Thomas Dowd: Workhorse. "Worm." Winner.
One of college basketball's elite rebounders now calls Auburn home, and he's wasted no time in making a real impact for the Tigers.
AUBURN — New Auburn forward Thomas Dowd calls himself a “workhorse,” but his last school gave him a much more interesting animal nickname — “The Worm.”
Yes, just like Dennis Rodman.
While Dowd won’t rock the rainbow hair or the wedding dress any time soon, he got the Rodman comparison from former Troy head coach Scott Cross because of his impressive rebounding for someone who might be considered an undersized forward.
“I have a shirt and everything,” Dowd said, smiling. “I wear it to games sometimes.”
At Troy, the 6-foot-8 Dowd became one of the best board men in all of mid-major college basketball. Last season, he led the Sun Belt in rebounds (10.1 per game) and was eighth among all Division I players in total defensive boards. In all three of his years at Troy, he ranked inside the top 15 in the conference in offensive rebounds.
Dowd doesn’t have ultra-dominant physicality to his game, and his vertical leap won’t blow you away. He’s got a standard wingspan for a combo forward.
But the Dothan native just gets results on the glass.
During a summer scrimmage inside Neville Arena early Wednesday morning, Dowd helped his squad come from behind to win by creating extra possessions with offensive rebounds. He beat out bigger matchups in the air and secured 50-50 balls against quicker opponents with ease.
The Tigers, armed with more 3-point shooting threats after this offseason’s roster renovation, then cashed in on those second and third chances from beyond the arc.
“The game we won today was because of him, and that’s all I can say,” said veteran guard Kevin Overton, referring to the scrimmage victory. “He’s incredible.”