The Lowe down

Regarded as the best recruit the Boston University men’s basketball team has ever brought in, senior guard Corey Lowe has become one of the most accomplished players in program history.

He ranks third all-time in career points (1,803) and is the leader in minutes played (3,802) and made 3-pointers (312).

The Newton native saved his best for last, putting the Terriers on his back and single-handedly carrying them to the America East Championship game in his final season donning a BU uniform. Though his team fell short in its quest for an NCAA Tournament appearance, Lowe was named to the AE All-Tournament team, averaging 24.7 points per game in three contests and etching his name in BU basketball lore.

“He has left a legacy,” said BU coach Patrick Chambers. “He’s been through so many ups and downs. He’s been the one constant, the one rock. There have been a lot of adversity and setbacks throughout these four years for him, but he kept coming every day. He didn’t transfer, and I give him a lot of credit. I’m really proud of him.”

Newton North

Basketball wasn’t the only sport in which Lowe excelled during his days at Newton North High School. He was a two-year starting wide receiver for the football squad, and as a senior, helped the Tigers advance to the Division 1-A Massachusetts state Super Bowl.

Lowe broke his right hand during the early months of his freshman football season, an injury that put his varsity basketball career on hold. When he came back five games into the 2002-03 campaign, he played junior varsity and didn’t make the Tigers’ varsity team until the next season.

Featuring a talented backcourt tandem of Lowe and current University of Massachusetts-Amherst guard Anthony Gurley, the Tigers won back-to-back state titles in ’05 and ’06 &- Lowe’s junior and senior years &- and posted an unprecedented 53-1 record during that two-year span.

In his third and final season running the point for the Tigers, Lowe was named the Bay State Carey Conference Co-MVP along with Gurley, and selected to The Boston Globe’s Super Team and The Boston Herald’s Dream Team. He averaged 19 points and 10 assists per game and reached the 1,000-point mark &- all while playing the final 13 contests of his senior year with a broken shooting hand.

“His senior year, he played injured, he played tough,” said Paul Connolly, Lowe’s basketball coach at Newton North. “Corey’s a tough kid. He plays a little reckless and lays his body out there. He has a tendency to be a little injury-prone over his career, but through no fault of his own. It’s just because he lays his body right out there for you.”

Lowe verbally committed to Providence College in April of his junior year and signed a national letter of intent to play college basketball for the Friars &-a member of the ultra-competitive Big East Conference.

From that point on, however, not much in Lowe’s career would go according to plan.

Bouncing to BU

Lowe found himself in an uncomfortable situation a few months before he graduated from Newton North. According to Connolly, the Friars’ coaching staff was not straightforward with Lowe about his scholarship and spot on the team. Providence brought in another guard it liked more and needed an extra scholarship for him.

“[Providence’s] coaching staff was a little overaggressive in their continued recruiting and they over recruited some spots,” Connolly said. “They pulled some shenanigans that put Corey in a situation where we felt it was best that he look elsewhere.”

Both parties emerged relatively unscathed from the “misunderstanding,” Lowe said. He was released from his letter of intent, allowing him to look at other schools he could call home for the next four years.

So, how did Lowe &- then the 39th-best point guard prospect in the country according to Scouts.com &- end up at BU?

“[Former BU head] coach [Dennis] Wolff and [associate head coach Orlando] Vandross had recruited him prior, before he committed anywhere,” Connolly said. “So that was a school that was on the radar screen, anyway. He liked the situation. Obviously, [BU’s] a terrific school.

“Things just fell into place for him that way and they were aggressive in terms of their recruiting. So I thought it was a very good fit for him.”

For Lowe, “the timing of everything” and BU’s proximity to his Newton home were the deciding factors.

“When I got out of the thing with Providence, it was pretty late in the recruiting process,” Lowe said, “so it would have been difficult for me to get with one of those higher programs in higher conferences because they had already given their scholarships away for that upcoming year.

“And I didn’t really want to do the whole prep school thing. BU’s close to home, which is what I always wanted from the beginning of my recruiting process. Now I’m here.”

Highs and Lowes

Since stepping onto the court for the first time as a Terrier on Nov. 10, 2006, Lowe has been the poster boy for BU basketball, earning AE accolades and setting program records. But his road to success hasn’t been easy.

There were the bad shooting nights, such as the one he had in BU’s 2008-09 season opener against George Washington University. Lowe made 2-of-15 shots, tallied four points and committed four turnovers in the Terriers’ 63-58 overtime loss to the Colonials.

