The road taken by Furman Paladins’ Mike Bothwell
GREENVILLE, S.C. — The senior year of a student-athlete presents a fork in the road where there’s an imperative decision to be made: whether to pursue the academic path and forego all athletic aspirations or to be fully committed to sports. The choice is a no-brainer for those who have leaned one way or another throughout their collegiate career, but the surge towards a specific route is evident in that final year. In the case of senior Furman Paladins men’s basketball player Mike Bothwell, his statement of intent has been pronounced on the court.
The 6-foot-3 guard began the 2021-22 season by being the leading scorer for the Paladins where he’s averaging 26.0 points per game. That’s 6.5 points more than the second-best scorer on the team. Cleary, Bothwell is planting his flag by saying that he will take most of the responsibility when it comes to scoring and will do so at an efficient rate. He has a 53.3 field goal percentage, a 50.0 three-point percentage and an 87.5 free throw percentage. Bothwell is shooting the ball extremely well compared to last season.
In the 2020-21 season, Bothwell started in all 25 games and averaged 15.6 points per game. That’s a little over 10 points less than what he’s currently averaging. In fact, his shooting percentage numbers were also down. Bothwell had a 48.4 field goal percentage which was 4.9% worse than this season. In the other shooting categories, the Paladins’ guard had a 27.8 three-point percentage which was 22.2% lower than this year and an 82.5 free throw percentage which saw a 5% improvement this season. This sudden shooting development doesn’t happen overnight. It’s clear that Bothwell made the early decision to take the basketball route and focus on having a breakout senior season.
There was never any doubt that Bothwell wanted to be a professional basketball player. His talent was already on full display from the time he was in high school. At Cornerstone Christian Academy, Bothwell became a three-time Division IV All-Ohio selection and was the 2018 News-Herald Division IC Ohio Player of the Year. He guided his school to district and region titles in 2016 and 2018. He also helped his school to the Division IV state championship game. That season, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He also led the team in scoring as they lifted the state title while he was a sophomore.
It’s evident that Bothwell loves basketball. He’s proven that he has the mental fortitude and the skill set to deliver championships and refine his game. There’s a staunch willingness to succeed in this field and a desire to never give up on the pursuit of his dream. Bothwell wants to be a professional basketball player and understands what needs to be done to achieve it. There was never any doubt in his mind on which road he wanted to take.
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