VIDEO: Tyler Bowens Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the first part in a two-part series chronicling Carson-Newman's men's basketball's positions for the 2023-24 season. This preview breaks down the Eagles' forwards and centers with help from Tyler Bowens.
Carson-Newman will have to deal with the loss of three posts this year. Gone are two-time SAC defensive player of the year Bryant Thomas, as well as role player big men Nehemie Kabeya and Ivan Hadzic.
The Eagles' shot-stopper Thomas once again led the South Atlantic Conference with 2.23 blocks per game and 63 rejections last season. Thomas finished his career with 194 rejections, the most by a wide margin in Carson-Newman history, and ranks eighth all-time in league history for career rejections.
"BT was an amazing player and incredible shot-blocker," Bowens said. "He was the anchor of our defense. We will be able to hold our own with who we have returning. We won't have the rim-protection out of that middle forward position that we had with BT, but we should be able to utilize what we have back to fill the void he leaves offensively."
While Thomas exits, C-N still returns loads of experience among its threes, fours and fives. Bowens, Joshuwa Butts, Ben Beeker and Camden McElhaney have a combined 251 appearances under their collective belts in their basketball careers.
"Us being a veteran core, we've seen it all from wins to losses to buzzer beaters," Bowens said. "We have the capabilities to play, but also react to a lot of situations that we've been in before."
Bowens appeared in 27 games with 19 starts in his red-shirt sophomore season. He averaged 4.6 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and knocking down 30-of-56 (53.6 percent) free throws. He led Carson-Newman in rebounding on seven occassions, topping out with a career-high 10 boards against King (Nov. 12). All told, he had 13 games where he had at least five rebounds. Bowens produced a pair of 10-point games on the season against Lees-McRae (Nov. 11) and UVA Wise (Dec. 10).
"I have confidence," Bowens said. "I got my confidence back up and that has showed up in our preseason work."
Butts made appearances in 18 games in his red-shirt sophomore season. He averaged 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game on the season. He also led C-N in blocks on three occasions.
In his first season on the banks of Mossy Creek, Beeker tallied 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 23 appearances and one start. Beeker shot 59.7 percent from the field. The post had a trio of double-digit scoring efforts, all in the first semester. He topped out at 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting at Clayton State (Nov. 23). His best rebound effort came at Catawba (Feb. 4) when he had eight boards, including five on the offensive glass.
"Butts has grown a lot an gotten a lot stronger," Bowens said. "He's got his hooks and is aggressive at hitting them. Ben adds value too. He has good scoring ability and can rebound both on the offensive and defensive glass."
A CSC Academic All-District selection, McElhaney logged his first career starts in his red-shirt sophomore season. A consummate glue guy, McElhaney has averaged 2.2 points per game on 68.8 percent shooting. He averaged 3.9 rebounds per game. McElhaney had a career game at Catawba when he tallied a career-high 10 points and eight rebounds along with three steals. He had seven games with at least five boards, including a career-high nine at Mars Hill (Feb. 8).
Joining that veteran quartet in the post is John Zhao, who converts from shooting guard.
"John has been tearing it up this offseason," Bowens said. "He is a tremendous player and I love seeing him grow. He's been an instant impact offensively and this feels like a year where he has a chance to take off."
A CSC Academic All-District selection, Zhao has continued his sharp-shooting ways from his freshman campaign, averaging 6.6 points per game while knocking down 40 threes this season. He is shooting 37 percent from deep. Zhao has a pair of 20-point games this season and seven double-digit scoring efforts. He went off for 20 against Southern Wesleyan on the strength of four threes on Nov. 19 and a career-high 21 against Mars Hill on Dec. 14 behind 5-of-10 shooting from three.
Among the new in the post are two transfers and a freshman. Ousmane Dia and David Gorianskii have two and three years with the program after coming to Mossy Creek from Casper College and Miles Community College, respectively. Meanwhile, Ashton Troutman starred in high school at Uwharrie Charter Academy.
"Ousmane is so urgent," Bownes said. "He is a pest on defense at 6-9, 6-10. He's so aggressive and knows how to get to what he wants to do. I haven't seen anyone with his sense of urgency outside of Ren."
Dia took the circuitous route to Mossy Creek. A native of the Dakar, Senegal, he prepped in Khachioji, Japan where his older brother was playing professionally. He was recognized as the best player in Tokyo, Japan in 2020 and was named the MVP of the Winter Cup Tokyo in the same year. Dia's team, Sijinsen, also won the Winter Cup Tokyo and the Inter High Tokyo championships in 2019 and 2020. He averaged a double-double with 23 points and 12 boards per game. He then moved to Wyoming where he played for Casper College the last two seasons.
During his senior year, Gorianskii, a native of Tralee, Ireland, helped Mercy Mounthaw win the Irish national championship with his high school team, losing only one game throughout the season. He averaged 12 points and eight boards per game to go with three blocks.
"David is a bouncy seven-footer," Bowens said. "At seven feet tall, he is a natural shot-blocker and is good in the paint."
Troutman attended Uwharrie Charter Academy in Asheboro, N.C., where he played basketball and baseball competitively. In basketball, he had an outstanding senior year, averaging 26.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. Throughout his high school career, he accumulated 1,500 career points, making him the all-time leading scorer in school history.
Carson-Newman's position previews continue Wednesday with a glimpse of the backcourt with assistance from Nick Brenegan.
