In the minutes leading up to the Boston University men’s basketball team’s game against Morehead State University last night, something seemed conspicuously absent. Things appeared to be in order in Case Gymnasium: the Terriers were out on the court going through their pregame routine, the band was warming up, the student section was filling in (a lot quicker than normal) and Morehead State forward Kenneth Faried was throwing down emphatic windmill dunks.

As the teams lined up for the national anthem, however, it became painfully obvious to me what was missing in all of this: It was none other than BU’s star senior guard, Corey Lowe.

Whispers and conjecture echoed throughout the rafters of The Roof&-fans trying their best to guess where Lowe might be, but the consensus opinion seemed to boil down to this much: he was off the team for good, no coming back, nothing.

All of this became official with BU coach Patrick Chambers’ announcement that Lowe expressed a desire to “move on to the next chapter of his life,” what many think will be an attempt at landing a professional contract overseas or in a developmental league here in the U.S.

Reportedly, Lowe informed Chambers of his plans to leave the team after BU’s win last week over Oregon State University in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational.

What Lowe leaves behind here at BU is certainly a successful legacy&-he stands as the program’s third all-time leading scorer and the all-time leader in assists, 3-pointers made and minutes played.

His recent decision to depart will certainly upset and anger many here on campus (those who follow the basketball team, at least), but it leaves me with really more questions than I have answers.

Part of me is unmistakably dismayed, disappointed and even outraged. Almost every one of us has been taught from a young age that it’s important to stick to our commitments, to be loyal, and perhaps most importantly, to never abandon those we care about, especially in times of need.

At this moment, Lowe’s decision feels a lot like abandonment, abandonment to all of us who have cheered him on in his time here at BU and abandonment to his teammates, particularly his fellow seniors who he’s played with for four years. You don’t see guards Carlos Strong or Tyler Morris, two seniors who have a fighting chance of playing professionally somewhere, ditching their team with just a few games left on the docket, do you?

I know that Lowe, his teammates and coaches would have much rather gotten a spot in the NCAA Tournament or even the NIT, but is the CBI that worthless that you’re willing to turn your back on all these people this far into your season and career?

All of these thoughts and emotions are undoubtedly coming from my heart, my inner fan who longs to see things work out exactly as he desires them to and as he believes they should.

But another part of me can’t go along with all of this ridicule and banter.
I know that it’s my job with The Daily Free Press to stand on the soap box and give my opinion on everything BU Athletics, but it’s hard for me to stand on that box with a strong opinion when everything hasn’t exactly come to light yet with this Lowe situation.

Expecting someone to give a strong, unabashed opinion when you don’t have all the facts is like asking DeMarcus Cousins to explain Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: You’re probably not going to get too much and it may be a way of asking for trouble. It can always get you a job on sports radio, though.

As much as I feel that Lowe’s decision comes off as an act of selfishness and betrayal, we really don’t know enough right now.

For me at the very least, it feels wrong to label Lowe as a traitor after all of the years of hard work and stellar play that he gave to BU basketball, especially since Corey seems by almost all accounts to be an upstanding guy.

Information surrounding these matters usually has its way of gradually emerging and putting to rest varied speculation over time, so while we think we may know everything now, the fact is that we rarely ever do.

Amidst all of this, maybe the one word that seems most fitting to describe Lowe’s decision and its repercussions is bizarre. And quite frankly, while I far from expected Lowe’s career as a Terrier to end this way, it seems all too fitting given the way that his time here at BU has unfolded.

This is the same person who came to BU as a highly touted guard that many thought was almost over-qualified for the program with which he signed (after his commitment to Providence College fell through).

This is the same person who was the very definition of a gunner&-someone who could bury 3-pointers and win his team the game from deep just as quickly as he could shoot them out of it, something that has been a source of frustration for many of us that follow the program.

Almost above all, this is the same guy who was not only a mercurial player but was also someone who made me question my judgment toward college athletes when I saw him walking off the court crying after his late turnover all but sealed BU’s loss to the University of Vermont last month.

As much as I maybe wanted to yell and shout at him for his mistake, I could realize that the situation embodied the fact that Corey Lowe, like all student-athletes, is just a kid.

And like all kids, he’s prone to mistakes.

At this point, I don’t agree with Lowe’s decision, but I certainly respect it and wish him the best, and until all of the facts come out, it may be the best thing for us all to save our judgment and accept this for what it is now: a perplexing decision that epitomizes a similarly unpredictable career.