City of Basketball Love

Jon Bodack (@jbodack92)
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With a game against George Washington well in hand, a late steal by Delaware Valley Charter’s Waheem Lowman set up a two-handed slam dunk by his brother Wade Lowman to put an exclamation point on an already great afternoon for the duo.

The twins  helped lead Del-Val Charter, to a blowout win over George Washington, 83-38.

The Lowman brothers are new to the Del-Val team this year, transferring from Imhotep Charter, with one season to show they belong on the floor in the Public League’s top division. As Panthers, they mostly sat on the bench behind Division I players like Devin Liggeons, Daron Russell and others.

In their junior year, they combined to score just 58 points for the Panthers. So with one more year left to make an impact on the court, they decided it would be in their best interests to head over to Delaware Valley, and it's a choice that's paid off.

The brothers reside in West Philadelphia with their mother, father, and their two older sisters. Basketball has always played a role in their lives, as far back as they can remember; their father, Wade Lowman Sr., played when he was younger and has pushed them to achieve what he couldn’t.

“He had to work so he couldn’t play for Overbrook. So that was it for him,” Wade said.  “He never got the opportunity, he makes us cherish the moment.”

Their father would be proud of the two after their performance against Washington, as they scored 19 points and tallied three steals apiece for Del-Val (11-5, 5-3 Public League).

The brothers are rarely ever separated from each other. How they are on the court is how they are off the court. Wade is the eldest by 11 minutes, which is something he seems to be proud of as he said it with a smile.

“We are brothers on the court and we’re brothers off the court, we are real tight,” said Waheem, a 6-foot-1 guard.

“We always support each other, always there for each other and fight for each other,” added Wade, a 6-4 wing/forward.

On days even when there isn’t a game or practice chances are you’ll find the brothers honing their craft in the gym. They also like to spend time quality time with the family.

They started to play competitive basketball at age seven for the CPN (Concerned Parents Network AAU program. They have since been a part of the Vipers and most recently with Positive Image.

The process of transferring from Imhotep to Del-Val hasn’t been too challenging for the brothers, the commute is shorter, and they are both getting their chances to showcase their talent. Head coach Jason Harrigan has enjoyed the brothers presence on his team.

“We’re small, so Wade has a lot of length, Waheem is really versatile, he’s athletic and he can shoot the ball. So they give us a different level of athleticism and length that we desperately need.” Harrigan said. “It starts on defense, they struggled a little bit earlier in the season and now they’ve been locked in defensively and it’s translating to the offensive.”

Waheem finds that his style of play works well with what Harrigan has asked of him to contribute to the team. He looks at himself as a driver and scorer, and Del-Val’s style of play encourages that.

“I think it fits very good, [coach] wants me to shoot a lot and drive more,” Waheem said, “and that’s what I’ve been working on at practice, just keep shooting and driving.”

Wade had a little bit of a more difficult adjustment to the new team, with a new role on the floor to learn.

Harrigan has put Wade in the post, which is new for him, but he has been able to make the most of the position change.

“We’ve got him [Wade] playing center, he’s not a natural center, but we’ve made some adjustments and he understands what we need from him.” Harrigan said. “He’s blocking a lot of shots, getting out on the break and finishing, so he’s playing really well.”

Aside from what their skill sets can provide for the team, the added depth has been nice for Harrigan.

“We normally only play eight guys, so those eight guys we ask them to do a lot.” Harrigan said. “So we need every guy, every day.”

When their high school careers come to an end the brothers will be looking to play their college ball together as well. So far the only school that has drawn interest is Division III Rosemont College just outside of Philadelphia.

Head coach Barney Hughes already has a number of former Del-Val players on the team, including freshman Clayton Wolfe and senior wing Marcus Thomas.

“He’s a nice coach, he’s brought us up there on a visit and we’ve gotten to go see a couple of games,” Wade said.

The brothers hope to end their high school career on a good note before taking their game to the next level. A Public League championship would be a nice accomplishment, but the ultimate goal is to bring home a state title.

Either way, they’re just happy to finally be contributing.

“We just want to go out on a good note as seniors,” Waheem said.