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Brian Bowen had the opportunity to spend a couple of days last week playing in real basketball games Josh Gordon Jersey , replete with scoreboards and referees and with every courtside seat filled.
It’s unclear when he’ll 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. He’s 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 hasn’t cleared him yet. It might not. So he’s taking a long look at the NBA, and Bowen’s 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.
”It’s the biggest thing I’ve 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 there’s 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 De’Anthony Melton Antonio Callaway Jersey , 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 there’s 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, diverting his attention away from college ball with the exception of USC’s schedule.
”Any decision I made, I don’t regret nothing,” Preston said. ”I don’t regret anything I’ve been through. It’s God. It’s in God’s hands. Whatever presents itself, I’ll 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 didn’t even think I would be here right now.”
Bowen always expected to be at the combine Todd Davis Jersey , but never while in this situation.
He doesn’t speak ill of Louisville . He insists that he’s 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 hasn’t even considered who he would hire for representation if he stays in the draft.
”It’s a situation I have to deal with,” Bowen said. ”It is what it is. Continue to stay focused, that’s my big thing.”
He’s also closer than ever with his father, which might surprise some considering his alleged role in Bowen’s problems. He’s 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. ”Somebody’s 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.”
Free agent safety Eric Reid said Thursday he is not planning to protest during the national anthem this upcoming season.
Reid has been among the NFL's most visible protesters since former San Francisco teammate Colin Kaepernick decided not to stand for the national anthem in 2016.
Reid continued the protest of racial injustice and police brutality against minorities by kneeling during the anthem last season as Kaepernick was unable to find a job. But Reid said he will take a different approach in 2018.
"We understand you have to change with the times," he said after watching his brother Jay Novacek Jersey , Justin, take part in his Pro Day at Stanford.
"I'm not saying I'm going to stop being active because I won't. I'm just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country and improve on the issues happening in this country. I don't think it will be in the form of protesting during the anthem. I say during because it's crazy that the narrative changed to we were protesting the anthem and that wasn't the case. I think we're going to take a different approach to how we're going to be active."
Reid has gotten no contract offers more than a week into free agency despite a record of strong play on the field and versatility that many teams usually covet.
San Francisco general manager John Lynch said the team is monitoring the market for Reid but the Niners are mostly set at safety with Jaquiski Tartt, Jimmie Ward and Adrian Colbert under contract.
Reid said his agent has heard from a "couple" of teams but money hasn't been discussed and he is still awaiting an opportunity. Reid has said that he understands his activism could affect his employment, especially after watching Kaepernick go unsigned for more than a year.
"I said before, I stand by what I've done," he said. "I know why I've done it. My faith in God is the reason. I can go to sleep at night confident that I did what I was taught to do. I'm just going to stay positive, keep training, keep staying in shape and we'll see what happens."
Reid was a first-round pick by the 49ers in 2013 and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. He has been a strong player throughout his career, playing strong safety, free safety and even some linebacker last season when San Francisco was short-handed at the position.
He has 10 interceptions and 36 passes defensed in 70 career games.
"Eric played and played well for us last year Jerry Hughes Jersey ," Lynch said. "I think he's kind of stuck in a safety market that's been quiet. I would anticipate things starting to shake for him. We'll see."
While Eric Reid looks for a team, he spent Thursday helping his brother prepare for his Pro Day. Justin Reid is considered one of the top safeties eligible for the draft and will likely get picked on the first two days of next month's draft.
Justin Reid said he has visits planned with Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Seattle and Carolina. He also met with 29 teams at the combine but said no one has asked him about his brother or if he would protest during the anthem.
Justin Reid said he's prepared for those questions if they come and that he won't protest.
"We each have our own beliefs," he said. "He felt like that's what he needed to do. I have my own ways that I feel like I'm going to go about it. I'm not as much of a vocal person in that situation. I don't really like drama. I don't want to deal with that."
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