Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Brandon Bowman at the 2009 BBL allstargame in Mannheim

Brandon Bowman (206-F-1984, college: Georgetown) is a 38 year old 206cm forward who Is still a professional player. His last season was the 2020-2021 season when he played for Giessen in Germany. He has been injured the last 2 seasons and moved to Israel and is working on his comeback. The California native began his career at Westchester high school in Los Angeles and then played at the illustrious Georgetown (NCAA) from 2002-2006. In 2006 he turned professional and played for 26 organizations from 2006-2021. He played 5 seasons in Israel and 4 seasons in Germany and also played in countries like Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, France, Serbia, Korea, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Cyprus, Qatar, Belgium, China, Paraguay and Greece. He spoke to germanhoops.com about his memories of the 2008-2009 Telekom Baskets Bonn team and basketball.

Thanks Brandon for talking to germanhoops.com. I would of thought you would be back home in Los Angeles, but on the contrary. Your living in Israel at the moment. How is life treating you?

Life in Israel is cool. Real laid back. Of course I miss home but this isn’t a bad option at all. And the choice to stay here was clear to me given the citizenship process and all. No time to really leave until I receive my papers unless it’s for basketball.

You played parts of 5 seasons in Israel, but also played parts of 4 seasons in Germany. Is Israel more like a second home to you then Germany?

I honestly consider them both to be very familiar territory to me. I feel just as comfortable being in both places with Obviously Germany being a lot bigger. It seems like I’m more familiar with both Germany, and Israel, than Los Angeles currently.

Your last game was more than 2 years ago. You finished with Giessen beating FC Bayern Munich 95-94 and had 16 points. How satisfying was that win for you personally?

That win was pretty satisfying given the season we had. It started off so tough and picked up tremendously after hiring Rolf as our head coach. And actually I felt as if that win would start a winning streak for us (which it did) but I wasn’t able to join because of breaking my thumb. But still. Getting a winning feeling against a team like Bayern will always be special. Especially playing for the underdogs.

You missed the last 2 seasons because of injury, but at age 38 still want to play again. Are you 100% healthy now? Talk a little about the last 2 years and what your body went through?

First and foremost I’m 100% healthy. I practiced most of the season with a team by my house to keep my game tight so I still approached everyday as if I’m still signed. Over these past two years I’ve also learned more about my body since I’ve never really given it this much time to rest. Breaking my thumb for a second time in one year was truly a setback but made me grow in other areas that were lacking. I really focused on improving my left hand overall. I think you’re never too old to learn so I want to make sure the holes in my game are a small as possible while still keeping a certain amount of athleticism to dunk and make other moves when needed.

I remember when you played in Bayreuth, you lived in the gym. How many extra years of playing professionally would you estimate did your gym work outs allow you to have such a long career?

Man. I really couldn’t tell you. Of course working on your game is very important. But it’s the other things that I’ve stayed loyal to that have kept the longevity up. Eating right. Hitting the weight room. Working on plyometrics. Mobility work is key. I try not to skip a step and use everything at my disposal. My mental toughness had carried me a long way and has given me the chance to play again at a high level and such a high age.

I guess it would make sense to play in Israel this upcoming season. Is that the plan?

Yeah. Playing in Israel is the plan. It’s the most ideal for my situation.

You helped the Telekom Baskets Bonn reach the final in 2009. Bonn is back in the final for the first team as they had an incredible season. Do you still follow your ex team?

I follow most basketball across the world. Espn ally countries I’ve spent a lot of time in so of course I’m following them. They’ve had an outstanding season so far. Hopefully they can finish legendary run with a BBL title.

The 2008-2009 Bonn was a special team that finished the regular season in fourth place. What do you remember being this team’s biggest strength?

I thought everyone bought into what we were trying to do. Mike made it easy for everyone to go with the flow and roles were made at the beginning of the season. We played so many games together that season with league and European competition. We were bound to just get better as a whole.

The team had 2 ex NBA players with Ken Johnson and Vincent Yarbrough and a third player by the name of Brandon Bowman who I felt should always have made it. You played in the G-League, NBA Summer league and NBA training camps. How close do you feel were to getting a NBA opportunity?

Actually that next season I had signed with the 76’ers and made their roster but was later cut because of Allen Iverson making a comeback and me being the 15th man. After being cut, then I headed to Turkey. And to be honest. That chance they gave me in Philly was the first legit shot that I had at making a NBA roster. And I played extremely well. But I also had interest from Oldenburg and Berlin that summer so if I could do it again, I think I would’ve chose the Euroleague route.

How will you remember John Bowler most? He was an unorthodox player that also had a original character and humor.

