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Kevin Devaney Jr. • The Journal News •
January 28, 2008
AMHERST, MASS. - Underneath his UMass
uniform, Chris Lowe always slips on an oversized white T-shirt. He did
it for every game during his career at Mount Vernon, too, opting to
cover the well-defined physique of his 6-foot-1 frame.
In many ways, it's an appropriate look
for Lowe. It's unassuming and modest, which is the best way to describe
the point guard's style on the court and his personality off of it.
"I don't need to be the center of
attention or somebody who needs to stand out," Lowe said. "I just want
to go out and play basketball."
These days, Lowe is having a tough
time keep his profile under wraps. A third-year starter for the
Minutemen, he stacked up well yesterday against Xavier point guard Drew
Lavender, the top point guard in the Atlantic-10, scoring 12 points on
5-of-8 shooting in a tough 77-65 loss to the 23nd-ranked Musketeers at
the Mullins Center.
It was Lowe who kept the Minutemen
(13-6) in the game in the first half, scoring eight of the team's 23
points before the break, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to keep
the deficit at 11 points. And it was Lowe who tried to engineer an
18-point comeback down the stretch that to get UMass within 68-63 with
less than two minutes to play.
Lavender, who led Xavier to an NCAA
tournament berth and first-round victory last year, ruined any chance of
a comeback with a long 3-pointer in the final minute. He finished with
19 points (6 of 14 field goals) but left the game impressed with his
counterpart.
"(Lowe) was probably the fastest point
guard in the A-10; the fastest that I've gone up against so far this
season," said Lavender, a 5-7 senior. "He's a leader."
Lowe has been filling that role since
he was a junior at Mount Vernon, one of the greatest seasons in the
school's storied history. The Knights won state and Federation
championships - Lowe capped it by locking down Lincoln (Brooklyn) star
Sebastian Telfair in the final - and finished ranked No. 7 in the
nation.
Of all the stars on that team, Lowe
was by far the least talked about and more a role player. But of the
five who went on to play Division I, he's had the best college career.
The other four Mount Vernon starters
are enjoying varied success. Keith Benjamin has cracked the starting
lineup at Pittsburgh as a senior. Dexter Gray is finishing up his career
strong at Iona after starting at St. John's. Jonathan Mitchell is
fighting for minutes as a sophomore for two-time national champion
Florida. And Michael Coburn is beginning to make waves as a freshman at
Rutgers.
Lowe's success, however, is hardly
anything new. UMass is 27-11 with him as its starting point guard. He
was eighth all-time in career assists at the school with 355 and second
in the conference in assists per game (5.3) before yesterday's game.
Despite an ankle sprain that hobbled
him through December, he's shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and 32.3
percent from 3-pointers. He's averaging 12.2 points per game and has
scored in double figures in eight of his last 12 games.
"Chris Lowe is no question the
quarterback of our basketball team," UMass coach Travis Ford said. "He's
someone who has really benefited from a lot of playing time from Day
One. He's shown a lot of growth and maturity. He's somebody we put a lot
of pressure on and he's responding better and better every day."
Lowe was the first player Ford
recruited when he was hired by UMass three years ago. Lowe remembers
getting a phone call hours after Ford got the job, a gesture that all
but sealed Lowe's decision to attend the school.
Chris Lowe Sr. has been at almost
every UMass home game during his son's three-year career, positioning
himself in the same spot - behind the team's bench, leaning up against
the hockey boards.
He's watched his son develop into one
of the Atlantic-10's best point guards, a Mullins Center crowd favorite
and the leader of a program knocking on the door of an NCAA tournament
berth and a return to national prominence.
"His shot has really improved," Chris
Sr. said. "But I think maturity-wise, that's been bigger than anything
else."
And continued maturity is what Ford
feels will help Lowe replace Lavender as the conference's top point
guard next season.
Lowe might not outgrow the T-shirt.
But his game is ripping at the seams.
"I think I was this good in high
school. I was just playing on a stacked team," Lowe said. "I had a
different role then than I do now. I work on every aspect of my game,
and that's the reason I'm having this much success at this level." |
