Russell Bowers was 1 of the best scorers in the nation at American University: 22.2 PPG as a sophomore, 26.9 PPG as a junior, and 23.5 PPG as a senior. He was named honorable mention All-American and graduated as the all-time leading scorer in school history, a record that lasted for almost 4 decades until it was broken in 2020. He even has great genes, as his daughter Tamecka Dixon won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001/2002! HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Russell about being a great scorer and running a basketball development program with his daughter. Today is Russell’s 64th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
2 of your nicknames were “Boo” and “The American Express”: how did you get them, and which 1 did you like more? Boo was a childhood name that my mother gave me early on: she always called me her “little boo”. American Express came from our SID, who made up little cards with my picture and the message “Don’t leave home without it”. I like them both for different reasons but people knew me more as Boo.
You played for Hall of Fame coach Gary Williams at American: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing you ever learned from him? Gary was definitely a great coach/motivator who was always prepared. He was a no-nonsense coach and good tactician who demanded that we give him our best. If we ever did not feel like giving 100%…it did not go over well!
In 1978 you were named ECC co-ROY: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? The summer before my freshman year I just worked really hard because I knew that the college game was another level up from high school with players who were just as good as I was. In high school you do not face a lot of D-1-caliber opponents. I spent at least 4-5 hours on the court every day that summer just trying to get prepared.
In 1980 you scored 26.9 PPG, which tied for #6 in the nation among D-1 schools (ahead of future NBA stars like Mark Aguirre/Andrew Toney): did you feel like you were 1 of the best players in the country, and what is the secret to being a great scorer? I felt confident that I was as good as most other players but the key is in the preparation. Some days I would go out and literally shoot 1000 jumpers, which gave me a lot of confidence. When I got into a game I knew that I had prepared so much that I would be able to be the best that I could be.
In 1981 you missed 19 games with a knee injury, then had an 8-PT loss to Toledo in the NIT (thanks to 29 PTS/10 REB from Harvey Knuckles): how hard was it to come back from the injury, and what are your memories of the Toledo game? It was tough: I only played about 10 games that year before getting hurt. I spent most of the year in rehab and only got back onto the court a few days before the NIT so I was not the same player. The Toledo game was 1 of the few times that I did not have a lot of confidence: it was 1 of my toughest games mentally. I did not start against Toledo, which I thought was the right move because I had just come back. I struggled a little bit and it was hard to end on that note.
You remained the all-time leading scorer in school history for 4 decades until Sa’eed Nelson broke your record in 2020: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and did you think that anyone would ever break your record? I knew that I broke some of Kermit Washington’s records that had been around for awhile. Records are always made to be broken so I did think that someone would come along and break my record…but in the back of your mind you want it to stay yours forever!
Your teammate/future legendary boxing promoter Marc Roberts dropped out of school and signed you as his 1st basketball client: were you nervous about having a college dropout as your agent, and how did your relationship with him change after you switched from his teammate to his client? I remember Marc making the team as a walk-on and living next door to him in the dorm so we became really close. I was surprised when he dropped out but always knew that he would be successful because he would give his all by working the phones and trying to get into different ventures. We remained close after he left school and to this day we still have a great relationship.
In 1981 you were drafted in the 3rd round by Cleveland (2 spots behind Frank Brickowski), but did not make the roster: were you thrilled to realize your dream of getting drafted, or disappointed that you did not make the team, or other? I was thrilled to get drafted but felt that my injury might have caused me to drop out of the 1st/2nd rounds. If I were to do things all over again I would have done it differently. Cleveland had an 11-man roster at the time…but had 16 guys with guaranteed contracts! I played in Italy that summer and should have stayed there because Cleveland would have still held the rights to me the following year. I did not doubt my ability but the situation was tough.
You ended up playing professionally in Italy/Argentina/France: what did you learn from these experiences, and how did they compare to college basketball? It was a great experience that I still cherish: I got the chance to travel/see the world/make a little money. Over there they think of American players as similar to a Magic/Jordan kind of guy so they looked up to us at a high level. In college you are taking classes and get to have things take care of for you, but as a pro athlete you have to do a lot of things on your own.
You run a basketball development program called “On Point Basketball” with your daughter Tamecka Dixon (a 2-time All-American at Kansas and a 2-time WNBA champion with Los Angeles): what makes your program different from other programs, and how proud are you of everything that your daughter has accomplished? She later played over in Italy as well. At our camps we try to keep the focus on each player by gearing our workouts to small group sessions involving multiple counselors. We try to go above and beyond what other camps do by giving them a lot of attention and focusing on what each kid needs to develop their skills. I am very proud of Tamecka because she really got me started as my 1st client! We would drill together and it helped prepare her for college. She spent 13 years in the WNBA: she was able to reach a level that I could not reach and remained very consistent after she got there.