SAN ANTONIO – Former Spurs great Bruce Bowen is back in the gym as he has been named the new head coach of the Cornerstone varsity boys basketball team.
The school made the announcement over the weekend.
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Bowen spoke Monday morning with KSAT and said he’s excited about the opportunity to coach at the private school and was looking forward to working with the students and “teach them the fundamentals of the game.”
"I'm just happy seeing the joy on kids' faces when they do something they may not have been able to do before," Bowen said. "With basketball, I'm able to impact kids and teach them the lessons of life through the game I love.”
Bowen is a three-time NBA champion with the Spurs and all-NBA defensive performer. His No. 12 jersey was retired by the organization.
Since his retirement, Bowen has worked for ESPN as an NBA analyst and for the Los Angeles Clippers television broadcast.
Over the past few years, Cornerstone Christian has made a concerted effort to bolster its athletic programs. One of Bowen's first jobs as head coach is to repair the relationship between the private school and the North East Independent School District, which felt that Cornerstone had been recruiting some of their students in the past.
“There's been a stigma around Cornerstone and I wasn't there to be a part a lot of the things that have transpired there," Bowen explained. "One of the things that I've been trying to do is reach out to North East Independent School District and get with the individuals there that are necessary to talk about rebuilding. Let's create a better communication because as of right now, the communication is lost between Cornerstone and a lot of the school districts here in town. One of my goals is to build these burned bridges. We're trying to rebuild the program and we know it's going to take some time. They told me that I'd be in charge of building from seventh grade to twelfth, even though I'm the varsity head coach. I got goosebumps thinking about it because to me, that's the ultimate.”