Taylor Bol Bowen
PF, 6’10” (190)
ESPN 100 (90), No. 12 PF
If Aiden Sherrell is the high energy offensive weapon waiting to come into his own, and Noah Williamson is the swing forward that brings you a bit of everything, then Taylor Bol Bowen rounds out the trio of ‘Bama bigs, being defined by a quality the Tide has consistently lacked in the post: He’s a defensive terror. That’s not all he is, of course. And, it’s not even what jumps out the most about his game.
We know that Nate Oats has high standards for defenders, so it was not light praise for him to say of TBB: “Taylor is a tremendous athlete with great size at 6-10 and a 7-2 wingspan. He can spread the floor with his three-point shooting and is one of the best two-way players in the country. He is elite on the defensive end and is one of the best weak-side rim protectors I have seen.”
Let’s take a look at Bowen.
Taylor Bol Bowen was born in Egypt, and moved the States to attend high school, where he was dominant in New Hampshire despite being a late bloomer to hoops. By the time he reached his Junior season, TBB had hit 6’10”, skyrocketed up the recruiting rankings, and held offers from the nation’s heaviest hitters — Duke, UConn, Kansas, half the SEC, even more of the Big 10, etc.
The rangy, athletic Bowen eventually committed to Leonard Hamilton and earned an immediate playing time with the uptempo Florida State Seminoles. The transition to college ball was a bit tough for him. The shooting stroke that enticed teams as a prospect was notably absent as a freshmen, limiting his minutes to just 11 per game. He was shooting a miserable 22% from the perimeter, 42% from the floor, and 67% from the stripe.
However, the switched flipped on in Bowen’s sophomore season, and all of that tantalizing talent emerged. Taylor earned a starting job with the struggling Seminoles, where he averaged 8 a night to go with 5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, and he just all around improved despite the Noles missing post-season play and Coach Hamilton being driven into retirement. His floor shooting went up from 42 to 52%. Free throw shooting improved from 67% to 78%. And he rediscovered his perimeter shot, where Bowen would go from a 22% shooter, to a 41.8% three-point demon.
It’s easy to see why; there is a lot to be impressed by. Taylor is a great two-way player, transitioning to offense off of rebounds as well as anyone we’ve seen. He’s a smooth shooter for a big, and is most comfortable as a catch-and-release perimeter weapon anywhere around the three-point line (though he doesn’t have great range: inside of 23 feet is about it). He uses his body well in space, is physical getting to the rim. And he just always seems to be around the basket making plays on both ends.
One thing that will stand out when you watch him, is how he somehow manages to always find himself open in the post. You would think 6’10” would be hard to miss, but TBB can almost disappear in traffic, only to reemerge for an easy backside bucket. You see that same skill on the defensive end, where he seems to emerge from a scrum and use his body control to find rebounds.
There are some weaknesses in his game, of course. He’s not the best ballhandler, and was prone to spates of turnovers. He could go quiet for games at a time, especially against elite front courts (his splits vs. Clemson and Duke are most illustrative here). And Bowen is also is not an elite distributor from the post, usually being a finisher rather than a facilitator. You see that as well from the fact he rarely puts the ball on the floor. It’s just not his game.
Taylor could also stand to knock back a few dozen cheeseburgers. The Nilotic people from the Upper Nile Valley in Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopa are the tallest people on earth — but they’re very wiry and not renowned for being exactly swole. He’ll need some time in the weight room before SEC play begins.
Still, I honestly do not know how teams slept on this player.
Of all the portal transfers, I am comfortable in saying that Bol Bowen will have the most consistent success. He looks like a better shooting version of Clowney (or a more athletic Grant Nelson). He poses a mismatch nightmare with his size and a great stroke on the perimeter, runs the floor well, and is always around the basket.
TBB won’t take over games, so I wouldn’t look for nightly double-doubles. But he’ll have a few, even with a deep Tide bench. More importantly, he’ll help ‘Bama win ballgames from the season’s opening tip. I just don’t know how you guard someone at his size, with his offensive skills. Go ahead and pencil Bol Bowen in for 20 minutes a night as a starter.
Welcome to Tuscaloosa, Taylor
Roll Tide
