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 Verfasst am: 05.09.2018, 03:14 Titel:
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Brian Bowen had the opportunity to spend a couple of days last week playing in real basketball games Brandon LaFell Jersey , replete with scoreboards and referees and with every courtside seat filled.
Its unclear when hell be able to do that again.
Bowen might have been one of the most talked-about players in NCAA basketball over the last year, without so much as playing a single second of a game. Hes the one-time Louisville commit who left amid massive scandal the federal probe into the college game, including allegations that his father took money during the recruiting process and subsequently transferred to South Carolina.
But the NCAA hasnt cleared him yet. It might not. So hes taking a long look at the NBA, and Bowens invitation to the draft combine last week was a fact-finding mission that will help him decide whether to formally turn pro or return to school with hopes that his collegiate eligibility will be restored so he can play with the Gamecocks.
Its the biggest thing Ive ever been through in my life, Bowen said after one of his 5-on-5 games at the combine. They took the game away from me, a game I truly love. It made me realize how much passion and love I do have for the game. I put that into my workouts every day and I go as hard as I can.
The 6-foot-7 Bowen of Saginaw, Michigan has until the end of the month to decide whether to keep his name in the draft or not. The draft itself is June 21. And theres been no indication if the NCAA will offer him any clarity before he has not make his stay-or-go choice.
My lawyer and the school are dealing with it, Bowen said.
His is a most curious case, even in a draft that has a handful of players who have been tainted on some level by the ongoing mess that reverberated through the college game last season and probably will continue having a ripple effect for the foreseeable future.
Billy Preston, the 6-1o forward who left Kansas while being investigated by the NCAA and played professionally in Europe, was at the combine trying to show his worth to NBA clubs. Same goes for the 6-4 DeAnthony Melton, who left USC after not being able to play this past season because a family friend was linked to the scandal.
Melton said the interviews with teams at the combine had little to do with basketball and mostly centered on his side of the story.
I just broke it down for them, Melton said. I told them from the very beginning to the very end. I know theres a lot of reports out there about what happened and what was going down, I told them my feelings about everything and why I kept quiet through the whole situation. I gave them what they were asking for.
That trio of players handled their unwanted down time in different ways.
Bowen said he locked in on academics, earning a 3.5 GPA. Preston went to Bosnia and played, albeit in only a handful of games and was back around the Jayhawks as a fan and friend, not player and teammate for their Final Four appearance. Melton started studying NBA games and looking at them as if he was a coach Torrey Smith Jersey , diverting his attention away from college ball with the exception of USCs schedule.
Any decision I made, I dont regret nothing, Preston said. I dont regret anything Ive been through. Its God. Its in Gods hands. Whatever presents itself, Ill definitely fight my way through it. Being over there, I think that was God putting a barrier in my way and I broke through it. I didnt even think I would be here right now.
Bowen always expected to be at the combine, but never while in this situation.
He doesnt speak ill of Louisville . He insists that hes had no involvement with Christian Dawkins, the would-be agent who federal prosecutors say brokered and facilitated payments to players during their recruitments in exchange for them hiring him when they turned pro. He says he hasnt even considered who he would hire for representation if he stays in the draft.
Its a situation I have to deal with, Bowen said. It is what it is. Continue to stay focused, thats my big thing.
Hes also closer than ever with his father, which might surprise some considering his alleged role in Bowens problems. Hes been in South Carolina with his son, and the younger Bowen said they begin each day the same way a hug in the morning, saying I love you to the other before starting to attack the daily schedule.
Everything happens for a reason, Bowen said. Somebodys situation is always going to be worse than mine. Other people in my family have worse situations than I have. I just have to learn, use it as a learning experience, use it as motivation and have a chip on my shoulder.
Adam Vinatieri vividly remembers his last game against Morten Andersen.
