Timmy Bowers is gearing up for the next phase in his life.
The former Mississippi State standout also is preparing for his 14th season as a professional basketball player. Slated to return to
Italy, where he has played the last eight years, Bowers credits a solid fundamental base for enabling him to have such a long career following his success in Starkville.
For the past three to four years, Bowers has been holding youth basketball camps on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in an attempt to pass on some of the fundamentals that helped him become such an accomplished player for the Bulldogs. Next month, Bowers will bring his lessons to Columbus for the inaugural Timmy Bowers Youth Basketball Camp. The camp for boys and girls ages 8-14 will go from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at The Mississippi University for Women’s Pohl Gymnasium. Lunch will be provided. The cost is $65.
“It is something I have always wanted to do,” Bowers said about giving back to younger players. “I am one of the people that believes giving back comes with the territory of being successful. Part of your journey is to give back and to give to kids who are less fortunate and don’t really have the opportunity to see or meet a pro player every day of their life.”
Bowers, a 6-foot-2 guard, played at MSU from 2001-04 for coach Rick Stansbury. The native of Gulfport, who played at Harrison Central High School, served as co-captain in his junior season at MSU when he earned third-team All-Southeastern Conference honors from The Associated Press. He averaged 14.6 points per game and shot a career-best 46.8 percent from the field.
As a senior, Bowers played an integral role in MSU’s first outright SEC championship since 1962-63. Bowers was second on the team in scoring (15 ppg.) to Lawrence Roberts as the Bulldogs finished 26-4 and lost to Xavier in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Bowers earned first-team All-SEC honors from The AP and from the league coaches. He finished his career with 1,300 points (at the time 12th on the all-time list), 301 assists (10th), 161 steals (fourth), and 197 3-pointers (second).
Bowers also ended his stay in Starkville as the school’s all-time winningest basketball player in school history (92-35 record, including three-straight trips to the NCAA tournament). He also was the first player in school history to participate in four postseason tournaments.
Bowers, 35, said he just finished a youth basketball camp Sunday and he completed another one three weeks ago. He said he also holds youth basketball camps in the Houston, Texas, area where he lives. He said he hopes to do more camps in the state of Mississippi and throughout the nation as he builds his brand.
Bowers will do that while completing a professional career that also has seen him play one year in Greece and four years in Israel. He played in what used to be called the NBA’s D-League in his first year after leaving MSU. Bowers said he likely would take time “to sit down and breathe a little bit and see what has been done and where I am in history” when he is finished playing. After that, Bowers said he anticipates staying involved in basketball full time. He said he does private workouts and is involved with Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball tournaments in the Houston, Texas, area and in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area, and would consider transitioning to that after his professional career ends. He also said he loves to teach and to coach kids, so he would entertain that as a possible next step in his career.
“I have been blessed and a little bit lucky — knock on wood — that I have not had really any serious injuries,” Bowers said. “I try to take great care of my body and do the right things living wise and health wise.”
Bowers also has tried to do the “right things” when it comes to basketball. He credits hard work and attention to detail for his longevity. Bowers said he will focus on ballhandling, passing, defense, footwork, and more in the camp at The W.
“I haven’t had the time to reflect on anything I have done in my career. A lot of friends are telling me, ‘You have done this and you’re a legend, man,’ but I tell them I am just regular Tim. I am the same guy I have always been. I haven’t had any time to look at my statistics or to see where I stand in the rankings because my career just has kept going and I haven’t been able to stop.”
Thomas Berkery, the sports tourism director of the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he went to school with Bowers and he saw advertisements about camps he was running on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He said he figured he would reach out to Bowers to see if he was interested in doing something similar in Columbus.
“We have been working on it for three to four weeks, and I am excited about it,” Berkery said. “He is by far, in my opinion, one of the biggest overachievers in Mississippi State history. He is a 6-2 two-guard who has played 13 years of professional basketball. That means he has a superior skill set and work ethic and all of the things you want your kids to be around. I thought it was natural to hold a camp in Columbus.”
Berkery credited The W and Jason Trufant, the school’s director of athletics, for working with him to make the camp happen. He said having the camp at the school in downtown Columbus is a perfect way to help increase awareness about the school’s return to intercollegiate athletics this year.
Trufant shares Berkery’s excitement, and says the school will examine the possibility of holding camps for other sports in the future.
“It’s something we haven’t had in a long time, and we look forward to working with Thomas as much as we can,” Trufant said.
Bowers hopes to make this camp special by providing a “personal” touch. He said he will have the whistle in his hand and will interact with the players and the parents to make sure everyone enjoys the experience.
“I am really in tune with the players,” Bowers said. “You can touch me and talk to me. I tell the parents to give me a call if they’re having trouble. That is the difference.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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