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Six-foot-9, 210-pound Osseo power forward Sam Dower was recently ranked amongst the top 150 players in the nation by Rivals.com and he has the potential to rise even higher. This past year Dower averaged 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds a game and for big portion of the year he was playing in a reserve roll. There could be considered a leader for Dower's future services but the interest has grown to high major.
Michael J Much
Dower has had Saint Louis in his home gym four times
Osseo finished their year 28-1 losing to the Rodney Williams led Cooper team but it was another outstanding season for the Orioles. Dower was amongst five players who averaged in double figures led by future division one player Carrington Tankson, a pair of division two scholarship athletes in seven-foot Zach Peterson and Dan Brown, and then one of Minnesota's best role players in Ryan Spading.
With all this talent and a point to run it Dower found himself coming off the bench for a good portion of the season. That did not stop him from scoring 13.2 points per game and scoring in double figures in 23 of 29 contests. He had a season high of 23 points against Coon Rapids and that game he produced a double-double with ten boards. It was one of seven double-doubles Dower put up on the season.
This spring Sam Dower has joined forces with Trent Lockett and Raymond Cowels to play for Net Gain Sports and things have gone quite well. "I know when I get to work on Mondays and college coaches are calling I know Sam had a good weekend," said his high school coach Tim Theisen. "I think Marquise (Watts) does a real good job promoting these kids and developing these kids. As a high school coach you want you players to develop with these programs and I believe Sam is."
Dower came into his junior year a raw talent. He spent most of his sophomore year on the junior varsity team and he was still a work in progress as his junior year pushed into the winter months. But with time on the floor Dower improved and now his coach is looking for him to take another step in his development.
"The main thing for Sam to focus on in the off-season is strength," explained Theisen. "That is the one thing that all college coaches are saying, he's got to get into the weight room. Sam knows that and he's working out. With Sam knowing that the next area of focus is Sam taking things off the dribble. Sam is really good inside the post with his catch and turn around game. He's a very good catch and shoot player out on the perimeter. The next thing that he needs to develop is the one dribble pull-up going right instead of always going left. Those are things we talked about at the end of the season meeting.
"We have always tried to ease Sam into the spotlight. Sam played strictly JV as a sophomore until the last five or ten games of the year and then he came on strong as a sophomore. This year we really didn't start him because we had a seven foot center in Zach Peterson so we don't throw Sam out to the wolves. We had him come off the bench playing some four and five. Sam accepted his role despite the fact that he was one of the better players on the team. Then Sam became more comfortable and he received more and more time on the floor."
Dower may not have been thrust into the spotlight but colleges were well aware of his play after all the AAU games with Net Gain in past spring and summers. Dower has handled the attention with a humble approach but his coach believes all the attention is well deserved.
"It's nice to see him getting a lot of the attention that I feel he has earned," said Theisen. "He may have not had a great high school year although you look at his numbers of 13 and eight, those were good numbers. But we had five guys scoring in double figures and we won games by an average of over 20 points so our guys did not always play that much. So with all that it's really good to see all the colleges looking at him.
"He's received a lot of attention the past three weeks. Saint Louis is hitting Sam really hard. They have been up to Osseo four times now since the start of this year. Coach Rick Majerus is really putting on a full court press. They have really targeted Sam for that four spot where they have a specific need for that in next year's class and Sam fits that bill.
Saint Louis is not the only school that is hot on the Dower trail. "Gonzaga has come into the picture, Iowa has just called again in the past couple days," explained Theisen. "There are a lot of mid-majors like Northern Iowa, UW-Milwaukee, and schools like that who are constantly calling. Sam is getting a lot of attention. Colorado State, Wyoming, Nevada, Gonzaga, all these schools came out after Sam in a matter of days after a tournament in Denver.
Michael J Much
Dower came off the bench to average 13.3 points and 7.9 rebounds
"I think Sam's potential is real big right now and schools see the up-side. You don't find to many 6-foot-9 guys who can shoot the ball from the outside as well as he does and also go put up and score inside. Plus he's left-handed with the wing span of a seven-footer."
There is a local school down the road from Osseo who needs another big or two but thus far has shown no interest in Dower. Minnesota is looking for more of a true center type player and that is why they went after Krystopher Faber so hard and they are going after the likes of Daniel Miller and Trevor Williams. While Dower does not quite fit that mold he and his coach are still hoping that the U may become interested.
"We still haven't heard from Minnesota," Theisen said. "We have called them a couple times just to say send a letter. Let him know that you are watching his progress. I'd hate to see this kid kind of float away. Schools like Michigan have come in, Iowa has made calls, Wisconsin came in to look at him, and I don't think it would hurt to take a look. I know they are looking at others like Rodney Williams and Royce White as they are two of the top players in the nation but I think Sam is up there as well.
"I'm sure it's just a matter of time. We are going to the Minnesota Team Camp coming up and that will be a good time for them to evaluate Sam's progress and take a look at him."
