Player Preview: Aaron Bowen

This is the eighth preview of the members of the 2011-12 Georgetown Hoyas. You also can read about Otto Porter, Jabril Trawick, Greg Whittington, Mikael Hopkins, Tyler Adams, Moses Ayegba, and John Caprio.

Amid the excitement surrounding this year’s incoming class, one freshman seems to have been forgotten. Red shirt freshman swingman Aaron Bowen, who arrived in 2010 but sat out most of the year with a shoulder injury, will be proving himself for the first time, just like the newbies.

Bowen, a 6’6″, 200 lb. guard-forward, came to Georgetown from Florida via North Carolina, where he finished up high school at Quality Education Academy. Bowen impressed scouts with his length, athleticism, and scoring ability, and chose Georgetown in the spring of his senior year after also drawing interest from a number of high-major schools, and after originally committing to Marquette. All of the attributes that attracted recruiters’ attention are on display here (with apologies for the atrocious soundtrack):

Arriving on campus last fall, Bowen wasn’t expected to contribute much in his freshman year: after all, Georgetown had a three-guard starting lineup, with Hollis Thompson and Vee Sanford as the most likely candidates off the bench. And so it went: Bowen didn’t shed his warm-ups in tight early games against Old Dominion, Missouri, and Temple, only seeing action during garbage time in the Hoyas’ seven non-conference blowouts. While he didn’t make a strong impression, scoring just seven points and grabbing four rebounds in a combined twenty-four minutes, Bowen filled that role ably, adding a five-point flurry, including a punctuating reverse dunk, in a walkover against Loyola of Maryland.

That was the last on-court action that we saw from the young wing, as Big East play meant a shorter rotation. In late January, Georgetown announced that Bowen had a shoulder injury that had bothered him for the entire season, and that he would have surgery, rehabilitation from which would end his season. Georgetown applied for and at some point was granted a medical hardship exemption for Bowen, effectively making him a freshman again this year.

Bowen’s first game back from the injury was in the Kenner League, and he immediately impressed with his defensive intensity and offensive versatility, finishing above the rim when his jumper wasn’t falling. But his long-range attempts continued to go astray. For every game in which Bowen would heat up from three, one or two games would follow in which he’d revert to errant form. While Kenner League is an uncertain forecast of the season ahead, this summer raised as many questions as it answered for Bowen. Frustration boiled over when Bowen and Greg Whittington, who will spar for back-up minutes at shooting guard, sparred physically on the court in league final, leading to the ejection of both players. Bowen left a similarly mixed impression by his Chinese performance, mixing sub-par shooting with the occasional useful non-scoring contribution (5 rebounds in one game, 2 steals in another).

Even with a difficult rehabilitation and off-season, Bowen should have the chance in the coming year to audition for the role of Jason Clark’s back-up. Those likely will be limited minutes, and Bowen’s streaky shooting may not be his best asset in scarce time. With Whittington impressing early and both Hollis Thompson and Otto Porter possibly earning starter’s minutes, Bowen may have few opportunities to make a favorable impression.  But he can do so, even without a consistent shot. Bowen can control his effort, particularly on the defensive end. He has the length and quickness to be a shut-down defender, a perimeter role that is still open for audition on this year’s roster (and remained vacant throughout last season). When he throttled up his defensive intensity over the summer, Bowen proved himself a capable stopper. And JTIII has proven willing to overlook offensive deficiencies in defensively adept players (see Jeremiah Rivers). On a team full of newcomers, Bowen will still be seeking out such an opportunity.