A father and son ponder hoops dreams
Bowens reflect on journeys that ended in S.A. Sports All-star Game
During his final years with the San Antonio Spurs, Bruce Bowen started a new routine.
He held hands with his son, Ojani Bowen, while they walked the floor together before every game.
“That was always the best highlight to me, and if I talk about anything, I think I always go back to that because of what that meant back then,” Bruce said.
Their bond continued to grow strong as Bruce decided that he wanted to start coaching Ojani in middle school. But through coaching his son, Bruce realized that their relationship was starting to change.
“I started the process of really dialing back, especially when moments were tense,” Bruce said. “When you get a kid that responds back to you, sometimes it’s only because boys are emotional, and I had to learn that. My son is emotional as well, but at the same time, I don’t have to keep going to try to get my point across, and I got to give him room to be a basketball player.”
Then when Ojani entered his freshman year at TMI, Bruce became the school’s boys basketball coach.
During their tenure as player and coach, Bruce and Ojani have encountered numerous growth opportunities. However, their journey in those roles ended due to Ojani being a senior at the San Antonio Sports All-star basketball game on Sunday.
“It hasn’t really hit me just yet, but I feel like I’m going to be emotional later on about my journey,” Ojani said. “I’m going to feel more appreciative about it because I feel like I haven’t really been appreciative as much as I could have been during the season because I’m focused on winning and nothing else.”
Bruce said his favorite fatherson moment was during the
2021-22 season when both them sat in the locker room and hugged each other while crying after TMI lost in the TAPPS 5A state final. The car ride was silent, but once they got home, things changed.
“He was very emotional, and he said, ‘Poppy, I want to be the best player I can be, and I want to play in the NBA,’ ” Bruce said. “And I said to him, ‘Son, I’m not about raining or (crushing) kids dreams. I said, ‘So that’s going to take a lot of work.’ ”
Ojani said Bruce told him he was proud of his growth as a player even after losing in the state championship.
“I didn’t really see myself coming this far,” Ojani said. “But to hear that from him, I know that’s why I really knew that I could trust him forever.”
To aid Ojani in reaching his goal of becoming the best player he can be, Bruce started helping Ojani develop consistency in his game by trash-talking him during practice. This helped Ojani strengthen his stoic mentality.
“He’s always hard on me, and whenever we go through fullcourt one-on-ones,” Ojani said. “And then when I get scored on, he’s always hyping up the opposing guy or whoever scored on me just to get in my head, and he really just does things to get in my head. He knows what triggers me.”
Through all the consistent battles at practice, Ojani helped lead TMI to a state championship victory in the 2022-23 season.
“That was awesome,” Ojani said. “I felt like a lot of people doubted us, especially that year. We weren’t in anybody’s final four in the state championship, so it really meant something to us to be able to win and compete at the state tournament.”
During Ojani’s senior season, he was one of two seniors on the Panthers. Ojani said that having to take a bigger role on the offensive end helped him develop into a leader.
Bruce said that Ojani’s hard work was displayed during his senior season.
“The biggest thing I think you can give your kids is a sense of purpose and a work ethic,” Bruce said. “If a kid has a work ethic, then you’re not worried about if he gets a chance because you know that chance is going to come and once that chance does come, he’s going to capitalize on that moment because he’s not afraid of the work. Whereas there’s a lot of kids that don’t want to put in the work.”
To finish his senior season at the San Antonio Sports All-star basketball game for Team Gold, Ojani had 12 points and three rebounds in a 73-67 loss against Team Black at Northside Sports Gym.
Ojani doesn’t have any offers to play college basketball next year. But he’s not letting that stop him from looking at other options, such as playing for a prep school or a Division III college next year.
“I’m never going to be satisfied with where I’m at right now,” Ojani said. “I’m always going to want to try to get better and prove that I can go to the next level. But my goal is to try to play at the highest level. That’s the NBA. But I know it’s going to be hard to get that done.”
But Ojani said that now that his high school career is officially over, he can’t start to process his journey.
“It’s been pretty emotional,” Ojani said. “He’s a great coach, and I know I’m still going to get knowledge from him, but I’m probably going to miss being with him in practice and just him guiding me in person.”