John was definitely a fun guy who was into everything. That was my first complete season overseas so John and his wife (Biz) showed me a lot about how to move around. What to do. Where to go. And on the court I always thought he was someone I could trust to do his job and do it well. Despite the injuries, I thought he was a huge part of our success today.

What memories will you always have of EJ Rowland? The guy just completed his 18th season at age 40. I guess his wheels never fell off.

Yeah. I mean, me and Erow are still very close. Bonn started a friendship that would never die. And I’m not surprised at what he’s doing currently. There’s a stigma about older players that older players are currently breaking today. Guys are playing longer and in better shape. Whenever I’m on the court, the thought of being older or slower or whatever never crosses my mind because it’s a non factor. I’m able to do and keep up with everyone else. But a big shot out to the coach of Erows team for bringing him in. Not every coach will bring a player in just because he think he’s ‘too old’ my guy will be playing until HE’S ready to retire. Not vice Versa.

Bonn began the playoffs by sweeping Ulm. Could the series have changed for the worse had Bonn not won game 2 71-69?

Losing can always do something psychological to you and give the other team an advantage. But we had controlled Ulm all season long so we knew if we played our game and excited correctly, the series would be ours regardless of losing one game or going for the sweep.

Is Jeff Gibbs one of those guys that you will never forget playing against? Was he one of the greatest undersized bigs you ever saw?

Jeff will definitely be someone I won’t forget in my career. I’ve never seen anything like him on a professional level and there’s no stopping him. Only containing him. Especially me. He outweighed me by about 30-40 pounds that season. Lol

The Alba Berlin series was crazy. Bonn won the first 2 games combined by 5 points and looked like the final was an easy bet , but then they strapped up the defense and allowed Bonn to average 40 points in the next 2 games. What did they change up?

If I’m not mistaken they just used their experience and age to overpower us a little bit. 5 games series are like that. But we responded well. They had some big names on that team but it didn’t matter to us because we knew we could hoop just as well as they could or even better on any given the day. And on top of that. We played Berlin and Oldenburg 8 times each that season (reg season/cup/playoffs) so each team was very familiar with one another so getting the upper hand and controlling the game is easy when the momentum is on your side. And it was for those two games.

Then came the crazy final against Oldenburg. Bonn was always up a game, but Oldenburg always fought back. Was the 71-70 loss in game 5 your toughest loss in your career?

BY FAR THE TOUGHESS LOSS IN MY CAREER. I’m still haunted by the 2nd half of that game. Hard pill to swallow. And can’t help but think where everyone’s career would’ve been if we did win that series.

Talk a little about the last seconds. How do you remember witnessing them?

I just remember the two passes they stole and to seal the game for them. That’s it. That’s all. Smh.

What was the difference in the series? Could Bonn had won the series keeping Ricky Paulding better in check?

I think we could’ve won if we didn’t have the turnovers we had in the last 2 minutes. Ricky is going to be Ricky. Hard to actually stop great players. But we can exploit other options and weaknesses they have. But to sum it up. I think we shot ourselves in the foot.

Was that successful 2008-2009 one of your fondest memories in your career?

Maybe not the fondest but definitely up there. I’ve been blessed to win some championships and meet some great people on and off the court in my career so Bonn definitely goes towards the top.

What made it so special to play for Michael Koch? He was a player’s coach. You did show in Ludwigsburg that you could function under other coaches?

I loved Mike from day one. Definitely a players coach and that helped a lot getting through to the players. Him having success comes easy when you listen to him. Of course there’s seasons where you don’t do as well or what not but my experience with him was always solid. Win lose or draw, I’d go to war for him to this very day. That’s my guy!

Please name your starting 5 of favorite Bonn teammates?

I rocked with Everyone that season. Not one person I could single out or make a starting 5. I literally chilled with everyone that season. Whether it was dinner/club/workouts/games. I was with everyone. So my starting 5 is every player on that team.

Who won a 1-1 in practice you or Patrick Flomo?

LMAOOOO. Man the only person I played one on one with that whole entire season was Erow. We would go at it all the time while other guys watched. But me and Flomo would guard each other in practice. He had sneaky bounce. Was a great shot blocker and got a lot of rebounds so I always had to be aware of where he was on the floor and what he was doing.

Bonn is down 2-1 in games. Can Bonn pull it out?

Yeah of course they can pull it out. They’ve been playing great basketball all season long. As long as TJ Shorts is involved, they have a serious chance. Absolutely. And I’m rooting for them!

Thanks Brandon for the chat.

Tags : BRANDON BOWMAN, JOBSTAIRS GIESSEN 46ERS, GERMAN BASKETBALL