By Grace Vickers, Volunteer Assistant
Watch the EYEBRONCO Interview with Raymond Cowels III
Graduating senior Raymond Cowels III has had an incredibly successful career as a part of the SCU basketball team. Four years ago, Cowels III came from Minnesota to California to pursue many young players' dreams and play Division I collegiate basketball. It was no surprise that he was continuing his basketball career, as he lead his high school team to two state championships (2006 and 2009), was placed on the All-State team twice and on the All-Conference team three times.
As a freshman, Cowels III came into the Leavey Center strong, starting in all 32 games. He finished in the top 10 of five categories of the SCU freshman records, including three pointers made (46, 5th); three pointers attempted (146, 2nd); free throw percentage (.787, 3rd); steals (26, 10th) and minutes played (769, 9th). The next three seasons were no different.
His sophomore season he averaged 5.4 points/game and 1.8 rebounds/game, with 0.6 assists/game, playing 15.3 minutes/game. In 2011, his junior year, Cowels III was the only player to start every game. He also led the team and tied for No. 5 on the Bronco single season list in three point field goal percentage (43.1 percent).
His success, however, did not come easily. He spent numerous hours outside of practice working on his game. "I spent a lot of time watching film of myself... figuring out how I could score on the court," said Cowels III. "It was just a matter of if I wanted it or not, and I took all my free time and put it into that."
The 2012-13 season, his final one as a Bronco, proved to be a fitting cap to his stellar collegiate career. On February 19th, in the second half of a game versus Pepperdine, Cowels III became the 31st player in school history to score 1,000 career points with a corner three that swished through the net. The six-four, 206 pound guard also added his name to the record book another time. He currently sits in the fourth spot for career three-pointers made, with 219.
Cowels III didn't just show his worth on the basketball court, he also did well in the classroom. He holds a 3.227 GPA as a student in the Leavey School of Business as a management major (prior to the Spring 2013 quarter) . The standout senior mastered the tricky task of balancing high level academics with Division I athletics by getting his work done efficiently. "It's all about good time management. The team taught me that, the coaches taught me that and that was the key to helping me achieve those good grades," said Cowels III.
Cowels III looks forward to playing professional basketball in the near future. He has an agent and is willing to go where ever he will have the opportunity to play, but has an itch to go to Australia. After a strong career at Santa Clara, Broncos students, staff and fans wish Cowels III the best of luck in his professional endeavors.