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MBA To NBA: John Bowen III Finds His Coaching Calling With Charlotte Hornets

Rising Phoenix by Jack Prahinski

MBA To NBA: John Bowen III Finds His Coaching Calling With Charlotte Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Any North Carolina native knows that basketball is a cornerstone and staple of the state. Once John Bowen III recognized the sport as his passion, he could never find a reason to leave.

"North Carolina just breeds basketball, breeds athletes and being able to get connected in terms of the basketball community has just been crazy to say the least," Bowen said. "The people I've gotten to meet, to learn from, just the legends from this state, it's been amazing."

Now an integral part of his home-state NBA team's staff – working as an assistant video coordinator for the Charlotte Hornets – Bowen aims to cement himself in North Carolina's rich basketball history. 
 
Take a Chance on Me
Though playing in the MLB was Bowen's dream throughout his childhood and early teens, he had a hard time denying that a nine-inch growth spurt made his 6'8" frame better suited for the hardwood than the diamond.
 
With no Division I offers and a scarce number of D-II and D-III offers towards the end of his senior spring, a 17-year-old Bowen felt discouraged about his prospects of playing collegiately. Despite his growth spurt, coaches seldom told him he was too young, too skinny and lacked the size needed in college basketball. 
 
It was not until a workout for D-II Belmont-Abbey College, in which Bowen said he felt like he did not perform well, that a coach finally recognized the potential and upside that he could bring to the table and offered him a spot on the roster.
 
"Something inside of me was telling me, 'This is going to be your best opportunity to get where you wanted to go,'" Bowen said.
 
Even though Belmont-Abbey was Division II and late to recruiting him, Bowen was immediately drawn to the local North Carolina school – just a three hour drive from his hometown – and committed as soon as possible. He felt an instant connection with Crusaders head coach Billy Taylor, who would soon become his head coach and remain an integral part of Bowen's greater basketball journey.
 
"They were one of the last ones in the game, but I'm definitely glad I ended up going there because coach Taylor is one of a kind," Bowen said. "He was a very key piece in terms of my mentorship and helping me adjust to college and helping me become a man."
 
"He left a big impression on me," Bowen added. "It was clear how much coach Taylor cared about you on the court. He would push you to be the best you could be on the court, but he also pushed you to be the best you could be off the court."
 
Appearing in 56 games from 2017 to 2019 at Belmont-Abbey, Bowen carved out an impactful role and hit his stride during his sophomore season. In 22 starts, he swatted a team-leading 38 shots while grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game and shooting 54% from the field. His strong year earned him a selection to the 2018-19 All-Conference Carolinas team. 
 
Bowen was a key contributor to the Crusaders' 23-win campaign, which marked the program's most wins since 2012-13. With the team also reaching the conference championship game, Taylor's success at Belmont-Abbey did not go unnoticed.
 
After the season, Taylor received an opportunity to coach at the Power Five level. He stepped down from his head coaching position to join the University of Iowa, where he previously served as the Director of Basketball Operations, as an assistant coach. With the main reason that Bowen came to Belmont-Abbey gone, he felt it would be best for him to explore his options in the transfer portal.
 
About a month after the season, he was offered by the University of North Carolina Wilmington, a Division I program. With UNCW only about an hour from his family in his hometown of Bladenboro, North Carolina, Bowen knew he could not pass up on a long-sought-after opportunity like this.
 
"I always felt I could play at the Division I level, and although I didn't get that opportunity to do that right out of high school, I knew that I was a Division I caliber player, and luckily I had that opportunity at Wilmington," Bowen said.

Love Lost
Although the newly minted transfer was playing in a significantly reduced role compared to his time at Belmont-Abbey, Bowen had the opportunity to live out his dream of playing college basketball at the highest level, albeit under three coaches in two years. 

The Seahawks' 2019-20 and Bowen's junior season ended uneventfully with a double-digit loss in the first round of the CAA tournament. Less than a week later, the COVID-19 pandemic shattered the greater college sports landscape for the time being, forcing the NCAA to cancel all postseason tournaments and leaving an eerie uncertainty for the following season.
 
