step out on the court for the first time under Thompson's tutelage. "He's a good guy off the court, and he's a good coach, he really is. How could you not want to play for Coach Thompson?"
As Brandon goes out on to the court every night, standing tall, remaining focused and giving the Hoya fans his all, he asks for only one thing in return, "Make sure to support us. Highs, lows, whatever; be behind us. Hoya Saxa all the way."
