Iowa State’s Darrell Bowie driven by inspiration from late father, infant daughter

AMES - Darrell Bowie won't ever have the memories.

Anything life might have had in store was taken away when Bowie's father, Darrell Bowie Sr., died before the birth of his son. There are secondhand stories, other paternal family members and plenty of photos, but that's as good as he can do.

The void, no matter how splendidly his family fills it, will always be there.

'I carry his obituary with me wherever I go,” Bowie said. 'If we travel on the road or I'm driving, I make sure he's there with me.”

That unseen influence has guided the 23-year-old Iowa State men's basketball player - who wears No. 10 in honor of his late father's birthday - through the many stops he's made, all of which have led to Ames. Every place has helped shape him in some way.

Bowie was an adventurous kid who always stuck close to his older brother and cousins. He was always tall for his age, and got his first taste of competitive basketball while playing in a weekend youth recreational league in Milwaukee - even though he wasn't quite old enough.

'In this one particular game they decided to suit him up and play him,” said Veronica Guyton, Bowie's mother. 'He scored better than anybody on the team, all the older boys. That was a first ah-ha moment that this kid might have some skills.”

He went to two different high schools in Milwaukee, including two years at Wauwatosa East where he averaged a near double double, before he made the decision to go to La Jolla Prep. The move to San Diego would be his first personal test, but it also gave Bowie new perspective while he sat out the year with an injury.

'Being a young kid in this world and today's society, it was tough,” Bowie said. 'Now I'm older and just look back and reflect. I've been playing basketball since I was a kid in AAU and high school, and it took me a lot of places that I'm truly thankful and blessed for.”

Bowie found a home at Northern Illinois, where he made 66 starts in 81 games. He was averaging 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game before a shoulder injury in January kept him from playing in all but six games after that. He red-shirted his senior season while his recovery continued and the Huskies missed out on another NCAA tournament.

'It was very rough for him,” Guyton said. 'I think the bigger picture of it was that if you're not playing this year and it's your senior year, but who's to say this will be your last time playing college basketball? I just always told him to stay optimistic and stay prayerful.”

Bowie ultimately had the opportunity to become a graduate transfer, and had several schools reach out. But it was Coach Steve Prohm and former assistant T.J. Otzelberger that made the strongest connection.

Otzelberger, also a Milwaukee native, knew Bowie from high school and the AAU circuit and saw an evolution had taken place. Bowie was able to take guys off the dribble and hit shots from outside, but it was the off-the-court interactions that stuck with him the most.

'He'd been through some adversity and some challenges and is kind of battle tested,” Otzelberger, now the head coach at South Dakota State, said. 'It felt like you were talking to somebody who was an adult or friend of yours that you'd known, not somebody who was still in college looking to play their last year of eligibility.”

At Iowa State, Bowie has started the last two games and is averaging 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds - fifth and second, respectively on the team - while playing 20.7 minutes a game. The Cyclones have leaned on Bowie's commitment to chasing rebounds and doing some of the hard work down low to compliment the veteran guard presence.

'Bowie's been playing great,” said point guard Monte Morris. 'Even though y'all don't see it he's busting his butt in practice and making the plays we need.”

The main source of Bowie's inspiration, in addition to his late father, comes from the small face that lights up his phone screen whenever it clicks on. His five-month-old daughter, Malia, lives in Chicago with her mother while Bowie finishes his final year of school in Ames.

A long-distance relationship with his daughter isn't easy - although frequent FaceTime sessions help - but he sees the opportunity in Ames as something that can benefit her down the road. His devotion to being a loving father, among many things, stems from the relationship he missed out on with his own biological dad.

'That's my pride and joy,” Bowie said. 'That's what I wake up every day and look forward to. I'm just thankful to be a proud father and just trying to do the things I can do for her so she can have a good world.”

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