COVID outbreaks led to postponements and cancellations for close to half of the Seahawks' scheduled games during Bowen's senior year. He did not see action in a game from Jan. 31 until the last game of UNCW's season on March 6, which marked the second straight year of first-round losses for the Seahawks in the CAA tournament.
 
Bowen's playing career would have come to an end had his senior season at UNCW been a normal year. However, the NCAA granted an additional season of competition and extended immediate eligibility to any athletes at institutions impacted by the pandemic.
 
Even with the opportunity to play another season for the Seahawks or go elsewhere upon completion of his undergraduate degree, the pandemic had exerted such a toll on Bowen that he was unsure if he could play college basketball again.
 
"It was a period in my life where I was struggling with my love for the game," Bowen said. "COVID made basketball really rough for me."
 
Bowen explored options to play at other schools but said because "none of those places felt like home," he decided to take a gap year to enter "the next chapter" of his life.
 
Getting the Band Back Together
During his senior spring, Bowen was working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation, Sports Leadership and Tourism Management. Needing internship credit to graduate, he took on a coaching role for his former AAU team in Wilmington.
 
With the opportunity to serve as a head coach, Bowen quickly found that his internship could become a potential career path.
 
"Experiencing the coaching role fueled my passion for it," Bowen said. "I was like, 'Man, I like this coaching thing. I like being able to teach the game to other people.'"
 
Between coaching AAU games during an event in Atlanta, Bowen ran into Taylor. Though it was a quick interaction, it seemingly left a memorable impression on his former head coach.

After completing his internship and graduating, Bowen started his post-grad career working for a church as a youth ministry intern and coordinator in Raleigh. Though he occasionally played in local men's pickup leagues, it seemed like Bowen's basketball days were behind him.
 
A month after starting the ministry job, Bowen received a call from Taylor, who encouraged him to apply for a coaching position with the Denver Nuggets. Following their interaction in Atlanta, it was clear that it was not just Bowen who thought he might be well-suited for a coaching role.
 
"Coach Taylor was like, 'Once I saw you coaching, John, that's when I saw that I wanted to help you out and get you to the NBA,'" Bowen said. "That belief from coach Taylor and that experience from my AAU program fueled my passion to be a coach one day."
 
Taylor saw Bowen's passion for basketball, in addition to his size – standing at 6'9" and weighing 215 pounds – as key components that would make him a prime candidate for a professional coaching position.
 
"He saw how much I loved the game, how much I knew the game and how much my physical tools and abilities could help out an NBA team in terms of me being able to hop on the court with the guys, because in the video role the NBA looks for guys who can get on a court as well as do the video work," Bowen said.
 
Bowen interviewed with the Denver Nuggets but did not get the job. While he was somewhat disappointed, his former coach having his back in helping him secure an interview went a long way for their relationship.
 
"It was one of those things where coach Taylor was looking out for me, and believed in me and my abilities," Bowen said.
 
For over a year, Bowen continued with his ministry work until April 2022, when Taylor was hired by Elon University to become the head coach of the men's basketball program. With their established rapport, Bowen said it was only right to call his mentor to give him kudos. Unbeknownst to him, Taylor was about to propose an offer that he could not refuse.
 
"I originally just congratulated him, because I was happy for him," Bowen said. "But that congratulations turned into a, 'Wait, don't you have an extra year of eligibility?'"
 
After one visit to Elon's campus – during which he was reunited with Taylor and former Belmont-Abbey assistant coach Ryan Saunders – he was sold on joining the Phoenix. There is still a picture from that day of the three of them hanging up in Bowen's room to remind himself what a significant moment it was. 

"It was one of those things where it was like, 'This is how it's supposed to end up,'" Bowen said. "That was my core memory of making it official. It was like, 'Man. The family is back together.'"
 
Bowen, Taylor, and Saunders at Bowen's Visit to Elon

"I was ecstatic to take that opportunity and go play at Elon, play in a conference that I already knew, get to play against my old school in UNCW and finish it out how it should have been, with coach Taylor," Bowen added.
 
