The Bonnies Baseline feature series focuses on Bona players in each home game program during the season. Game programs are free for fans to pick up at Reilly Center entrances. To read previous installments in the series click here.

Heading into his freshman year at Iowa, Dasonte Bowen started his collegiate career as a prized member of the Hawkeyes recruiting class.

An ESPN Top 100 recruit in the 2022 class, he garnered interest from several high-major programs.

Playing in his eighth collegiate game, he provided a glimpse of his talent as he posted 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench vs. Duke in the mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden, just hours away from his hometown of Boston.

He continued in a reserve role during his freshman year but moved into position to take over the starting point guard job with a strong summer leading into his sophomore campaign.  

Then, right before heading on a foreign tour with the Hawkeyes in Europe, a torn meniscus threw Bowen a curve.

With the option to have surgery right away and lose his starting spot or play through the injury, he opted for the latter option.

"I think I did what most people would do, I just kept playing," he said. "It got to a point where one day I would feel great, but the next day I could barely stand up. I didn't know what I'd be able to get out of my body each day. It was hard to play like that."

Bowen started eight of 25 games as a sophomore and had standout moments, scoring double figures four times while recording a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, but ultimately his barking knee forced him to the sidelines.

The injury effectively ended his career at Iowa as Bowen decided to transfer, despite leaving on good terms with then-Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery calling Bowen "one of the finest people I've coached in 41 years … one of my favorites ever."

With eyes on moving closer to home and his East Coast roots, the former Worcester Academy product got a call from another Massachusetts native, then Bonnies assistant coach Dana Valentine.

His introduction to Bonaventure came years earlier from Worcester sharpshooter Matt Mobley, an electric part of an NCAA Tournament backcourt for the Bonnies during Bowen's high school days.

After meetings with another Bona product with a heavy Boston accent, head coach Mark Schmidt, a move to Western New York was set.

The pairing seemed like a perfect match.

Bona posted a sparkling 9-1 record and earned Top 25 votes with Bowen as the team's starting point guard as he averaged over 11 points, four assists and two steals per game, fulfilling the promise he showed as a heralded high school recruit.

He was set to play in his first collegiate 'home game' ever – a trip to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, just about two hours from his hometown for a much-anticipated December game vs. Providence in front of dozens of family and friends.

Then, the injury bug struck again.

"The timing was more tough than the injury itself," he said. "That was going to be the closest to Boston I've ever played. My entire family was going to be there."

In one of the final practices before making that trip, he landed on a teammate and came away with a foot injury that changed the trajectory of the Bonnies season.

"It was a freak accident. We were doing a drill we do every day," he remembers.

What resulted was a Lisfranc injury – damage to the midfoot joint complex where toe bones connect to the rest of the foot. It's an injury which has cost many top athletes entire seasons and worse.

Right away, it became apparent only surgery would ultimately fix the problem. With the Bonnies playing so well, though, their floor general wasn't ready to call it quits on the season.

"Before the injury, I'd never even heard of a Lisfranc," he said. "I'm looking at it as if it's not completely broken, I'm going to get back on the court. That was the plan. The next day, my foot said otherwise."

Still, Bowen and the Bona training staff held out hope that after rehab for six-to-eight weeks some part of the season could still be salvaged.

Bowen returned to practice in February with the idea the pain would subside enough to help Bona's postseason push.

"I was playing well (in practices) but getting off the court I would be in so much pain," he said. "It became apparent I wouldn't be able to give 100 percent."

While his Bonnies debut seemed eerily similar to how things played out at Iowa, Bowen says this setback proved much harder to take given the chemistry that quickly bonded himself and his teammates through their early season success.

"It was heartbreaking. I knew the possibilities we could reach last year," he said. "They put a lot on me and I appreciated that. It was a stake to the heart not being able to be there when I wanted to."

This time around, though, he only had eyes for a rehab process in the place that became home over the previous year.

"I didn't put up the numbers I wanted at Iowa and they overlooked that and welcomed me with open arms here, not just as a player, but as a person," Bowen said. "The community here is very family-oriented; you don't find that everywhere. I've been at the big schools, but what we have here is overlooked often. I knew they would let me take my time to get back where I needed to get to without holding it against me."

Returning to the fold this season, Bowen improved his record to 20-3 as the Bonnies' man at the point in non-conference contests, slowly returning to his old form after going nearly a year without playing in a regulation game.

And, despite months of vigorous rehab, being in shape as opposed to being in game shape is a distinction Bowen knows all too well.

"I'm getting my feet under me still; you can't get in game shape without playing games," he said in late December. "I was learning to trust my foot again and on top of that I'm trying to get my wind back and all that. I'm don't think I'm 100 percent yet, it just comes game-by-game."

The needle is pointed directly upward if the close of non-conference play comes as any indication of Bowen's status in his road back: he finished the calendar year with four straight double-figure scoring efforts including six out of the last seven.

Over the last five games before the New Year, he averaged 14 points and 5.2 assists as he not only returns to form but also embraces a new role of team veteran, guiding the likes of freshmen backcourt mates Ilia Ermakov and Achille Lonati.

"This is the first time I've been one of the older guys on the team since high school. I'm trying to lead by telling them how to approach situations I went though, letting them know how I dealt with them and help in whatever way possible."

Now, nearly two years into his Bonaventure career, he has his sights set on finally making a splash in Atlantic 10 play.

"I'm excited to see what conference play brings," he said. "Play in some hostile environments and get some big wins."