Western Michigan University and head men’s basketball coach Dwayne Stephens have announced the addition of Chris Fowler to the program as an assistant coach. Fowler joins Jeff Rutter and Manny Dosanjh as Stephens’ three assistant coaches for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
“Chris Fowler is a guy I have known for many years, and from the first time I saw him play in high school, it stood out to me that he has great leadership ability,” Coach Stephens said. “We then worked together at Michigan State, and I saw he has elite work ethic and the ability to connect with student-athletes. At Northern Arizona, he established himself as a great coach and recruiter. Chris will be a great addition to our staff!”
Fowler comes to Western Michigan after spending each of the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Arizona University. Last season, NAU’s Jalen Cone was named to the All-Big Sky Third Team after averaging 18.8 points per game and posting the second-highest scoring season in NAU program history.
In his first season in Flagstaff, Fowler was instrumental in the continued development of Cameron Shelton, who became the first Lumberjack to earn All-Big Sky First Team and NABC All-District honors since 2015. Shelton was the sixth player in program history to earn an All-District selection, and ranked 37th in the country at 19.2 points per game. During Fowler’s tenure, Northern Arizona boasted 10 Big Sky All-Academic honorees and at the end of the 2020-21 season, received the Team Academic Excellence Award from the NABC.
“I want to thank Coach Stephens for the opportunity,” Fowler said. “I look forward to working with our student-athletes to help them reach their goals, both on and off the court.”
Prior to his time at NAU, Fowler spent two seasons at Michigan State as a graduate assistant under Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo. Working alongside Coach Stephens, Fowler aided the MSU staff in the implementation of practice and game day operations, as well as with scouting reports.
During his two seasons in East Lansing, the Spartans went 54-16, won a pair of Big Ten regular season championships, won the 2019 Big Ten Tournament and reached the 2019 Final Four. Fowler aided in the development of 2019 Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus All-American Cassius Winston and 2020 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Xavier Tillman.
Fowler played collegiately at Central Michigan University, where he was a four-year team captain and finished his career as the program’s career record holder in assists, free throw attempts and made free throws. While at CMU, he was a three-time All-MAC and NABC All-District selection. As a junior, he was runner-up for MAC Player of the Year and was a finalist for the 2015 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, presented annually to the top Division I mid-major player.
In the classroom, Fowler was a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree and a 2016 CoSIDA All-District selection. He also was named a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete as a senior and was the recipient of CMU’s prestigious Bill Boyden Award, given annually to the Chippewa student-athlete who best exemplifies leadership, academics and community service.
Following his collegiate career, Fowler was a second-round pick of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the 2016 NBA D-League Draft. He went on to play overseas for the Rockhampton Rockets (Australia) and Baunach Young Pikes (Germany) from 2017-18. While with Rockhampton, he led the team with 23.6 points and 5.6 assists per game.
A native of Southfield, Mich., Fowler graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre & Interpretation in 2016, and received a master’s degree in Coaching & Leadership from Michigan State University in 2020.
https://wmubroncos.com/news/2022/6/16/chris-fowler-joins-mens-basketball-staff.aspx
