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FLAMES NOTEBOOK: Athletic Bowen making the leap for the Flames
(as published in Whoosh! magazine Jan. 20, 2004)
After a slow start to the season, Bowen (pictured) is improving offensively and is provided solid defense. Equipped with long arms and a 6-foot-6-inch frame, he adds an athletic dimension the Flames have been missing.
“He’s a world-class athlete,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “He’s got a nose for the ball.”
Bowen averaged 6.5 points in a six-game stretch ending Jan. 8 and has given UIC a player that can defend on the perimeter with his wingspan. He tallied his season-high of 13 points in his first UIC start against Youngstown State Jan. 5.
“I’m feeling more comfortable,” Bowen said. “Things are a lot easier when the team has confidence in me.”
For the season, he is averaging 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds after not scoring in a point the Flames’ first five games.
He averaged 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds as a freshman at Maryland-Eastern Shore as a freshman two years ago, playing primarily as a power forward.
“I think the year off slowed him down a little bit,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “I’m trying to change him into a perimeter player. Making that adjustment is mentally challenging for anybody.
“Once he’s gets through all the adjustments as far shooting, passing and driving, Justin will have a very bright future.”
HE’S SO UNSELFISH: Martell Bailey, who led the nation last year with 8.1 assists per game, has continued his pinpoint passing this season.
Currently, the Flames’ point guard ranks second in the nation in assists with 8.4 helpers per contest. He trails just Troy State’s Greg Davis, who is averaging 9.2 per game in 12 games.
Bailey has five double-digit assist games this season – all of which have come at the Pavilion, where averages 11.1 per game.
Bailey is not limited to passing the ball, as he adds 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per outing as well.
He also has three point-assist double-doubles, with the most recent effort of 10 points and 11 assists, coming against Loyola on Jan. 8. His career best of 15 assists came against Evansville Nov. 25.
STEFANOV OVERCOMES: Freshman forward Jovan Stefanov has experienced a rough two years, including a brush with death.
A torn anterior cruciate ligament, which he suffered during the senior year of high school, cost him much of his true freshman year at UIC. Then after redshirting due to medical hardship, the former Florida High School All-State player encountered something more serious last November.
Stefanov spent an extended period at University of Illinois hospital due to an uncommon illness known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. It’s a nervous system disorder that affects less than one of every 100,000 people each year. It results from nerve damage caused by the body’s immune system reacting to a viral or bacterial infection.
At times, Stefanov was paralyzed and may have died if the situation didn’t clear itself up.
He lost about 20 pounds during his hospital stay and needed several weeks of regaining strength before suiting up for the first time against Illinois Dec. 30.
Stefanov entered the Illinois game with 4 minutes left and scored six points, attacking the Illini defense with the same fearlessness he showed over the past two years. He is now receiving semi-regular minutes off the bench.
“Jovan’s trying to learn a lot of things at a rapid pace, because he’s trying to catch up,” Collins said. “He’s long and handles the ball well for a big guy. He needs to improve his shooting, but he will, because he’s a relentless worker. And he has no ego.
“He’ll be a tremendous asset to this team.”
RECRUITING UPDATE: The Flames signed guard Karl White of Omaha (Neb.) Central, one of the top players in Nebraska during the November Letter of Intent period.
White, a 6-foot-1-inch shooting guard, averaged 16.9 points, four rebounds and three steals as a junior for coach Eric Behrens. He was named All-Nebraska Third Team and was the only junior on the Omaha All-Metro Conference First Team. According to the Omaha World-Herald, one local coach called White “the best offensive player in the state.”
He’s having an outstanding senior campaign as he was named to the Metro Conference Holiday All-Tournament team after pouring in a career-high 35 points on 15-of-23 shooting against Omaha Bryan on Dec. 31, 2003. He also had 26 points in a loss to Omaha Westside on Dec. 19.
White can score from about anywhere on the floor, mixing a perimeter game and slashing moves to the basket with a mid-range jumper.
“Karl beings to us a replica of the guards we already have,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said in a statement. “He is athletic, quick, tough, and can shoot the basketball.”
His top game as a junior came against Bellevue West where he scored 31 points and made 5-of-7 three-pointers in an 88-82 victory in the Metro Conference Holiday Tournament championship on Dec. 31, 2002.
“I think he’s a Cedrick Banks clone,” UIC athletic director Jim Schmidt said.
White’s athletic feats aren’t limited to basketball court. He also runs track and excels in the 110-yard hurdles, finishing third in the conference meet. He also runs in the 400- and 800-yard relays.
White is Collins’ second high school recruit from outside Illinois in the past two years. He signed Florida All-Stater Stefanov in the spring of 2002.
With White in the fold, the Flames aren’t recruiting too hard, because seniors Banks, Martell Bailey and Armond Williams appear to be on track to return for a fifth year.
JOSH WILLIAMS GONE: Sophomore forward Josh Williams has been removed from the roster, because he is academically ineligible.
Williams was redshirted two years ago and played last season, averaging 1.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 23 games. He scored a career-best 10 points at Indiana Dec. 7, 2002.
Williams was still listed as a student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on the University web site as of Jan. 12.
In other roster notes since the last print edition of Whoosh!, sophomore guard Mike Smith, freshman forward Kevin Bond and junior guard Rocky Collum will redshirt this season. They are still present on the bench during games.
Also, sophomore forward Brandon Allen and sophomore guard Mike Britton left the squad before the start of the season.
ON THE AIR: At least two more UIC games will be televised in the coming weeks. Both the Flames’ games with Butler Jan. 31 in Indianapolis and Feb. 28 at home will be on Fox Sports Net.
The Flames still have a good shot of getting an ESPN2 or ESPN Plus broadcast of their home Bracket Buster game on Feb. 22. That information will be released on Feb. 1.
If the Flames make the Horizon League tournament semifinals and finals, those games would also be on television. FSN would air the semifinal and ESPN the championship game.
Six of the remaining games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 1000, with others on tape delay, following Bulls games. Check your local listings for details.
FLAMES ON THE ‘NET: For more UIC Flames news and features, check out Whoosh! on the web at www.geocities.com/uicflamesbasketball |
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Maybe sitting out a year from active intercollegiate competition made Justin Bowen a little rusty, but the sophomore from Marshall High School is beginning to round into shape.