Today is Brandon Bowman’s 23rd birthday. After the 2002-03 Georgetown season ended (the loss in the NIT Final to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden), I went into the locker room to try and console some of the players as well as to congratulate them on the completion of their season. I walked up to Brandon and extended my hand to him. He handed me his empty Gatorade bottle. I told him, “I’m offering to shake your hand, not take your trash.” He felt bad, shook his head and my hand. Throughout his career he got a bad rep for sort of being a head case, and even though my anecdote reinforces that belief, Hoya fans should be grateful since he really was a great player for the Hoyas, even if he did have some moments of interesting decision-making. So to paraphrase, ‘I come to praise Bowman, not to bury him.’

Here are his all-time career ranks for the Hoyas:

• Points: 12th (1,548)
• Rebounds: 10th (739)
• Assists: 22nd (232)
• Steals: 14th (170)

Pretty good numbers, but here’s something that’ll blow you away.

Brandon Bowman is one of only two Hoyas ever to finish their careers with more than 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, and 200 assists. The other player is Reggie Williams - that’s pretty elite company.

Bowman’s statistics are impressive when compared historically, but his significance to the program is much more significant. Bowman was the one player who was a major figure during the tenure of Coach Craig Esherick and Coach John Thompson III. Yes, Ashanti Cook and Darrel Owens were the same year in school, but neither one was as critical a player during their freshman season as Bowman. Without Bowman, the transition between the two coaches could never have been as smooth as it was. Bowman actually had announced that he was going to transfer out of Georgetown; it’s a good thing he came to his senses.

P.S. - Get off Bowman’s case about the foul to setup the four-point play in the final seconds at Notre Dame, everybody knows that call was just another example of referee Curtis Shaw trying to be a hero. Plus, it made for a more dramatic win.