Photo: UMES graduate Jareem Dowling was head coach for the Virgin Islands 17-under national team in the Central Basketball Tournament.
Jareem Dowling coaches 17-and-under team in Virgin Islands, his homeland
By Shawn Yonker, Sports Editor Daily Times
ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands -- Basketball showed up fashionably late in Jareem Dowling's life, but it certainly brought a lot to the party.
Dowling came to the United States in 1997 hoping to improve his grades and find opportunities that may not have been available to him in the Virgin Islands.
A decade later, Dowling can say he has relished every opportunity.
He holds degrees from Cecil College and University of Maryland Eastern Shore and sports a 2006 JUCO national title on his coaching resume as an assistant under Cecil coach Bill Lewit.
Recently basketball brought him full circle, when he traveled back to the Virgin Islands as the coach of the country's 17-and-under team which competed in the Central Basketball Tournament.
"It was beyond my imagination to be a part of something that important where I could represent my homeland," Dowling said. "I appreciate the opportunity that Usie Richards and the Virgin Islands Basketball Federation gave me."
The association between Dowling and Richards, the president of that federation, goes back a while as Dowling had helped Usie and his brother Ronnie, a Virgin Islands senator, get players from the country to key camps that would get them seen by American college coaches.
The three had a chance to sit down at the Final Four this year and the brothers were impressed with how Dowling carried himself in person after previously talking only by phone.
"The relationship just grew naturally," Dowling said. "We just connected somehow."
First Dowling was asked if he would be interested in being on the coaching staff.
Then the interest intensified.
"I was shocked and thought it wasn't really happening," Dowling said. "They continued to call me and do more research. I thought it was going to blow over, but they offered me the job and bought my plane ticket."
His first move was to call Lewit and ask if he thought his pupil was ready for the responsibility.
Lewit's answer was simple.
Absolutely.
The Journey
Looking back to the time when he was 15 years old and his mother told him he could no longer play baseball because of his poor grades, sometimes it is hard for Dowling to see how he has gotten to where he is today.
He said he owes a debt of gratitude to his eighth grade basketball coach Marvin Johnson, who first introduced him to the game. But it was another introduction that Johnson made, to New Castle County, Delaware judge and justice of the peace Rosalind Toulson, that brought Dowling to America.
Toulson was involved with bringing foreign exchange students to Delaware and approached Dowling's parents about him coming to Delaware and living with her. His mother was skeptical at first, but later realized it may be for the best.
Dowling's classroom skills and skills on the court matured over the years as he was an all-star forward at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington. From there he signed with Cecil to play under Lewit.
"He had all the influence in the world on me wanting to be a coach," Dowling said. "He always says 'you don't hope for success you work for it.' At Cecil he was teaching me about basketball and also how to represent myself, carry myself and grow as a young man. He always let you make your mistakes and then corrected you. That is what he does so well and what makes him a good teacher."
The Hawk YearsDowling left Cecil with a two-year degree and a trip to the JUCO final four and headed to UMES under full scholarship.
His two years at UMES were a trial as the team went 8-21 during the 2003-04 season under head coach Thomas Trotter and 2-26 under Larry Lessett the following year.
Dowling played in all 28 games as a junior and averaged 3.6 points per game. His senior season he started 27 of 28 games and averaged just over seven points and five rebounds.
"You always have to take the positives out of any negative situation might encounter," Dowling said. "It was definitely more of a positive than anything. It was a learning experience that made me mature and more able to deal with adversity. I thankful because that is where I got my four-year degree from and I'm a UMES Hawk."
Being Johnny Dawkins
When Dowling graduated from UMES with a bachelor's degree in sociology, there was no doubt in his mind he wanted to pursue a coaching career. It was no surprise to him that Lewit gave him a chance to realize that goal.
And he wouldn't rather work with anyone else.
"I saw what he did for me and my teammates and guys before me and how they reach out to him still," Dowling said. "I wanted to help him do that. He is giving kids opportunities that probably wouldn't even go to college and he follows up to make sure they graduate. He has taught me that a coach's relationship with player is more than just wins and losses."
Dowling's experience on the sidelines alongside Lewit has also been invaluable. He has had opportunities for full-time coaching positions at Division I and Division II schools, but has said that he has hitched his wagon to Lewit because he still feels like he is learning and he is on the right path.
He equated his situation with that of former Duke player and current assistant coach Johnny Dawkins who has been an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski since 1997 and associate head coach since 1999.
"The thing I love about coach Lewit and what I'm sure Dawkins loves about Coach K is that I get an opportunity to grow," Dowling said. "He is not on a power trip. It is always a 'we' thing and never an 'I' thing for him. He is the best thing going at any level, but he is just unnoticed."
Alone on the sidelines
So when Dowling left for training camp on his home island of St. Croix to cut what turned out to 40 players down to a 12-man team, he had Lewit with him in spirit.
He kept in phone contact with Lewit, who he said had suggestions and advice, but most importantly the encouragement he needed to stay confident throughout the process.
When time came for the team's first game against the Dominican Republic on Aug. 1, the enormity of the situation was starting to sink in for Dowling. Needing what he called a last minute "pep talk" he attempted to call Lewit.
He wasn't able to get through and just had to gut it out by himself.
A few minutes into the game there was some thought about making a substitution when he realized it was his decision to make.
The butterflies quickly disappeared and didn't come back.
"I felt a little of what he has been doing for 12 years," he said. "It just comes naturally to him."
After the game, Dowling received a voice mail message from Lewit saying 'Good luck, coach.' It was a little late, but the sentiment rang true.
The team's second game was a loss to a very talented Puerto Rico team, but in the third game Dowling picked up his very first win as a head coach.
They beat Trinidad 85-73 and Dowling had no trouble remembering the exact score.
"It was a major accomplishment for me and the kids," he said. "My slogan for the team was 'raise the bar,'" he said. "We were raising the bar each game and that third game we reached the bar."
Although the team lost its final game to the Bahamas, he also learned some valuable coaching lessons.
The team trailed by 27 points in the first half when he did what he had seen Lewit do so many times. He abandoned his 8-man rotation and put in five players who hadn't had much time on the court.
The result was a 12-point halftime deficit and a loss by just six points.
Homecoming times two
Dowling was so focused on the task at hand that he didn't even have a lot of time to visit with his family during preparation and play. But there was plenty of time for that as he spent some time on St. Croix after play ended. It was just the fifth time he has seen his family since he moved to the United States.
"Coach Lewit taught me to focus on the task at hand," Dowling said. "There was too much at state for those 12 kids and the basketball federation for me to mistake it for a homecoming vacation."
The whole international experience for Dowling was a win-win and he wouldn't hesitate to coach a team again in the future if he was asked.
But back in his second home and on campus after weeks out of the country it didn't take Dowling long to get his mind back on Cecil basketball.
There is, of course, another national title to pursue and other opportunities on the horizon.
"I just emailed out my two-weeks notice for preseason workouts. I let the guys know they need to make sure they get their physicals and talk to them about weight lifting gear," Dowling said. "I can't wait."
Meet Jareem Dowling
BORN. Nov. 23, 1981, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
NICKNAME. Ja
FAMILY. Is the son of Shermaine Samuel King and Robert Dowling. U.S. guardian was Judge Rosalind Toulson. Has seven brothers, Bobby, Aly, Azeez, Negus, Absalom, Leo and BAC and three sisters, Ame-thyst, Loretta and Keisha.
AT CECIL. In addition to his position as assistant basketball coach, he also works at the college as a registration technician and at the switchboard and call center.
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