A lot of athletes start their collegiate careers with a bad attitude.
They expect to get all the minutes and to be the number-one option on the team.
This causes inescapable conflict within the team and upon the court.
Though, when a player comes along with a humble attitude, their team benefits greatly.
Khadija Bowens was a standout shooting guard at University City High School.
She averaged 19 points and seven rebounds per game–certainly impressive numbers.
Because of NCAA guidelines, Bowens was forced to redshirt her freshman year.
Not many people are aware of her talent, but when the upcoming women’s basketball season is brought up in conversation, Bowens is.
Bowens hears these expectations all of the time, but none of them mean as much as the compliments she received from her coach, Dawn Staley.
“Khadija is probably the most athletic player on this team. She can give us instant offense, and versatility on the perimeter,” Staley said.
“I believe practicing with us last year made her more hungry to show what she can do, and we are all looking forward to that.”
For some players, hearing these praises would swell their egos.
A player like this might come into a situation expecting to be the “franchise” player, but not Bowens.
“I’m not sure what my role is, but I want to do whatever I can do. As far as offense and defense, I’m ready for anything,” Bowens said.
“Stacey Smalls is the general (the team leader), so I’m prepared to do anything that is asked of me.
“My strength, I believe, is attacking the basket, but my shooting definitely needs some work, and I will continue to do that,” Bowens said.
Bowens knows she must continue to work on her complete game.
Her talent, humility and work ethic should be a nice addition to a team that last year won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, and subsequently earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, with the additional talent of Bowens, the Owls will rely more heavily on their backcourt.
Having a point guard as well as a shooting guard that can attack the basket is a very valuable commodity to have when the month of March approaches.
With an added scoring punch like Bowens, the leadership of Stacey Smalls, and the returning veterans surrounding them, there is no telling what could be in store for the Lady Owls come March.
Andrew Monaghan can be reached at ACTMONO@Aol.com
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