The Springfield Republican
The Daily Hampshire Gazette
MHERST - After Saturday's win 98-61 over Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts sophomore guard Chris Lowe had a new appreciation for some of his teammates.
"I told my teammates who sat out last year I don't see how you guys could sit out a whole year," said Lowe, who was suspended along with walk-on Nana Ampim for their role in a downtown Amherst brawl Oct. 6. They missed the Minutemen's exhibition game against Bridgeport as well as Saturday's regular-season opener. "I didn't like just sitting out two games," Lowe added.
Lowe will be back in action at 2 p.m. Friday against Oakland when the Minutemen begin a stretch of three games in the three-day Colonial Classic at the University of Pittsburgh.
"I've been waiting a long time. I had to pay my consequences and now I'm ready to play," Lowe said. "It was a lesson to learn. I just sat there and took my sentence and tried to learn from my team."
Lowe is a welcome addition for a lot of reasons. Luke Bonner and Ricky Harris have been battling injuries, though both practiced Tuesday. And junior Etienne Brower is still recovering from a sprained right ankle.
Lowe, who averaged 31 minutes per game last year at point guard, should help add depth and options for coach Travis Ford. For example, he could play Lowe with freshman point guard Tiki Mayben.
"Playing them together, defensively we'll be able to be a little more aggressive," Ford said.
Lowe said when he and Mayben are on the floor together, there is no set point guard if the team is running. In half-court sets, Lowe will be the shooting guard.
"I'm comfortable with it. As long as I'm on the court," said Lowe, who said his improved shooting in the Bahamas during the preseason trip in August has continued on the mainland. "It really has carried over. I'm going to show people they can't play off me this year, that they have to play me as a 3-point shooter."
BROWER QUESTIONABLE - Brower will travel with the Minutemen to Pittsburgh Thursday morning. Whether he will be healthy enough to play when he gets there remains to be seen. The junior transfer from Boston University is itching to get started after sitting out last year. But he sprained his ankle last month and has yet to participate in a full practice since.
"My ankle feels OK," Brower said. "I've been getting better every day. The swelling has gone down a lot. It looks a lot better. It's been like 33 games since I've played in a real game so I'm dying to get out there.
"But I don't want to be in a position where I'd get hurt if I came back and miss like 15 games, so I want to make sure I'm ready when I come back," Brower added. "... If I can't jump, can't run, can't block shots, I'm useless. I'd rather cheer from the bench than get us down because my ego wanted me to come back early."
Ford said he isn't sure when Brower will return.
"He's still a little ways away," said Ford, who added that Brower would probably be the Minutemen's first option off the bench if he was healthy. "I told Ron (Laham) the trainer when he steps out there I want him to be ready to go. If you try to work a guy back in at 50 or 60 percent, that's when they get reinjured. Hopefully we can survive without him for a little while."
TIME CHANGES - Five UMass games have been added to the College Sports Television syndication package, which has replaced the Atlantic 10 Network. That resulted in four game times being changed.
The Jan. 6 game at La Salle is now at noon. The Jan. 13 home game against Temple has been moved to 5 p.m. The Jan. 28 game at Charlotte is now at 1 p.m. and the Feb. 18 game at Dayton will start at 2 p.m.
The UMass game at Saint Joseph's at 7 p.m. March 3 also was added to the CSTV package.
However, CSTV has not lined up local affiliates to carry those games yet.
NO RECRUITING ANNOUNCEMENT - UMass officials had hoped Tuesday to announce the early signees, but they still don't have all the necessary paperwork for the entire class.
Today is the last day a letter can be signed during the early period, but it doesn't have to arrive at the school until Nov. 29.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage including a frequently updated UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.