2011-12 Georgetown Hoyas Player Profiles: Aaron Bowen

Look Back: Aaron Bowen came to Georgetown after a prep year at Quality Education Academy in North Carolina where he helped them win a national title. He originally committed to Marquette prior to his prep year, but decommitted after the assistant coach who recruited him left the program. Last year, Bowen played sparingly due to a shoulder injury and received a medical redshirt so he will have four years of eligibility remaining. In the seven games Bowen appeared in, he averaged one point and .6 rebounds in just over three minutes per game. His shooting stats should probably be thrown out the window, however, seeing as his shooting shoulder was injured.

Expectations:
Aaron is expected to provide guard depth for the Hoyas off the bench. Bowen provides excellent athleticism and based on his high school career, another shooter for the Hoyas backcourt. With a healed shoulder, Bowen is ready to contribute. It's hard to have too many expectations for him since his injury prevented any real evaluation last year, but with a limmited number of guards on the roster the opportunity is definitely there for Bowen.

Projection (Cynical):
Bowen gets lost in the playing time crunch. Between Jason Clark, Jabril Trawick, Greg Whittington, Otto Porter, and Hollis Thompson,  Bowen just cannot crack the rotation at the 2 or the 3.  He did not show a consistent 3pt shot in Kenner League or in China, and he also posted the lowest Offensive Rating of anyone on the team on the trip. The lack of playing time leads to disgruntlement and another transfer under JTIII.

Projection (Delusional):
Bowen bursts on the scene showing off his athleticism and 3pt range. He starts as the first guard off the bench, but by the end of the year he moves in to the starting lineup. Bowen continues to provide solid rebounding at the position (he was by far the best rebounder from the guard position in China grabbing 20.8% of defensive rebounds while on the court, 2nd only on the team to Nate Lubick). and his improved passing makes him a kew cog in the offense (Bowen also had the second highest assist rate among guards in China). Obviously you don't want to read too much into these scrimmages but Bowen has a lot of untapped potential that could blossom after a year of learning the system. This experience puts him ahead of the freshman in the rotation and Aaron plays a major role in the Hoyas success this season.