He will be just a six-hour drive from his hometown of Meridian, Idaho. A devout Mormon, he will also attend a university owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bower's brother, Danny, played for the Cougars' basketball team from 1997-'99 and his late father, Wayne, played football there in the early 1970s. A 'business decision' However, none of those factors was primary in his decision. I don't want people to think I'm leaving for religious reasons.
Basketball is business.
This was definitely a business decision. As Bower saw it, he had a better chance of being successful playing in the system run by BYU coach Steve Cleveland than he would have playing for Ryan. BYU showed interest in Bower last summer after he returned from a two-year Mormon mission in Poland. However, unlike Wisconsin, Bower said the Cougars staff wanted him to spend a year in junior college and sign him for the next school year. Wisconsin offered an immediate opportunity to play.