Minnesota interest or not Dower has several options. At 6-foot-9 with budding talent Dower has just hit the tip of the iceberg with his potential, and the ceiling seems to be pretty high.
Michael J Much
Dower has had Saint Louis in his home gym four times
Osseo finished their year 28-1 losing to the Rodney Williams led Cooper team but it was another outstanding season for the Orioles. Dower was amongst five players who averaged in double figures led by future division one player Carrington Tankson, a pair of division two scholarship athletes in seven-foot Zach Peterson and Dan Brown, and then one of Minnesota's best role players in Ryan Spading.
With all this talent and a point to run it Dower found himself coming off the bench for a good portion of the season. That did not stop him from scoring 13.2 points per game and scoring in double figures in 23 of 29 contests. He had a season high of 23 points against Coon Rapids and that game he produced a double-double with ten boards. It was one of seven double-doubles Dower put up on the season.
This spring Sam Dower has joined forces with Trent Lockett and Raymond Cowels to play for Net Gain Sports and things have gone quite well. "I know when I get to work on Mondays and college coaches are calling I know Sam had a good weekend," said his high school coach Tim Theisen. "I think Marquise (Watts) does a real good job promoting these kids and developing these kids. As a high school coach you want you players to develop with these programs and I believe Sam is."
Dower came into his junior year a raw talent. He spent most of his sophomore year on the junior varsity team and he was still a work in progress as his junior year pushed into the winter months. But with time on the floor Dower improved and now his coach is looking for him to take another step in his development.
"The main thing for Sam to focus on in the off-season is strength," explained Theisen. "That is the one thing that all college coaches are saying, he's got to get into the weight room. Sam knows that and he's working out. With Sam knowing that the next area of focus is Sam taking things off the dribble. Sam is really good inside the post with his catch and turn around game. He's a very good catch and shoot player out on the perimeter. The next thing that he needs to develop is the one dribble pull-up going right instead of always going left. Those are things we talked about at the end of the season meeting.
"We have always tried to ease Sam into the spotlight. Sam played strictly JV as a sophomore until the last five or ten games of the year and then he came on strong as a sophomore. This year we really didn't start him because we had a seven foot center in Zach Peterson so we don't throw Sam out to the wolves. We had him come off the bench playing some four and five. Sam accepted his role despite the fact that he was one of the better players on the team. Then Sam became more comfortable and he received more and more time on the floor."
Dower may not have been thrust into the spotlight but colleges were well aware of his play after all the AAU games with Net Gain in past spring and summers. Dower has handled the attention with a humble approach but his coach believes all the attention is well deserved.
"It's nice to see him getting a lot of the attention that I feel he has earned," said Theisen. "He may have not had a great high school year although you look at his numbers of 13 and eight, those were good numbers. But we had five guys scoring in double figures and we won games by an average of over 20 points so our guys did not always play that much. So with all that it's really good to see all the colleges looking at him.
"He's received a lot of attention the past three weeks. Saint Louis is hitting Sam really hard. They have been up to Osseo four times now since the start of this year. Coach Rick Majerus is really putting on a full court press. They have really targeted Sam for that four spot where they have a specific need for that in next year's class and Sam fits that bill.
Saint Louis is not the only school that is hot on the Dower trail. "Gonzaga has come into the picture, Iowa has just called again in the past couple days," explained Theisen. "There are a lot of mid-majors like Northern Iowa, UW-Milwaukee, and schools like that who are constantly calling. Sam is getting a lot of attention. Colorado State, Wyoming, Nevada, Gonzaga, all these schools came out after Sam in a matter of days after a tournament in Denver.
Michael J Much
Dower came off the bench to average 13.3 points and 7.9 rebounds
"I think Sam's potential is real big right now and schools see the up-side. You don't find to many 6-foot-9 guys who can shoot the ball from the outside as well as he does and also go put up and score inside. Plus he's left-handed with the wing span of a seven-footer."
There is a local school down the road from Osseo who needs another big or two but thus far has shown no interest in Dower. Minnesota is looking for more of a true center type player and that is why they went after Krystopher Faber so hard and they are going after the likes of Daniel Miller and Trevor Williams. While Dower does not quite fit that mold he and his coach are still hoping that the U may become interested.
"We still haven't heard from Minnesota," Theisen said. "We have called them a couple times just to say send a letter. Let him know that you are watching his progress. I'd hate to see this kid kind of float away. Schools like Michigan have come in, Iowa has made calls, Wisconsin came in to look at him, and I don't think it would hurt to take a look. I know they are looking at others like Rodney Williams and Royce White as they are two of the top players in the nation but I think Sam is up there as well.
"I'm sure it's just a matter of time. We are going to the Minnesota Team Camp coming up and that will be a good time for them to evaluate Sam's progress and take a look at him."
Minnesota interest or not Dower has several options. At 6-foot-9 with budding talent Dower has just hit the tip of the iceberg with his potential, and the ceiling seems to be pretty high.
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