Senior Series: Raymond Cowels III

Santa Clara's Raymond Cowels III was Mr. Consistent over his four years as a Bronco. His freshman year average of 7.3 PPG is less than one point below his career PPG average. The only reason his numbers aren't higher is a slight sophomore slump.

The 6'4'', 215lbs, guard from Minneapolis spent his time at Santa Clara mostly out of the spotlight. Guys like Ben Dowdell, Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster received the most accolades. Trasolini and Foster were, however, far less consistent than Cowels. He missed just one game over his entire career, in order to attend his grandfather's funeral.

As a freshman, Cowels made an immediate impact. Averaging 24 minutes per game and starting over a third of the Broncos' games. His 46 made three pointers ranked fifth among freshman all time at Santa Clara. Also, among freshmen all time, he ranked second in three point attempts (146), third in free throw percentage (.787), ninth in minutes played (769) and tenth in steals with 26. Against Wofford he came off the bench and set his career high, which still stands, with 24 points.


His sophomore year saw him slump a bit. His minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals and starts all fell from their freshman levels. Only twice, and both times were within the first four games of the season, did he not score a point as a freshman. Ten times as a sophomore, most of which came in the middle of the WCC season, he did not record a point. This is not to say he was playing with less intensity. His rebound rate increased from 5.8 to 7.7. As a freshman he played over 200 more minutes than he did as a sophomore, but he only grabbed two more rebounds.

In the CIT tournament Cowels returned to form. He shot nearly 15% better than his season average. In the second round win over Air Force he scored 11 points. Then in the championship game he pitched in 12 points.

Things turned around for Cowels in his junior season. He started all but one game over the course of the season. Without Marc Trasolini and Ben Dowdell pulling down rebounds, Cowels stepped up and pulled down 105 boards. His numbers went up in nearly every statistical catergory. He shot 43.1% from three, which led the Broncos and was fourth in the WCC.

Cowels was not just Mr. Consistent but Mr. Do It All as well. He ranked third on the team in rebounds per game, steals per game and effective field goal percentage. He ranked fourth in points per game, assists per game, assist to turnover ratio, steal rate and minutes per game. The 2011-12 Broncos were young, and when Kevin Foster was lost for the season early in the WCC slate, they got even younger. Cowels and Niyi Harrison, both juniors, were the only two upperclassmen that saw anywhere near significant minutes.

In his senior season, Cowels picked up right where he left off. He recorded career highs in steals with 58 and rebounds with 165. His team high free throw percentage of 86.5% was good enough for third in the WCC and also set a career high.

He started every game of the season. Only three times did he play less than 20 minutes, and all three of those came before the WCC season began.

In the final game of his career, game three of the CBI Championship Series, Cowels played a key role in the Broncos' victory. He was held scoreless during the second half, but the Broncos had the lead for all but the beginning of the second half. It was in the first half that the Broncos were struggling.

Santa Clara failed to score for the first four plus minutes until Cowels knocked down a jumper after grabbing an offensive board. He scored 10 of the Broncos' 33 first half points to keep them in the game just down five, despite falling down 8-0 out the gate.

With his four year career now over, Cowels has earned his fair share of spots in the Santa Clara record books. He is tied for first, with Marc Trasolini, in games played, 11th in minutes played and  26th points scored. His totals in many other categories, such as steals and starts would place him in the all time top-25. Unfortunately, the most current record book released by Santa Clara only lists the top ten all time in most categories (with the notable exception of scoring, where it lists all 1,000 point scorers).