Northeastern University Athletics

Jim Bowman was a Northeastern University basketball player from 1960 to 1962 and 1963 to 1965, winning three varsity letters. Following his playing career at Northeastern, he served as NU's assistant coach and freshman coach for two seasons from 1969 to 1971 before taking over the head coaching position for the 1971-72 campaign. In his playing years, the Huskies compiled a record of 51-25, while going 43-21 in his days as a coach. Overall, the program went 94-46 when Bowman was involved in some capacity.
 
Bowman was a player who continued to improve in each season he played, eventually becoming known as a defensive stalwart as well as an effective producer on the offensive side of the ball. He played all of his seasons in the 1960s, a decade in which the Huskies did not have a single losing season. He put together the highest single-season scoring average of that decade as a senior.
 
A standout at Quincy High School, Bowman came to Northeastern after winning letters in three years for his hometown team. He was named to the All-Greater Boston League team in his senior season.
 
As a sophomore in the 1961-62 season, Bowman appeared in 17 games for the 17-8 Huskies. He scored 34 points (2.0 per game) and had 30 rebounds (1 .4 per game), while going 12 for 43 in field goals (27.9 percent) and 1O for 17 in free throws (58.8 percent).
 
Bowman would go on to be named the team's Most Improved Player as a junior in 1963-64. All of his stats jumped, as he finished the season as the team's fourth leading scorer. In 25 games, he scored 217 points (8.7 per game) and went 93 for 194 in field goals (47.9 percent) and 31 for 50 in free throws (62 percent). The 17-8 Huskies made a run to the NCAA Northeast Regional Finals, thanks in part to seven points by Bowman in the final two minutes of the semifinal to upset Assumption. The Huskies were defeated by Adelphi in a close final contest. Bowman put up double-digit points in both games of the tournament.
 
The only returning starter for his senior season in 1964-65, Bowman was named team captain and eventually named the team's most valuable player, leading the Huskies to another winning record at 13-11. In 24 games, his stat totals rose once again. His average of 17.2 points per game (412 points) set a program record at the time and he also had 252 rebounds (10.5 per game). The only other NU players in the last 53 years to average a double-double for the season while leading their team in those two categories are all Hall of Famers: Fran Ryan, Jim Moxley, Mark Halsel and Reggie Lewis. Bowman also went 158 for 353 in field goals (44.8 percent) and 96 for 125 in free throws (76.8 percent). He finished his college career with a total of 663 points in 66 games (9.3 points per game), but not before being named to the 1965 Beanpot All-Star Team and First Team All-New England.
 
After graduating from Northeastern in 1967, Bowman took a teaching job at Waltham High School, where he also served as a basketball coach for two seasons.
 
In 1969 he was appointed the Northeastern assistant coach, working under his old head coach, Dick Dukeshire. After two seasons as the freshman coach as well as an assistant. Bowman took over the reigns as varsity head coach for a single season in 1971-72 as Dukeshire took a leave of absence to coach the Greek National team.
 
In his only season as head coach of the Northeastern hoops team, Bowman was a nominee for New England Coach of the Year after guiding the Huskies to a record of 12-9. After leaving Northeastern, he became a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 30 years.