Chris Fowler Leads Surprise Central Michigan Chippewas
By Chris Morgan
Name: Chris Fowler
University: Central Michigan University
Year: Junior
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 191
Hometown: Southfield, MI
Position: G
The Mid-American Conference, also known as the MAC, is a one bid league. That means you either win your conference tournament, or you don't make it into March Madness. The level of play is just too low, and the strength of schedule too meager, for a team to get an at-large bid out of this conference, at least this season. There are a few teams who are around the top of the conference, but the team that has had the best season so far is the Central Michigan Chippewas. They are one of the highest scoring teams in all of Division I men's college basketball, and they have as good of a shot as any to earn the big for this conference. So, who is leading this team to the promised land potentially? That would be Chris Fowler.
Fowler, not to be confused with the college football announcer of the same name, is in his third year with the Chippewas. He's leading the team in points with 15.5 per game and also is dishing out the most assists with 6.1 per game. He's also throwing in 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals for good measure. However, this isn't necessarily coming out of nowhere. While Fowler played almost 28 minutes per game as a freshman, he did not take a lot of shots, preferring to distribute. That changed last year when he took on a much larger role with the team.
He actually averaged more points per game last season with 17.4. While his field goal percentage is much better this season, the difference is that he made 38.2% of his three-pointers last year, and he's only making 32% this year. He's taking less, wisely so it would seem, and he is also distributing the ball more, averaging almost one more assist per game this season. Throughout his career, he's always been good at distributing the ball and taking it away with steals. Now, he is also a valuable point scorer, even if he has regressed at that a bit this year.
Fortunately, he has some teammates around who have clearly helped him, as the record this season indicates. Fowler will be back for his senior season. A guy like this, at a school like this, isn't heading into the NBA Draft early. Plus, he's only 6'1'' and 191 pounds, which isn't that big by NBA standards. That hasn't stopped him from excelling for Central Michigan, and he might be able to lead this team to the NCAA Tournament. They will have to win the tournament, and the Chippewas aren't far and away the best team in the MAC. Fowler has the chance to be part of a potential Cinderella team. He will need to keep scoring, and to keep dishing out the ball with such alacrity. It would help if he could find his three-point stroke again. However, if Central Michigan makes the tournament, and fans are looking for who to pay attention to, turn their attention to Fowler.
Chris Morgan has been a diehard Detroit Lions fan through the good (Barry Sanders) and the bad (Matt Millen) and that love has led him to take jobs writing about sports, including as a fantasy sports "expert." His work can be found on Examiner.com. .