Brian Bowen is one of the nation’s top rated remaining uncommitted basketball recruits. The Class of 2017 five-star La Lumiere small forward is a consensus top-20 national recruit, and most expect him to choose between Michigan State, Creighton and Arizona, with Texas and N.C. State also possibilities.
Not on that short list — mostly critics input, not Bowen’s — is DePaul, Chicago’s Big East institution at which coach Dave Leitao may be facing intense pressure in the upcoming 2017-18 season. As a result Leitao is making moves, and they all seem to point to a targeted effort to land Bowen.
First, Leitao hired La Lumiere head coach Shane Heirman as a new DePaul assistant coach. Heirman spent three seasons with the Lakers, leading them to back-to-back appearances in the championship game at the DICK’S Nationals tournament and a victory and USA TODAY Super 25 title in 2016-17.
Now, FanRag Sports’ Jon Rothstein is reporting that Leitao is also trying to lure Bowen’s AAU coach, Tim Anderson. The head of the Nike-affiliated Mean Streets program, Anderson is based in Chicago (like Mean Streets), and would provide a pipeline that goes beyond an initial entry to Bowen.
Still, the possibility of DePaul hiring both of Bowen’s most notable coaches in the span of a week would be … interesting.
Will it be enough to land Bowen? Who knows. It certainly seems like it would give him something to think about at the very least.
