Troy Bowe Is Back With the Killer Bees, This Time as an Assistant Coach

The Bridgehampton boys basketball team is in very good hands this season. Some would even say legendary.

In addition to already having New York State Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Carl Johnson and his son, Davin Johnson, the Killer Bees got a shot in the arm when Troy Bowe finally decided to join the two on the bench as an assistant coach.

Carl Johnson said he had been trying to get Bowe on board for quite some time, and he’s happy to have finally joined him on the sidelines this season.

“Once I took my life more seriously about my diet and everything like that, and got my health together, I always wanted to come back. And now I’ve got the opportunity,” Bowe said following Bridgehampton’s lopsided victory over Greenport on Friday night. “[Carl], even the team, has welcomed me with open arms. When I came back in here, seen all the banners … I just want to help out in any way I can.”

Carl Johnson said when his father in North Carolina became ill and he had to miss a game at the Ross School on January 15, he wasn’t worried about his team back home because it was in Bowe’s very capable hands. The Bees won handily, 72-43.

“That’s the comfort zone I have with him,” he said. “His IQ of basketball is just off the charts and making in-game adjustments, or telling the kids, ‘You’re missing this, how about do this?’ I love having him here and it’s also great to have a family member here on the sideline. I’m very lucky. He’s a voice of reason. When I’m, like, here, he brings me down a little bit.

“When he said, you know what, I would like to come and help you out, I was, like, great, I’ve been waiting for this,” Johnson added. “Makes my life a little easier.”

Johnson, a point guard himself during his playing days, called Bowe, who just turned 57 years old on January 2, one of the best points guards to ever come out of Bridgehampton. A starter for the Bees from 1983-1987, playing under then head coach John Niles, the Bees won two of their nine state titles with Bowe as their point guard, first in 1983, then again in 1986. Bridgehampton lost in double overtime in the state finals in 1985. They also lost to Alexander Hamilton, a continued rival for local area teams for quite some time, in the Regional Finals at Old Westbury in Bowe’s senior year in 1987. That was the same year in which he eclipsed the 1,000 career points milestone, just the seventh in program history to do so at the time.

Bowe also broke a longstanding career points record, held by Carl Yastrzemski — yes, that Carl Yastrzemski — finishing with 1,259 points. Duane White surpassed Bowe’s record in 1989, which was broken by Bobby Hopson a year later.

“To see him on the court, he was built like a linebacker,” Johnson explained. “Very quick and he could anticipate a pass. At one point, I watched him play a game. I was in college at the time, and I’m, like, are they throwing the ball to him on purpose? Because he was anticipating so much.

“He could control the game. He didn’t have to score — only when necessary — but he had everyone set up so he made everybody around him better,” Johnson added. “I’m talking about an extension of the coach on the floor, it was definitely him. When he ran the court, he knew everything. He knew if everybody was in their place, if they were out of position. Everybody on that team respected him. Not one player ever went against him. When he said something, it happened, and he didn’t have to yell or anything like that. And he motivated guys to be better players.

“And then to go to Hawaii,” he added.

Following a successful high school career in Bridgehampton, Bowe went to play at the University of Hawaii, where teams are commonly referred to as the ’Bows, short for Rainbows. He held the school’s all-time record in assists up until five years ago. Drew Buggs surpassed Bowe’s record of 412 assists in February 2020, a record that stood for nearly 30 years. Bowe said ESPN Honolulu interviewed him when his record was broken.

Johnson said there is a deeper story behind Bowe getting to Hawaii. In the 1980s, the NCAA set a new regulation called “Proposition 48” that set minimum academic requirements for student-athletes. Passed in 1983, it went into effect in 1986. Johnson said Bowe was told he would have to sit out his freshman year to go to a prep school or junior college to improve his grades.

So Bowe was actually set to go play for one of the top junior colleges in the country in Kansas with Danny Manning, a future college basketball standout himself who went on to play in the NBA and is now an assistant coach at the University of Colorado. But Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace, who had just taken over the program in 1987, and who had recruited Bowe, didn’t want to lose him to another program, so he told him he didn’t have to go to junior college. Bowe would just have to sit out his freshman season with Wallace, learn the ropes and start playing his sophomore year. So that’s what he did. Johnson said there was a longtime coach at Bay Shore, Jack Twyman, who died in October 2022, who also helped Bowe get to Hawaii.

Additionally, Johnson explained how there were basically no AAU teams or travel teams back when Bowe played. But there were the Empire State Games, in which players were able to showcase their talents. Bowe played King Rice, a player out of Binghamton who went on to play at the University of North Carolina and is currently the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Monmouth University.

“He got to go up against King Rice in a game and he just outplayed him,” Johnson said. “And that’s why we were, like, King Rice is going to Carolina?

“Those were the guys he played against, and he proved his worth,” he added of Bowe. “He was a legit DI player. He played against Tim Hardaway, Antonio Davis, the great BYU teams. The WAC had some really great teams in that time.”

After college, Bowe played overseas in Tahiti and Australia. He then went back to Hawaii to help Wallace on his coaching staff for a few years, and eventually started a family there. He and his family moved back to Bridgehampton after some time.

“It’s been a journey,” Bowe said. “It all led me right back here.”

With a pair of legends roaming the sidelines, the Bees came into this season with high expectations of earning the program’s 10th state title. They appear well on their way, being 10-0 in League VIII, 11-1 overall. But there’s still an entire half of the regular season yet to be played, and there’s a ways to go to get to Binghamton in mid-March.

“We could talk about what we accomplished, but we have to show them how to get to that point, and it’s not just going to happen overnight,” Johnson said. “It’s about trusting your teammates.

“But he was a point guard, I was a point guard, so we’re teaching Jai [Feaster] how to be a point guard. We’re teaching young Eddie Dawson to be a point guard along the way,” he added. “With Troy on board, if they just listen, they’ve got a great chance of going upstate.”

Current player Alex Davis, a junior who joined Bowe on the 1,000 career point list last season, said it’s been great having him as a coach this season.

“To me, he’s like a legend in my eyes,” he said. “He’s coming out here and doing something that he loves. He motivates us every day, and he’s been a big help to our team.”

Bowe said while the new gym in Bridgehampton may not be the same as the old, it still brings back memories, and he’s ready to help the team add new ones.

“I still feel the nostalgia because its black and gold, man,” he said. “I wish the teams I was on could play here, but that takes nothing away from it. I still feel so proud to be a Killer Bee.

“It’s just been a joy,” Bowe said of being back on the sideline with the team. “My family comes to the games and the practices, and this is our thing. From day one, the first day of practice, to a man, each player said they want to put a banner up and put in the work. That’s what we’re here for.”