Bowen to Make United "Better"

Given the high-profile signings of Luke Travers, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, and even Flynn Cameron, the hype surrounding Melbourne United’s acquisition of former Perth and Saint Mary’s forward Kyle Bowen has been, quite possibly, far more muted than it should have been.

Damian Martin, though, says Bowen should absolutely not be underestimated when he returns to the NBL with Melbourne.

After four games as a development player for the Wildcats in 2019, Perth-born Bowen headed to St Mary’s, where he played 124 games over four years.

In his final season with the Gaels, Bowen added 5.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, but Martin – who played with the now 22-year-old during that sole season in Perth, says the young star’s influence goes far beyond the box score.

“I’m a big fan of ‘KB’,” Martin said. “He’s one of those guys where if you only judge players based on box scores you certainly don’t understand his game and what he can bring to every team.

“St Mary’s is a great NCAA Division I team, and he’s played massive minutes for them night in, night out and continually delivered.

“He makes player around him better. Melbourne United is a better team because they got KB’s signature.

“I would love to have seen him play for the Wildcats.

"He and Luke Travers were a part of the Wildcats at the same time and now they’ll be at Melbourne United."

Bowen's former St Mary's teammate and fellow West Australian Alex Ducas discussed his affinity with the Perth Wildcats as recently as January of this year.

Ducas has since re-committed to St Mary's for a fifth and final year with the program.

Bowen, on the other hand, discussed how much being a member of the Wildcats' championship winning side of 2020 has prepared him for his second crack at the NBL. 

"They care about their guys, old through young. Similar to St Mary’s, it’s a family over there. I’ve definitely got great memories and I love those guys," Bowen said.

"I am completely thankful to the Perth Wildcats organisation for letting a young kid such as myself be in that situation and learn so much. That was an amazing experience I will never forget."

Bowen is just one of a huge number of high school and collegiate talents heading to the NBL for NBL24.

Next Star AJ Johnson headlines a list of players that also includes the likes of former UC Riverside pair Flynn Cameron (Melbourne) and Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra), Montana big Josh Bannan, and reported California Baptist trio Keanu Rasmussen (Adelaide) and the currently unsigned Armstrong brothers, Tre and Taran.

The Sydney Kings also announced the return of exciting high school talent Klairus Amir last week, with the 6’7” 18-year-old set to return to Australia after a high school stint in America.