On Jan. 15, the Auburn Tigers played against the Florida Gators at the O’Connell Center. For the Tigers, the best player on the court was supposedly their shooting guard, K.T. Harrell, but that was difficult to see. What wasn’t difficult to see was that their power forward, Cinmeon Bowers, played out his mind and arguably looked like the Tigers’ best player.
Every second in the game the man who looked more like an NFL offensive lineman standing at 6’7″ and 278 pounds, Bowers was fighting for ever rebound in the paint that he could get his mitts on. When he wasn’t grabbing rebounds, he was standing in the backcourt when the Florida Gators brought their infamous full-court pressure defense.
Bowers then shocked everyone as he started taking the basketball and playing the role of the point guard. Bowers sprinted quickly up the court, dribbled the basketball fluidly and passed the basketball to the point guard so the Tigers could offense could get initiated. Then a few possessions later when the Gators brought their pressure Bowers did it again.
“He really is the heart of their team. … That is their leader right there. When he gets going, that pumps up the crowd, and he pumps up everybody on the team.” — Missouri’s Keith Shamburger on Auburn’s Cinmeon Bowers
The 2014-15 season has brought a lot of expectations for the Auburn Tigers. The Tigers were supposed to compete near the top of the SEC because of all of the new parts to their team.
The Tigers already had a great scorer in their aforementioned shooting guard, K.T. Harrell, then they added another scorer in Antoine Mason who last season averaged 25.6 points per game. The Tigers even added new leadership bringing in a new head coach in Bruce Pearl.
The one person who a lot to forget to mention, and who has flown under the radar in his first season of Division I basketball is the power forward, Bowers. How is it that now that someone who was looked at as an after thought in Bowers, has become the future for the Tigers basketball team?
When did Cinmeon Bowers become the player that the Tigers should start to build their program around?
Bowers arrival to Auburn wasn’t from the traditional path as many Division I basketball players, he took the junior college route. Bowers was a highly ranked JUCO prospect, when he averaged 12.4 points, and 8.9 rebounds playing for Chipola College in Marianna, Fla.
Bowers went to Chipola College after fearing for his life suffering a near fatal shooting where Bowers was the recipient of five gun shots, including shots to his leg, during a terrible attempted car robbery. After going through this traumatic experience Bowers went to rehabilitation for six months and in the process learned how to walk again.
There were a number of schools who wanted Bowers to play for their program including the Memphis Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes, but after the shooting schools stopped recruiting him.
Now that he’s playing for the Tigers, it’s no surprise why Bowers plays so hard, he wasn’t sure if he would ever play basketball again, and that type of experience will make anyone want to play with maximum effort.
What makes Bowers a great player is the fact he can impact a game without having crazy stats on the stat sheet. In essence he isn’t a stat sheet stuffer, but more of a true basketball player. Whether Bowers has to bring the basketball up during a press, as he’s shown the ability to do, Bowers will get it done.
In addition one of the most underrated parts of his game is his ability to work in the post. Bowers is the kind of player who’s smart enough to not force bad shots. Because of his patience, when he gets the ball he’s intelligent enough to scan the entire floor and see where the defense is sending the double team.
Some of the notable games that Bowers had this season are as followed:
- 18 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist vs. Milwaukee
- 20 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal vs. Louisiana Lafayette
- 17 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal vs. Tulsa
- 17 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals vs. Clemson
- 19 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assist, 1 steal vs. Winthrop
- 20 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steal vs. Missouri
- 16 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Mississippi State
Even Bowers’ SEC peers are starting to take notice of his game. When Auburn played against Missouri, their senior guard, Keith Shamburger, said this, giving high praise to Bowers game:
“He really is the heart of their team. … That is their leader right there. When he gets going, that pumps up the crowd, and he pumps up everybody on the team.”
The Auburn Tigers are looking for a leader, and Bowers is that.
It’s time that his teammates rally around his game, because the passion and energy he plays with is second to none compared to his teammates. If a person develops a passion for the game of basketball like Bowers had, then they won’t stop growing.
Next year will the Auburn Tigers will be standing tall?