Bowen said Taylor recognized how passionate his pupil had become about working in basketball at the highest level. Because he committed to being a key piece in pioneering his new-era Phoenix program, Taylor said he would do everything he could to pay it forward to Bowen's newfound career aspirations.
 
"Coach Taylor was like, 'You played for me and helped me build this thing, and I know you want to work in the NBA, so I'm going to do what I can to help you get there,'" Bowen said.
 
The Brain and the Brawn
Though an extra year under Taylor played a factor in coming to Elon, the opportunity to pursue a Master's Degree in Business Analytics was very enticing to Bowen, as he knew how advantageous it would be to his job search.
 
"The NBA is so analytically driven," Bowen said. "There are whole departments devoted to analytics. I knew that being able to really understand analytics and what goes into it would help me even more to be the best coach that I can be."
 
Throughout Elon's 32-game season, Bowen appeared in every game, averaging 3.1 points and 3.8 boards in 17 minutes of action. Although it was a grind to keep up with his MBA coursework and the hectic schedule of a Division I program, his ability to simultaneously juggle such tasks would end up preparing him well for his first job after Elon.
 
After the season ended, Bowen's time previously spent on basketball became dedicated to building and establishing as many relationships as he could in the coaching industry. By reaching out on LinkedIn and using Taylor's connections, he constantly gave his coaching elevator pitch to anyone who would listen.

Eventually, his networking paid off and became more than just informational calls. 

One of Bowen's high school teammates happened to be the son of the assistant general manager of the Charlotte Hornets. That connection led him to a call with the Hornets' head video coordinator.
 
After inquiring about possible opportunities, Bowen was brought in for an interview and to help with a team workout in Charlotte. He said that he "crushed it," and soon after, was offered a job as an assistant video coordinator for the Hornets. 
 
Additional networking led to an offer to work the same position across the country for the Sacramento Kings, but Bowen said once the opportunity to stay at home in North Carolina was on the table, it was an easy choice to make. 
 
"It was a no-brainer," Bowen said. "Charlotte's a great city, they're doing something special here and I'm glad I made the decision that I did."
 
Welcome to the Association
Entering his second season working in the NBA, Bowen has realized that, ultimately, he wants to rise to the rank of head coach.
 
Though aspirations of being on the sidelines methodically orchestrating and guiding a team to success one day are in the back of his mind, Bowen said the track he is on – despite the constant grind it can present – is one that will lead to the career he desires.

"You can't be too proud to take any opportunity," Bowen said. "You have to start at the bottom to work your way up to the top."
 
Even though his role could be considered an entry-level position, Bowen said there is a lengthy history of former video coordinators – like Erik Spoelstra, current head coach of the Miami Heat and two-time NBA champion – using the video room as a springboard to land their first coaching job. 

Bowen said his assistant video coordinator position is like the "training ground" for learning how to coach and the ins and outs of player development and scouting.

In the video room, he creates film reports by cutting up specific clips of Charlotte's games and practices. The Hornets played 82 games last season, but Bowen estimates that he watched and cut film for 150 to 200 games. 

During home games, Bowen is buried deep within the bowels of Spectrum Center scouting future opponents in the video room. When watching, he looks for specific plays opposing teams are running and identifies offensive and defensive patterns and trends, down to something as specific as a player's hand placement on the ball. As important as the coaching staff having film on their own team might be, Bowen said that finding scout film of the opposition is equally significant.
 
"What I do is kind of the first point of attack in the game-planning process," Bowen said.
 
Though his master's degree helped him become technically proficient in video and analytics software, Bowen does not just sit at his computer cutting up film all day. He regularly is on the practice court with the stars, playing in low-minute, scout and three-on-three games.
 
Bowen said because he has NBA size and athleticism, he can simulate "real-game reps," even against the highest caliber of professional basketball athletes.
 
"I'm not quite as talented, but my ability and my athleticism alone helped me get into the league and it's what's going to help me stay in the league," Bowen said. "Being able to hop on the court and give actual game-like looks to our players is crucial."
 
Even though he might not possess the same skill level, Bowen said once players see his impressive on-court skills and his ability to hold up against NBA-caliber competition, they become far more receptive to his coaching and suggestions regarding their development.

