Photograph: DON JEDLOVEC
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WHEN North Nowra’s Ben Dowdell packed his bags late last year to try his luck playing Division One College Basketball in the United States, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Dowdell, 19, was recruited by Californian college Santa Clara University after impressing scouts with his skills, attitude and athleticism while a scholarship holder at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
“You hear a lot of different stories about the standard of play and the quality of players you find at American college level,” Dowdell said.
“The truth is I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself in for signing with Santa Clara, just that it was going to be a great opportunity and experience.”
Things have worked out well so far both for Dowdell and Santa Clara, with the rookie recruit from Nowra already establishing himself as a starting player on the team.
Dowdell is averaging seven points, four rebounds and two assists a game, while logging the third highest number of minutes on court of any player.
For a freshman (rookie) four months into his four-year college career, that’s a real mark of respect.
“I have to be happy with the minutes I am getting,” Dowdell said.
“Coming here I wasn’t sure how much I would play in my first year. Now that I’m getting minutes I just have to continue to do as much as I can to help the team.”
Dowdell’s numbers hardly convey his importance to Santa Clara, currently fourth with a 12-10 record in the West Coast Conference (WCC).
The 201cm forward can play a number of positions in attack and defence, making for match-up problems for opposing teams at both ends of the floor.
His inside-outside game and strong physical work near the basket have made him a popular figure with Santa Clara fans - and won him the respect of rival coaches such as Randy Bennett of the highly-touted St Mary’s College, another WCC school.
“You see these Aussie boys coming out and they’re all hits,” said Bennett, who visits Australia regularly in search of basketball talent.
“Dowdell, he’s a hit. He’s a freshman who plays with a ton of maturity. He’s smart; he really knows the game. You see that in a lot of the AIS players.”
Santa Clara and St Mary’s have struck up one of the stranger rivalries in American college sport this season because of the presence of Dowdell and an “awesome foursome” of Aussies at St Mary’s, led by indigenous point guard sensation Patty Mills.
When Santa Clara travelled to St Mary’s for a conference game last month Dowdell found Aussie flags flying, Men At Work’s Down Under blaring out over the PA and the occasional “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!” cheer coming from the 3500-strong crowd.
“It’s not quite what I was expecting when I moved to the US,” joked Dowdell after the game.
“To be playing here and then get out on court against guys you know really well from the AIS - that’s a bit of a spin-out.
“It’s also really good for Australian basketball. We’re all over here playing hard against each other, but there’s no malice in it.”
Dowdell is a close friend of Mills, a likely Australian representative at the Beijing Olympics, with the pair playing together at the AIS for two years.
“This has all been a big transition for me, first moving to a new country and then settling into a new school,” Dowdell said.
“I feel I am more comfortable now and that means I am also playing better on the court.”
His mission is to make a name for himself at the college game, while working towards an engineering degree.