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Bowen Born

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Auger

HB All-American
Sep 14, 2007
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So I live out in the Mountain West and don't follow a lot of Iowa High School basketball. I got the chance recently to meet up and chat with some old high school friends I used to ball with and against at a wedding. Those that still live in Iowa kept talking about this Bowen Born kid from Norwalk. They say he reminds many of Bohannon and could be a guy Iowa regrets not offering. One of the guys told me the kid averages like 39 a game shoots something like 60% from 2 and 45% from 3. Dispite drawing double teams and seeing every kind of defensive plan thrown at him nobody can stop him. They say he is going to play ball at UNI and he should thrive there. Heard he is 5'11" and many think he won't be able to get his shot off in the B1G. I remember many on this board saying the same about Bohannon.

Anyway what's the word from those of you still in state following high school ball? Kid sounds like some legend you tell your kids about. Got to be more to the story.
 
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Just did a quick Google search and found he scored 49 against Oskaloosa and had a huge dunk that sent the Oskaloosa crowd into a frenzy. Haha Does this kid shoot lightning bolts from his eyes and fireballs from his arse as well?
 
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I've only seen him play a couple of times.

He's not big, unless he gets stronger size would be an issue in the B1G if he were going to play there. He is a really good shooter, a great ball handler and a nice passer. I've seen questions about competition level, that's nonsense, he plays in one of the toughest conferences in the state.

I don't know that I'll regret the Hawks not offering or signing him, however, if they had and he signed, I'd have been pretty happy. He's going to be a really nice college player. My ONLY concern with him going forward if he played for Iowa would be size/build.
 
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I hope they get someone better. I have been a huge fan of Bowen, and hoped for an Iowa offer. However, it is easy to understand the size concerns are why he had no B1G offers when you see him in person.
 
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Rivals lists him as 5'-11", 160 lbs,... which doesn't seem bad for a small point guard,.. perhaps overstated?
 
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Rifler said:
Rivals lists him as 5'-11", 160 lbs,... which doesn't seem bad for a small point guard,.. perhaps overstated?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen him in the last year or so, but he wasn't much bigger than my son who is about 5'9 130ish. Maybe built slightly bigger, but not a lot.
 
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Uni and the mvc looks like a good fit for him. I have no problem with Fran choosing not to offer.
 
SSG T said:
I haven't seen him in the last year or so, but he wasn't much bigger than my son who is about 5'9 130ish. Maybe built slightly bigger, but not a lot.
Click to expand...

Yeah, not surprising,... most of these stats tend to be exaggerated, particularly for the smaller players..
 
I would bet that if the Murray twins didn't develop the way they have, Fran may have offered Born. I agree with the posters that said Iowa might regret not offering him. With the trajectory of the program this season, that may or may not be true. I am confident Fran will find players and that the Murrays are a great fit. I think the bigger thing is ISU not offering him as a legacy kid when they have nobody on that team that can shoot the ball. I do think he is a bit undersized but has a lot of the same criticisms JBo had coming out of high school. Point is... the kid can flat out shoot and play and I wish him the best. I wonder if his recruitment would spike up with a year at a prep school? Regardless.. UNI is a fantastic option for him - especially playing with AJ Green.
 
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Have seen him play several times and was bummed out that we didn't offer. He is extremely quick with mad hops has a lions heart doesn't back down and plays in an exceptional conference. UNI has at least three players now from the Little Hawkeye Conference. Bowen is the best in the conference I've seen including 4* Xavier Foster and will be very surprised if Norwalk doesn't win it all this year. We messed up.
 
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SSG T said:
I've only seen him play a couple of times.

He's not big, unless he gets stronger size would be an issue in the B1G if he were going to play there. He is a really good shooter, a great ball handler and a nice passer. I've seen questions about competition level, that's nonsense, he plays in one of the toughest conferences in the state.

I don't know that I'll regret the Hawks not offering or signing him, however, if they had and he signed, I'd have been pretty happy. He's going to be a really nice college player. My ONLY concern with him going forward if he played for Iowa would be size/build.
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Pretty good summary.
 