"Being able to give those guys some good competition on the court, it makes them respect you a lot more and makes them say, 'OK, this guy actually does know what he's talking about,'" Bowen said.
 
"Once you show them you know what you're talking about, and you show them you know how to play, then you really get their respect," Bowen added.
 
Bowen recalled a practice game in which Miles Bridges, JT Thor and James Bouknight all were playing as one of the first times the Hornets players began to take note of his abilities. After a teammate missed a shot, the towering 6'9" forward ran past his defender in an attempt to secure an offensive rebound coming off the basket. Because no one thought to box the assistant video coordinator out, both teams in the facility were in awe.
 
"Next thing you know, I go up and catch the rebound, and tip-dunk it backward, and everybody in the gym just stops,'" Bowen said. "They were like, 'I've never seen that before.'"
 
"That was just the coolest moment, really taking the breath away of everyone in the gym, and they were like, 'Oh [wow], John has bounce,'" he added.
 
Bowen steadily gained the respect and trust of the team throughout his first season. He said taking the time to do the smallest things, like rebounding for a player when they wanted to practice shooting, helped the team be more receptive to him.
 
Last season, Charlotte had the third-youngest roster of all 30 NBA teams. Bowen said because of the Hornets' youth, another key part of his job is focused on player development.

Including Bowen, there are 15 coaches on the Hornets' payroll. He said the number of coaches allows for each to specialize in one or two things, allowing him to focus on looking for the most granular, specific details when it comes to a certain player's development. 
 
"You might miss something that you could have seen if you paid a little more attention to it, but instead, you have the best information possible to be able to relay to our players and say, 'This is what happens, this is how it went, and hey, here's the proof right here,'" Bowen said.
  
Even though Bowen finds great joy in teaching others, he said some of the most rewarding experiences in Charlotte have come when he gets to be the learner.
 
"That's the thing about being a coach, sometimes you learn from your players as well, especially in the NBA, because these guys know the game enough to be coaches of their own," Bowen said. "They're professionals."
 
This is Where I Belong
After his last season at UNCW was thwarted by the pandemic, it seemed like working or playing basketball in any capacity might not be part of his future life or career plans. Now four years removed – and entering his second season of working in basketball at the highest level – Bowen has found basketball bliss.
  
"My first game in Charlotte was surreal," Bowen said. "It was like, 'Wow, I grew up in the stands watching these games and now, I'm playing a key piece in my favorite team from when I was growing up winning a game.'"
 
Because he was constantly working on a project or a pressing task, Bowen did not have a moment to process the fact that he was working his dream job until almost a third of the way through last season. Walking out of the tunnel for a shootaround during a West Coast road trip, Bowen laid eyes on two larger-than-life athletes for the first time. It was only then that he took a beat to take it all in.
 
"It didn't hit me until our game on December 28. We're in L.A., and I'm working the guys out, and I'm in the Lakers' arena on the court, and I'm like, 'Man, this is where Kobe and Shaq did all their damage,'" Bowen said. "Then I walk on the court, and I see LeBron and Anthony Davis walk right past me, face-to-face, and I'm on the same court as them and I was like, 'Man. I'm really here. I'm really working in the NBA.'"
 
After his first year experiencing the lengthy 82-game season and regularly working 12 to 14 hours on home game days, Bowen said the grind has been worth it. Spending most of his days with players, he said he has built relationships as good as kin. Once the team returned from their off-season hiatus for practice, Bowen knew he was home.
 
"When I walked in for our summer workouts, all of our players were happy to see me. They were like, 'John! What's up man?'" Bowen said. "Getting back onto the court with them, it was like I just never missed a beat."
 
"It's just a great atmosphere in the gym, and it feels like a family, and that was when I was like, 'Man, yeah, this is where I belong,'" Bowen added.

Bowen will officially begin his second season working for the Hornets at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, when Charlotte is set to open the 2024-25 NBA calendar against the Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. 
 
'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.
--ELON--
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Players Mentioned

John Bowen III

#33 John Bowen III

F
6' 9"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

John Bowen III

#33 John Bowen III

6' 9"
Graduate Student
F