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I remember this kid at A&M. He didn't get much PT and ended up transferring.
3 NBA Teams Eye Bowles
By KRISTINA VILLANUEVA
May 9, 2012, 5:55pm
MANILA, Philippines - From a starring role in the PBA, B-Meg import Denzel Bowles may be headed to the biggest basketball stage of all – the National Basketball Association.
It appears that his sterling performance in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup has caught the attention of three NBA teams, one of which is the San Antonio Spurs, which have moved nearly effortlessly to the next round of the current NBA playoffs.
The Spurs, along with the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors, have invited Bowles to their respective training camps in June. If he performs well in these camps, an NBA contract may just be next for the 6-foot-10 player.
Bowles was named Best Import and played a dominant role for B-Meg which beat Talk ‘N Text in the best-of-seven PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship series.
His 39-point, 21-rebound performance in Game 7 lifted the Llamados to a 90-86 overtime win over the Texters last Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
"My agent had told me that the Spurs and the Warriors are really interested and they had me coming into camp. So those are the teams I'm going to check out this summer," said Bowles who left the country last night.
"They just saw what was going on. They follow how well I was playing and they just contacted my agent and my agent contacted them. They have been following me all the way since Lithuania. I have always been like, on the map, right between. So hopefully, I get the chance," added Bowles.
Also interested were the Toronto Raptors who called him in the middle of this interview last Monday at his rented condominium unit in Ortigas.
"These guys, giving me a chance to play in the NBA, it's just a blessing," said Bowles, a 23-year-old product of James Madison University, an NCAA Division 1 team.
He said that he is going to spend some time with his family in Virginia Beach in the United States and prepare for the camps in June.
Bowles one of the youngest imports to play in the PBA, was recruited by B-Meg coach Tim Cone through his contacts from the Toronto Raptors.
"Coach Tim, he has a friend on the team. He told me that Toronto talked to them first and told him that they 'liked Denzel'. That's why he came to see me play because they said, 'Go and check out Denzel'," he recalled.
Cone, according to Bowles, went to his school to watch him in action. Bowles said it helps that Cone’s daughter also attended James Madison.
"That's how he got me out here. When I didn't make it to the NBA, that's when he wanted me. It was all like a cycle," Bowles said.
He said he is going to bring with him to the NBA the skills he learned in the country's 37-year-old league, most particularly on the defensive end.
"He's (Cone) definitely given me the right mentality to play the next level. He sees people that way and he feels I have the skills set to do it and that's why he makes some calls for me and that's why Toronto called," he said. "Coach Tim believed in me. That's all I need. Somebody to believe in me, that's it."
Asked which team he would like to play for, he said that it would not matter for as long as he is given the chance to live his dream, just like B-Meg which gave him the opportunity to play in the PBA.
Despite a looming career in the world's biggest basketball league, he said that it would be hard for him to leave the country.
http://mb.com.ph/node/359186/3-nba-team
Last edited by Uriel; 05-10-2012 at 12:52 AM.
I remember this kid at A&M. He didn't get much PT and ended up transferring.
this article means jack with a grain of salt with the bolded text.....if any article mentions about the spurs being interested and not from the horse mouth, then its nothing but a troll bait free marketing to get that player some publicity....hopefully some dumb team that doesnt have a scout team bites the article aka 28 other nba teams...
An invite to "camp" right now is an invite to summer league camp ... not training camp. The Spurs don't start piecing together their training camp invites until after summer league.My agent had told me that the Spurs and the Warriors are really interested and they had me coming into camp.
Not really. The source is a highly reputable newspaper in my country. I seriously doubt they would spew unconfirmed rumors. Besides, a sentence that preceded that one pretty much stated the invitation as a matter of fact:
Oops. Sorry, my bad. I'll fix it.
So did Bowles move?
I think Bowles was loose.
The team they beat in this championship thing was called Talk ‘N Text? They're called the Texters?
If he does go to the NBA, he's gonna be a scrub. I live in the Philippines and tune in to the PBA, but that league is nowhere near the NBA or any major Euro league. It's all about athleticism and the highlight plays when the players don't have the height nor the bodies for it. They don't play system basketball much like the NBA teams do.
Tony would rule on that team.
We're in the middle of a championship run and talking about Bowles Movements?
I'm from the Philippines; Watched this guy play, though the league is really mediocre comparatively, I believe he has the skill set to make it in the NBA, will never be a starter but a decent guy off the bench would be his ceiling.
From the Philippines, I watched the game 7 of the PBA finals live and I can say he dominated. They beat TNT a team who's been ruling our league for 2 years now. I can say the dude is clutch when he made 2 free throws with 1.6 seconds left to send the game 7 in overtime. In the overtime period he scored the first 8 or 10 points for his team. Has a great mid-long range jumper and good in posting up.
Edit: He had 39 points and 21 rebounds in that game.
Last edited by 100%duncan; 05-10-2012 at 03:07 AM.
If anyone ever makes a good personnel decision with this guy, is it considered a solid Bowles movement?
When he scores, the opponents always says, "Oh !"
He's good offensively but I don't know how he'll do defensively against the gasols, bynum, randolph etc. of the nba...
Saw highlights and his moves looked like that of LMA.
Venti, were these highlights of him back in college or in the Philippine League?
No, they're the Thumbs. The team is all Thumbs.
IIRC, one of these SL camps is where they found Neal.
Just sayin''...
Philippine league. I was that so bored that I decided to look for clips in Youtube. He has a face-up game -- he can hit jumpers in the defender's face, can back down defenders. He's also very good with rebounds. 39 and 20 ain't a joke in any league nowadays, to be honest.
But this is not a good barometer, imo. He was fighting with players smaller than him. I may be wrong though. Maybe he will step up in the summer league.
Quite dependable in the clutch too:
Nice nice. Yeah I agree those stats aren't a joke in any league. But the PBA overall is very different to the NBA. For one, Bowles is dominating less athletic, smaller players. If however, he makes the summer league roster, I hope he stands out and is given a chance.
Last edited by flipspursfan; 05-10-2012 at 08:02 AM.
I saw some of his games this last tournament, and he was not that great, most of the season.
A basic center. Rebound, defend, block, finish assists.
22 years old, 6'10 guy with decent skills, against 6'6-6'8 local centers and some foreign import centers.
He just really stepped up his game that game 7. He actually surprised me that game.
He needs a lot more improvement in his game. A good thing we saw though, was, he can handle pressure situations better than most young players.
Pretty much what venti said sums it up. Given the chance, I hope he does well in the summer league.
Spurs actualy not inviting a midget or a wing to camp? Unreal the transformation of the Spurs!
39 and 21 in any kind of game is scary good on the potential side.
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