I’ve always been torn on this one. I’ve seen him play a few times. Loved his game and athleticism. Great shooter, and really knows how to elevate and create space on his shot. I would have like to see an offer, but his size was definitely a concern and I can see why they didn’t offer. The thing that I always think about is all of the tiny guards from small schools I wish we had while watching the NCAA tournament. It’s harder to excel with small size, but definitely possible.
 
I’d regret it more if we played UNI. Since we don’t, I won’t blame Iowa for not offering him.
 
Anyone know what/how this kid does on any AAU circuit or camps?

Really dynamic kid, scorer shooter, etc. Just curious what he does against other competition. Under 6’ and kinda looks like she starts his shot a tad low, from the waist a tad.

Like a Brody Boyd lite?
 
Robster Raws said:
Anyone know what/how this kid does on any AAU circuit or camps?

Really dynamic kid, scorer shooter, etc. Just curious what he does against other competition. Under 6’ and kinda looks like she starts his shot a tad low, from the waist a tad.

Like a Brody Boyd lite?
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I think Brody Boyd is a Bowen Born lite, honestly. He's pretty impressive. Quicker and better with the ball than Boyd.
 
I would have been happy if we'd offered Born, but we took Ulis instead, and he seems to be a pretty solid player in his own right. UNI got a good one in Born. He'll do well there.
 
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bowlhawk said:
Have seen him play several times and was bummed out that we didn't offer. He is extremely quick with mad hops has a lions heart doesn't back down and plays in an exceptional conference. UNI has at least three players now from the Little Hawkeye Conference. Bowen is the best in the conference I've seen including 4* Xavier Foster and will be very surprised if Norwalk doesn't win it all this year. We messed up.
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If this season was in the toilet I would totally agree that we messed up. The recruitment and development of guys like Garza, Wiesy, CJ, and JBo have me fully trusting the class that Fran has put together. I love Borns game and wanted the Hawks to offer, but I think Iowa will be just fine. Fran has done a tremendous job of evaluating players in the past and finding guys to fit his system.
 
I might not have this entirely correct, but I would compare Bowen Born to former Iowa Hawkeye in Brody Boyd.

Both are/were exceptional scorers in high school and about the same height/size....except Born seems a bit more athletic than Boyd.

Born is very good no doubt and I think he will do well in the MVC. Could he end up being a doubt digit scorer like Boyd and Bohannon in the B10? Yeah. Will he have better results in the MVC? No doubt about it.



Auger said:
So I live out in the Mountain West and don't follow a lot of Iowa High School basketball. I got the chance recently to meet up and chat with some old high school friends I used to ball with and against at a wedding. Those that still live in Iowa kept talking about this Bowen Born kid from Norwalk. They say he reminds many of Bohannon and could be a guy Iowa regrets not offering. One of the guys told me the kid averages like 39 a game shoots something like 60% from 2 and 45% from 3. Dispite drawing double teams and seeing every kind of defensive plan thrown at him nobody can stop him. They say he is going to play ball at UNI and he should thrive there. Heard he is 5'11" and many think he won't be able to get his shot off in the B1G. I remember many on this board saying the same about Bohannon.

Anyway what's the word from those of you still in state following high school ball? Kid sounds like some legend you tell your kids about. Got to be more to the story.
Click to expand...
 
SSG T said:
I haven't seen him in the last year or so, but he wasn't much bigger than my son who is about 5'9 130ish.
Click to expand...

Based on the above video I would agree, and put him at 5'-10", 140 lbs. tops...
 
mtdew_fever said:
I might not have this entirely correct, but I would compare Bowen Born to former Iowa Hawkeye in Brody Boyd.

Both are/were exceptional scorers in high school and about the same height/size....except Born seems a bit more athletic than Boyd.

Born is very good no doubt and I think he will do well in the MVC. Could he end up being a doubt digit scorer like Boyd and Bohannon in the B10? Yeah. Will he have better results in the MVC? No doubt about it.
Click to expand...

I would tend to agree, but I think Born is more athletic than Boyd was. If Born were similar build to Toussaint with the same skill and athleticism he currently has, I'd be thrilled to get him.