There were the numerous occasions when he butted heads with Wolff. Case in point: a game at Stony Brook University on Feb. 18, 2009, that BU lost, 66-54. Wolff benched Lowe &- his star guard and best player &- for the entire second half because of his behavior in the locker room at halftime.

There was his inability to take BU deep into the AE Tournament. The Terriers bowed out in the semifinals and quarterfinals in Lowe’s freshman and sophomore years, respectively. Last season, Lowe’s 33-point effort wasn’t enough in a quarterfinal loss to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Then there were the injuries.

During his freshman year, Lowe missed four games from late January through early February because of a foot injury. As a sophomore, he was out for three games with left knee bursitis. Two months before the start of last season, Lowe suffered a slight stress fracture in his left knee while playing pickup basketball.

“He has overcome an awful lot of injuries,” Connolly said. “Not that he’s injury-prone, but he puts himself in situations where he gives up his body. He’s the kid who takes the charge, takes the hit and sometimes comes up with nagging injuries.”

Lowe said that he has used his past experiences to grow not just as a player, but also as a person. They’ve taught him a humbling truth &- adversity knocks on everyone’s door.

“Life is difficult in itself,” Lowe said. “Sometimes I’d get upset with things, but then I had to realize that I’m blessed and there are thousands and thousands of kids out there who’d kill to go to school for free, play basketball in college and play on TV. I had to put that in perspective.

“I’m not the only person who gets hurt. Sometimes I’d be like, “Why is this happening to me?’ But then I had to realize that it happens to a lot of people. I just tried to learn from everything that was happening so it helped me down the line.”

What has allowed Lowe to push past the obstacles that have come his way?

“Persistence and perseverance,” said senior guard Tyler Morris, a four-year teammate of Lowe’s. “He has a strong will to win and play the game of basketball. It’s been a pleasure to call him my teammate.”

2009-10

Midway through his first season as BU’s head coach, Chambers felt his team needed a scorer off the bench.

He soon arrived at the following conclusion &- the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lowe would be a perfect fit as the Terriers’ sixth man.

In his peak form, he could pull up from any spot on the floor and score at will. But it took Lowe, previously a starter throughout his collegiate career, a few games to settle into the new role.

“It was difficult to adjust because I’m used to being in [the game] right from warm-ups,” Lowe said. “It was difficult for me to come off the bench, get a few trips up and down [the floor] and get into the flow of the game. That was difficult in the beginning.”

Though he was bothered by plantar fasciitis in his right foot all season and initially struggled offensively after coming off the bench in early February, Lowe’s value to the Terriers as a senior co-captain was undeniable in one department &- leadership.

“He’s been great,” Chambers said. “The guys love him. The team loves him. He’s a great teammate. That’s huge. He knows the scouting reports. He’s the guy that writes all the names up on the board and their numbers. Whatever the scout [report] is, he can recite it like that. His leadership, in regards to that, has been amazing.”

Chambers asked Lowe to contribute in other ways than just scoring points. Lowe complied, playing lockdown defense while setting career highs in assists and rebounds. The past two years, he finished second on the team in scoring behind junior forward John Holland.

Lowe had no problem playing the role of Robin to Holland’s Batman.

“He’s in a situation this year where he’s got a kid like John Holland who’s really coming into his own,” Connolly said. “Corey’s the kind of kid that there’s no jealousy there. He’s not looking at it and saying, “Me, me, me, I want to be the number one scorer. It’s my team.’ Sometimes Corey can be a “me’ guy, but for the most part, Corey is a “we’ guy. He cares about the team and that’s evident by his play this year.”

Despite hitting 92 3-pointers during his sophomore year &- a BU single-season record &-and being named to the AE All-Conference First Team last season, Lowe doesn’t view individual honors as his greatest achievement. He’s most proud of staying at BU for all four years, even through the adversity, the injuries and the head coaching change.

“There were times where I was wondering, “Why am I here? I can go somewhere else and get a little more publicity,'” Lowe said. “But I stuck through things, through the worst times.”

As Lowe prepares to graduate from BU in May, what will he miss the most about his time on Commonwealth Avenue?

“Just being at one place for four years, how comfortable I am in this area,” Lowe said. “I’m going to have to go out into the real world where I’m basically going to start over, re-establish myself somewhere else. Just the sense of knowing where everything is and the people here, just that whole aspect of things, that’s what I’m going to miss.”