Up in Middletown, Rhode Island lies a big-time freshman that should be rising up the rankings, as 2023 6'8 Taylor Bowen will be a player to remember.
Bowen was already catching the attention of a few programs but on Thursday, he earned his first high-major offer from Iowa, an offer he won't forget.
'I'm really excited about my offer from Iowa, as it is my first high-major offer,' he told Phenom Hoops. 'This has been something I've been working towards for a long time. I'm early in my relationship with the coaching staff at Iowa and they have shown nothing but love up to this point. I'm looking forward to continuing to build our relationship. The message from the coaching staff is that they want to build a future for me there. They want to create a recruiting class around me that will help the program win championships and help me in my goals of getting to the NBA.'
Iowa now joins George Mason and Vermont as Bowen's early offers but the list of interests continues to grow rapidly. Schools like Clemson, Indiana, Providence, Marquette, Rutgers, Penn State, and Rhode Island are just a few schools that have expressed interest but those would be the ones he would say have shown the most interest as of late.
'Most of the coaches have been expressing how much they believe in my talent and how they want me to go to campus to see what their program has to offer.'
Coach Talk: St. George's assistant coach CJ Ward
'He is a jumbo wing with a great feel for the game at such a young age. He is 6'8 with a 7-foot wingspan and alters the game defensively at a very high level. He averaged closed to four blocks a game and can comfortably guard 1-5. Offensively, he has gotten better at an alarming rate in the last 10 months. He shot 40 percent from three this year, making 31 of them and is a capable attacker from the perimeter. He has a great motor, extremely coachable, and wants to win badly every time he steps on the court. Top-100 talent.'
What are some areas that he is working on at an early age'
'Right now, we are working on his strength and ability to handle the ball.' Over the last year, we've put a lot of work into his three-ball, to space the floor, and it is at a point where it has to be respected.' The next area is attacking and using combos from the wing spots.' He is already a tough cover and with some added strength along and getting more comfortable handling the ball, he will be a nightmare.'
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