From December 2010:

Standing tall at 6’8”, senior Victor Bowden is the co-captain of Chamblee’s varsity basketball team.

With almost eight years of experience and numerous awards accumulated over the years, Bowden’s talent for basketball has not gone unnoticed. College scouts, such as Mercer University and Arkansas University in Little Rock, are showing interest in the young athlete.

Bowden plays the position of power forward and center. Best Rebounder, Coach’s Award, and the Student Athlete Award are just a few of the awards and special recognition Bowden has won from Chamblee over the past few years for his impressive skills on the court.

According to the DeKalb County Athletics Department, Bowden was named as one of the top 25 rebounders. Since he does not participate in other sports, he is very serious about basketball.

“I’m pretty dedicated,” said Bowden. “I gave up learning to drive and lost lots of weekends with friends [for basketball].”

Due to an injury, which left Bowden with a sprained ankle, he has not been able to play in the first two games of the season.

“Our offense wasn’t flowing well [without Victor],” said senior Feyi Bab-oke.

This is the first time Bowden has had an injury, which rendered him incapable of playing on the court. Chamblee’s record for this season is 1-3, and the two games Bowden missed were losses for the basketball team.

As far as college is concerned, Bowden knows he wants to play ball in the future, but he is not yet sure about where he wants to go. However, a career in computer science is an interest for the athlete.

Bowden’s story began when he got up one day, went out into his neighborhood, picked up a ball and began to play. Soon after, he tried out for the middle school basketball team and made it. Bowden’s reputation as a strong player has consolidated since.

“I wasn’t very good, but I made myself better,” said Bowden. “I used to come every morning to play. After practice in the evening, I would stay for another hour and a half.”

Among the many reasons for playing, Bowden cites the feeling after playing a good game as his favorite aspect of the sport. Teamwork is another important feature.

“He’s the team leader,” said varsity basketball coach Caesar Burgess. “He’s a complete team player.”

Though Bowden admits that basketball takes up a lot of time, he is still able to perform well in school; he was named an Honorable Mention for the National Achievement Scholarship.

“On the surface, he’s just a basketball player,” said Bab-oke. “But once you’re friends with him, you see how he’s really smart and funny too.”