By John Raffel
Brian Bowen and Willie Rodgers are more than just cousins.
The two standout sophomores on the Class A state runner-up Saginaw Arthur Hills boys basketball team are like brothers They have their share of similarities and their share of differences.
Both were starters on the Arthur Hill team that ended its season at 24-4.
Bowen was named to the Associated Press Class A all-state team. He has been mentioned as among the top basketball recruits in the country for the Class of 2017 and one of Scout.com’s highest ranked players. He averaged 14 points and eight rebounds a game. He had 30 points against Saginaw High. A 6’7″ sophomore, he came up with some big numbers this season. In the 62-59 loss in the state title game, Bowen scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds. He also had 15 points in the semifinal 73-61 win over Lansing Everett.
Rodgers is a 6’4″ sophomore forward whose main sport is football. It was Rodgers’ first varsity basketball season. “We had a great season, we just didn’t finish it out,” he said after the state final loss to Detroit Western International. “I think I played my role on the team well. I know next year my role will change a little bit. Next year, I’ll probably have to score more. I’ll probably be able to go more on the wing.”
Bowen and Rhodes acknowledge how close they are on and off basketball court. “We’re together all the time, on and off the court,” Bowen said. “He’s a great cousin, a great teammate. We spend a lot of time together.”
Bowen would like to think that he and his cousin share similar attitudes. “We always want to win, we hate losing,” Bowen said. “We always go hard every play on the court, and we go hard.”
They’ve been close almost ever since they were both born. “We’re always together no matter what we do,” Rodgers said. “We always go in twos.”
Rodgers figures they started playing basketball together at age two.
“’We’re actually very similar but disalike at the same time,” Rodgers said. “He’s a basketball star, I’m a football star. We’re very similar, yet very different.”
Bowen and Rodgers share a famous sports celebrity relative in Jason Richardson, who watched the title game at the Breslin Center. Richardson is Rodgers’ uncle and Bowen’s cousin.
Now with the Philadelphia 76ers, Richardson graduated from Arthur Hill in 1999 after leading his team to the Class A state championship game, which they lost, 54-47, to Ann Arbor Pioneer. He was Mr. Basketball and a McDonald’s High School All-American as a senior and later became an all-Big Ten player at Michigan State University before being drafted in 2001 by the Golden State Warriors.
Bowen and Rodgers both have a unique relationship with Richardson. “It’s crazy, for him to be our [relative], he teaches us a lot, he’s great.” Bowen said.
Bowen added that his time with his cousin Jason is limited. “During the season, he has workouts,” he said. “He got back from being injured. He’s trying to get right back. He was out there today. He tells us to go hard all the time, and the sky is the limit for both of us in football and basketball.
“I felt we had a great season. It’s a tough loss at the end. It’s a great season overall.”
Arthur Hill coach Greg McMath has enjoyed coaching the two cousins. “Both of them are really unique kids,” he said. “They’re tough, real athletic, special kids, high character, great students. I can’t say more than enough about those guys. They’re more than just athletic. They’re highly intelligent kids.”
The best part for McMath is that he has both players for two more seasons.
“The future is bright for them,” he said. “Will Rodgers is a big-time football player. He’s getting recruited by a lot of Division I schools. The sky’s the limit for Bowen in basketball.”
What makes both players special in basketball is their toughness and the way they compete on the court, McMath said.
The Arthur Hill coach can see a bit of Jason Richardson in both players. “Jason has a strong work ethic and a strong desire,” McMath said. “You can see it in both of those guys.”
“I usually talk to him on the phone a lot or text him,” Rodgers said of his uncle. “I saw him at my first football game. He’s here today. I’ll probably be with him most of spring break.”
When it comes to basketball, “he’s always in the gym with us,” Rodgers said. “He made it to the NBA, so he’s teaching us what we need to do to make it in basketball or football. We’re very blessed to have someone first-hand show what it takes.”
While Rodgers will focus on the 2015 football season, he made it clear that he and his cousin want to get back to Breslin Center next March and accept the state title trophy.
“I definitely feel we’ll be back,” Rodgers said. “There’s no way we shouldn’t be back. There never will be an ending like this again.”