Stedman Lowry, starting shooting guard for the Hillsdale College men’s basketball team, made his collegiate debut against the University of Michigan last semester. Originally from Liberty Township, Ohio, the redshirt freshman plans to major in accounting.
Your real first name is David. Why do you go by “Stedman”?
It probably comes from my dad — it’s his middle name. My dad really got me into basketball — he played college basketball. I started playing probably in second grade and have been playing ever since.
Why did you choose to play basketball at Hillsdale?
Just the whole Hillsdale idea — conservative and getting back to the country’s values — I thought that was awesome. On the basketball side of it, I really liked Coach Tharp and the other coaches. I just thought it would be a pretty good fit for me and it turns out it is. I like the fact that there’s not many students, and that I can recognize everyone’s faces. Classes are hard, it’s been an adjustment, but I like my classes and really like it here.
What other schools recruited you?
If I would have chosen to not play basketball I would have chosen Ohio State. But, It really actually came down to Hillsdale, Northern Kentucky, and a school in Florida called Rawlins, and I just liked Hillsdale more than any of them.
What was it like making your collegiate debut against the University of Michigan?
It was awesome playing under that environment of Michigan, a huge school. It was crazy, but we just came out like we had nothing to lose, and I wasn’t really all that nervous. And we were in the game most of the game. It was just an unbelievable experience. I didn’t know that we could compete with Division I teams.
How did you feel, giving such an impressive performance in your first game?
Actually, when I started the game out, the first time I touched the ball I airballed a layup. So I was like, “Oh gosh, this is not going to be good.” They didn’t have me on the scoreboard, because I didn’t play last year, so they had no idea who I was, but I just came out and hit some shots early. It was awesome being able to get hot that early in the game.
What’s the camaraderie of the team like?
Our whole team, we all get along so well, and everyone plays pretty well together. We’re a relatively new team, [Kyle] Coop[er] started last year and Zach [Miller] played a certain amount of minutes, but everyone else is new or in new roles. It’s taking some adjustment, but I think we all play pretty well together and most of them are gonna be back next year too. We’ll continue to keep getting better together. I love playing with all these guys.