Andersen had already logged more than 20 seasons in the NFL, was well into his 40s, nearing the end of his career and still kicking as well as anyone in the league. Back then Quenton Nelson Jersey , Vinatieri marveled at how the seemingly ageless Andersen managed to excel for so long.
Now, more than a decade later, Vinatieri finds himself grinding through his 23rd NFL training camp, hoping to join the NFLs career scoring leader in the Hall of Fame. Andersen was inducted last year.
I would have liked to have seen a handful more kickers and punters make it in there, but finally getting a second kicker in and Ray Guy getting in, its good that we have some representation in there because those guys did a lot for the league, the Indianapolis Colts kicker said.
Andersens induction last year provided hope to specialists such as Vinatieri that they, too, could be headed to Canton, Ohio, one day.
Until Andersens selection, Vinatieri wasnt sure. The only one other pure kicker to earn pro footballs highest distinction was Jan Stenerud in 1991. Guy was elected in 2014, ending the shutout for punters.
Some believe Vinatieri could be next.
His sterling resume glistens with Hall of Fame credentials: four Super Bowl rings, the league record for 100-point seasons (20) and second all-time in career scoring (2,487 points). Anderson finished with 2,544 and Vinatieri needs 58 points to break the record, which could happen at midseason if all goes well.
He owns the career record for scoring in postseason games (234) Darren Woodson Jersey , is the only player to top 1,000 points and make 200 field goals with two teams, has celebrated a league-record 225 victories, including playoffs, and made a league-high 44 consecutive field goals. If Vinatieri completes this season, he would become only the third 46-year-old player to suit up for an NFL team.
His highlight reel contains some of the most memorable kicks in league history: two last-minute field goals to win Super Bowls and the tying and winning kicks in the infamous Snow Bowl, which helped New England win the first of its five Lombardi Trophies. He has been dubbed the best clutch kicker in league history and theres no indication Automatic Adam is slowing down.
Its ridiculous, holder Rigoberto Sanchez said. Its honestly out of this world, I think. Twenty-three years in the league, still kicking the ball the way he kicks it, 60 yards out in practice. Its unreal.
Just how much has Vinatieri seen and done during his career?
He is the last link to the NFLs developmental league in Europe, the one Andrew Lucks father worked with, and one of only two players left from the 1990s. Former teammate Phil Dawson is the other.
Vinatieri joined the league before former teammates Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, still reminds people he once tackled Herschel Walker and acknowledges missing on Desmond Howard and Devin Hester as they returned his kickoffs for Super Bowl scores.
He played for Hall of Fame coaches Bill Parcells and Tony Dungy, in addition to Bill Belichick. His newest coach, Frank Reich, actually threw for 281 yards against the Patriots during Vinatieris rookie season in 1996.
Somehow Joe Namath Jersey , though, he remains the epitome of consistency.
Last year, with a new long snapper and a new holder, Vinatieri still made 85.3 percent of his field goals and scored 109 points and now hes back with his oldest son, A.J., serving as a ball boy at training camp.
It comes to a point where Adam is Mr. Clutch over here, so (long snapper) Luke (Rhodes) just tries to do his job right and get the 12 oclock laces and I try to get the ball in the spot that he likes and let him do the rest, said Sanchez, who wasnt even born until a week after Vinatieris NFL debut in 1996. Hes been kicking it straight for a long time.
Despite the honors, the nicknames and the Hall of Fame predictions, Vinatieri knows he may still need more to follow the kicker he has been watching since his younger days in South Dakota into the NFLs most hallowed halls.
I dont think it hurts, thats for sure, Vinatieri said. Its one of those things that I havent really though too much about it. Im still just trying to help my team win games and keep on putting chapters in this book and if that happens, fantastic.
NOTES: The Colts have activated starting safeties Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker from the physically unable to perform list Thursday. Both were coming off knee surgery. Guard Jeremy Vujnovich also was activated from PUP. He had been out with an injured calf after starting all 16 games last season.
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