By Dave Melton, For The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — Former NBA players Chucky Brown, Tony Massenburg and Jimmy Jackson hold the league record by playing for 12 different teams in their careers. Andrew Bowman appears to be busy setting the NCAA record, as the Anderson University junior is now at his third college in three years.
“I’ve enjoyed it, though,” said Bowman. “I’ve been able to meet a lot more people than the average college student.”
Coming out of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Bowman said his college prospects came down to three schools: AU, Franklin and St. Francis. Franklin’s location ended up being the deciding factor.
“It seemed like a good fit at the time,” said Bowman. “I wanted to be closer to home, and Franklin was only 15 minutes away.”
Bowman appeared in 25 games for the Grizzlies that year, but he averaged just 7.2 minutes per game. By the end of the year, Bowman started to re-think his college decision.
“I wanted to try and get away from home,” he said. “I felt like I wasn’t getting the college experience.”
Bowman’s first transfer took him to IUPUI, where he made the school’s Division I basketball team as a walk-on.
“I really enjoyed that year,” said Bowman. “I really liked (head coach Ron) Hunter. I learned a lot from the coaches and players there.”
Bowman did not play any games for IUPUI, due to a transfer rule that forced him to redshirt that season. It didn’t take much longer for the realities of Division I basketball to sink in, either.
“I didn’t see myself getting as much playing time as I would have at a smaller school,” said Bowman.
Hoping to get on the court more, Bowman called one of the other programs that originally recruited him.
“When I left Franklin, I didn’t think I was going to play basketball anymore,” he said. “But I got the opportunity at IUPUI, and I got the bug to play again. I knew (AU head coach Tom) Slyder from high school and I called him to tell him that I was thinking about transferring.”
“Absolutely we were interested,” said Slyder. “We always tell guys we recruit that if they decide to transfer, don’t hesitate to call us.”
Transfer No. 2 brought Bowman to Anderson University.
“I was excited,” he said. “I knew they’ve had a lot of talent, and we have a lot of talent again this year. I wanted to give their program a chance.”
He missed out on an opportunity to face his former teammates when AU faced IUPUI in a preseason scrimmage because of a bout with the flu. But Bowman has taken full advantage of his playing time in AU’s first two games, averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds. The addition of ball-handling skills has helped Bowman’s game evolve at the college level, as his new coach explained.
“In high school, he never really went outside 10 or 12 feet,” said Slyder. “His role was in close to the basket to get rebounds. Now, he’s developed perimeter skills and the ability to put the ball on the floor. At 6 feet 7 inches, he’s very difficult to defend in this league.”
“He’s definitely advanced his skills. He’s tougher mentally now than he was three years ago,” Slyder continued. “That comes from practice and the three years of college basketball as well as part of the natural maturation process. He has the ability to score, and he creates a mismatch. We’re always looking to take advantage of those.”
Bowman showed off those skills Saturday night when he scored 13 points in the second half — including seven in the final five minutes — of AU’s 65-63 win over Kalamazoo College.
“He has the mentality that he wants the ball in crunch time, and that’s always a good thing to have in a player,” said Slyder. “He did kind of take over for a stretch on Saturday night.”
While he appears to have found a home at AU, Bowman said he never thought he’d end up in the program that he faced as a freshman.
“I never thought of it. I didn’t have a clue I’d be playing here in a few years,” said Bowman. “I didn’t see this coming out of high school. But it’s been a lot of fun. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
