Taylor Bol Bowen enters sophomore season with big goals for FSU, himself

Taylor Bol Bowen didn’t know exactly what to expect from his first year on the Florida State men’s basketball team, but he certainly didn’t expect for things to play out the way they did.

The Seminoles finished 10-10 in the ACC (17-16 overall) and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament. Then in the months following the season, virtually every player aside from him and guard Chandler Jackson either graduated, transferred or declared for the NBA Draft.

“It was a difficult time, for sure,” Bol Bowen said of the uncertainty following the 2023-24 season. “Trying to figure out what I was going to do — if I was going to stay, if I was going to leave. Trying to figure out my options. But I mainly just stayed in the gym, worked hard and figured everything was going to take care of itself.”

Soon enough, the Seminoles’ picture would become much clearer. Star guard and leading scorer Jamir Watkins announced in June that he would return to Florida State for his senior year. Sophomore forward Waka MBatch decided to return as well, and head coach Leonard Hamilton added several transfers and freshmen to fill out the 2024-25 roster.

FSU fans will get their next chance to see that lineup in a preseason exhibition today at 3 p.m. at the Tucker Center. The Seminoles will host West Florida in the second of two exhibitions before the season opener against North Florida on Monday.

For Bol Bowen, it will be another opportunity to display the improvement he has made in his game — he said he has worked hard on his shooting and ball-handling — but he also wants to show some of the gains he has made in the weight room.

The 6-10 forward was listed at 195 pounds last season as a freshman, and he said he has packed on about 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason.

“I hit the weight room pretty strong,” Bol Bowen said, adding that he has changed his eating habits as well. “It helps build confidence, for sure. To go from like skinny to stronger.”

Though he acknowledges that the college game was moving pretty fast for him early last season, Bol Bowen said he began to feel more comfortable by the time ACC play rolled around. He finished the year averaging 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, but he did show flashes of his potential.

He came off the bench to score eight points and grab three rebounds in 16 minutes at Boston College. Then in 12 minutes against Georgia Tech, he scored six points and recorded three rebounds and one assist.

Now, on a team with nine newcomers, the sophomore forward finds himself having to take more of a leadership role — at least when it comes to showing them the way Hamilton runs his program.

“I literally went from the youngest guy last year to more of a vet this year,” said Bol Bowen, who is majoring in finance in the classroom. “I have more experience in the system, and the coaches spent a lot of time intentionally developing me so I could be more mature and handle more responsibilities. Just trying to help everybody understand how we try to get stuff done.”

It certainly helps that Watkins decided to come back for his senior season. The versatile wing not only is the Seminoles’ best player — he led FSU in points, rebounds, steals and blocks last season — but he took Bol Bowen under his wing immediately and continues to show him how to be a successful college player.

“I’m really close to Jamir,” Bol Bowen said. “He was my roommate on the road last year, so he taught me a lot. How to move like a pro, how to just understand basketball, really. He’s always been somebody I’ve turned to and watched to see how he handled different situations. And going into this season, he’s been like our rock, our foundation.”

Earlier this month, Bol Bowen got to go on the road with Watkins again, as they were chosen to represent Florida State in Charlotte at ACC Tipoff — the league’s annual preseason media event. Getting to spend time on a huge stage with the best players in the ACC was an honor the sophomore never dreamed would happen so soon, and one he was still beaming about weeks later.

“That was a great experience,” Bol Bowen said. “I won’t forget that at all. I’ll carry that throughout my lifetime, for sure. It was cool to get up there and see other guys from other teams. But really, for us, it was just about representing Florida State to the best of our best abilities.”

Now, he wants to do that on the court as well. As the Seminoles prepare for one more exhibition and then the season opener next week, the athletic big man is determined to help propel Florida State back into the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence.

“I just want us to be a championship team,” he said. “I’m sick of losing. Last year, we were .500 or whatnot. That’s all right. But I want to win. At the end of the day, it’s a results-based industry. I just want to win. I want us to get to the tournament. Want us to win as many games as possible. …

“We weren’t that far away last year. We were right there. If we get three or four more wins, maybe we make the tournament. And there were a lot of close games, a lot of leads we blew and opportunities lost. It’s a fine line between winning and losing; I just want us to do those little things to end up on the winning side.”

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