Sam Bowie

infobox NBA Player
name = Sam Bowie


position = Center
height_ft = 7
height_in = 1
weight_lbs = 235
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1961|3|17
birth_place = Lebanon, Pennsylvania
highschool = Lebanon (Pennsylvania)
college = Kentucky
draft = 2nd overall
draft_team = Portland Trail Blazers
draft_year = 1984
career_start = 1984
career_end = 1995
former_teams = Portland Trail Blazers (1984-1989)
New Jersey Nets (1989-1993)
Los Angeles Lakers (1993-1995)
awards =

Samuel (Sam) Paul Bowie (born March 17 1961, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association who is probably best known for being selected before Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft. [ [http://www.sportsstats.com/jazzyj/greats/84/index.html 1984 NBA Draft ] ] He was a 7'1", 235 lb center.

High school and college

As a player at Lebanon High School, Bowie was one of the most heavily recruited players ever.Fact|date=December 2007 He averaged over 28 points and 18 rebounds per game, and was a McDonald's All-American and Parade All-American. In some opinions, he was considered better than another highly recruited center, Ralph Sampson, who he beat out for Player of the Year award. In 1980, Bowie was picked for the United States Olympic Men's Basketball Team, the last player without college or professional basketball experience to make the Olympic squad. Sam left the University of Kentucky after 3 seasons, and serious leg injuries, to enter the NBA draft. Before his unfortunate injury, Bowie had made 3rd team All-American his sophomore year.

NBA career

In 1984, Bowie entered the NBA draft, and after the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon with the first pick in the draft, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Bowie over North Carolina shooting guard Michael Jordan. Jordan was picked third, by the Chicago Bulls, and would go on to be one of the greatest players in basketball history, earning five NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and winning six NBA Championships. [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3017538 Oden's recovery from surgery likely in range of 6-12 months] , published September 13, 2007] Future All-Stars Charles Barkley (power forward) and John Stockton (point guard) were also available at this point during the 1984 draft. Portland's draft decision is regarded by ESPN as the worst in NBA history. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=schoenfield/060427 ESPN.com: Page 2 : The 100 worst draft picks ever ] ] . Sports Illustrated called Bowie the biggest NBA draft bust in a 2005 list, arguing that teams should not draft according to current need but to a player's potential. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/06/24/gallery.nbabusts/content.20.html SI.com - Photo Gallery - NBA Draft Busts ] ] Some past NBA critics have discussed, and would agree, that the label put on Bowie to be a "bust" is largely due to the fact that Jordan eventually had an amazing basketball career, not that Bowie was that poor a player. Further, they would agree that at the time of the draft, Bowie was a logical pick on paper given that the Trail Blazers had just picked a shooting guard the previous year (Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler).

During his rookie season, Bowie played in 76 games and averaged 10 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. However, injuries limited him to only 63 games over the next four seasons, including only five during the 1986-87 NBA season and missing the entire 1987-88 NBA season. On June 24, 1989, Bowie, who had averaged 10.5 points per game with the Trail Blazers, was traded, along with a draft pick, to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Buck Williams. Bowie's four seasons in New Jersey were his healthiest and most successful; he averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and never missed more than 20 games in a season. After two injury-riddled years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bowie retired from professional basketball in 1995.

Over his career, Bowie averaged 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.78 blocks per game. He hit 30.2% of his three-point shots.

On 14 September 2007 it was reported that Sam Bowie had recently granted an interview to ESPN. Speaking to reporter Marc Stein in the wake of disclosures that the Blazers' 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden was undergoing microfracture surgery, Bowie disclosed that guilt over the fact that he was earning good money after being picked by the Blazers resulted in him rushing back to action too soon from his injury but that, nevertheless, he considers that his life has turned out well and that he is a happy family man. [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=3019727 accessed 17 September 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/bowie.html Sam Bowie - The Fateful Pick] @ bigbluehistory.net
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bowiesa01.html NBA stats] @ basketball-reference.com
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/06/24/gallery.nbabusts/content.20.html Draft Busts] @ SI.com

Persondata
NAME= Bowie, Sam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= American basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH= March 17, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH= Lebanon, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=