Don't get me wrong, I think he'd be a nice player at the HM level, but he will likely be a much better fit at the MM level.
 
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He is not just short, he is little. He is built like a little boy. I am sure this will eventually change but right now D I teams are going to simply take the ball from him and push him around. I don't doubt that he will still be able to score some but he won't be able to guard.
 
hooper56 said:
He is not just short, he is little. He is built like a little boy. I am sure this will eventually change but right now D I teams are going to simply take the ball from him and push him around. I don't doubt that he will still be able to score some but he won't be able to guard.
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The defense is a lot bigger concern than the offense, for sure.
 
hooper56 said:
He is not just short, he is little. He is built like a little boy. I am sure this will eventually change but right now D I teams are going to simply take the ball from him and push him around. I don't doubt that he will still be able to score some but he won't be able to guard.
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I don't have a feel for the kid one way or the other and he does look like a little kid, (I would have thought he was like 15)but isn't he about the same size as at the same time as Tyler Ulis and JBO?

Obviously not ideal but can be made up for with quickness and if he hasn't hit his growth spurt yet he could potentially be a steal.
 
BaldHawk4Life said:
I would bet that if the Murray twins didn't develop the way they have, Fran may have offered Born. I agree with the posters that said Iowa might regret not offering him. With the trajectory of the program this season, that may or may not be true. I am confident Fran will find players and that the Murrays are a great fit. I think the bigger thing is ISU not offering him as a legacy kid when they have nobody on that team that can shoot the ball. I do think he is a bit undersized but has a lot of the same criticisms JBo had coming out of high school. Point is... the kid can flat out shoot and play and I wish him the best. I wonder if his recruitment would spike up with a year at a prep school? Regardless.. UNI is a fantastic option for him - especially playing with AJ Green.
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Yeah, are the Clown fans talking about not offering Born? He and Green will furnish UNI with two good shooters.
 
IamHawkeye said:
Yeah, are the Clown fans talking about not offering Born? He and Green will furnish UNI with two good shooters.
Click to expand...

Not that I have seen, I would be pissed if I were a diehard Clone fan watching brick after brick though and knowing this kid could help them.
 
RocknRollface said:
I don't have a feel for the kid one way or the other and he does look like a little kid, (I would have thought he was like 15)but isn't he about the same size as at the same time as Tyler Ulis and JBO?

Obviously not ideal but can be made up for with quickness and if he hasn't hit his growth spurt yet he could potentially be a steal.
Click to expand...
JBo is is 6’3
 
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If I recall, JBo was not a slam-dunk recruit either - but the Hawks were in desperate for guard help. Maybe Fran saw all the intangibles, or maybe he got lucky.

Born looks like a terrific player, but he's really small. Hope he has a great career.
 
I e watched him many tinned but just once this year. He’s good. Great shooter. But I honestly have no idea how well he would do against larger more athletic talent. Yes he’s great against smaller 3A white kids, but I haven’t seen him play AAU, and that’s probably where D1 coaches are assessing him. He also gets away with everything. The refs around here have a man crush on him so he gets away with push offs, if he’s touched, he’s shooting free throws, and sometimes gets away with an extra step or 2. I don’t blame the refs, he’s easily the best player on the court every night and he seems to be a good kid. He will do well at UNI.
 
People gets so caught up on height and size. Maybe 10 15 years ago. You can’t hand check no more. You can’t even give a some what hard foul without putting your team in a hole or being ejected. These comments are very out dated. I have not seen the kid play. But if his skills are truly there, look out. Plus he is left handed.
 
countit said:
People gets so caught up on height and size. Maybe 10 15 years ago. You can’t hand check no more. You can’t even give a some what hard foul without putting your team in a hole or being ejected. These comments are very out dated. I have not seen the kid play. But if his skills are truly there, look out. Plus he is left handed.
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But if you are small you better have a very quick release and there is less room for error in your shooting motion. I really don’t know if he will be able to shoot over larger more athletic defenders. Not saying he can’t I’m just saying that’s whAt I’d want to see before calling him a miss in recruiting.
 
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