Mekhi Lowery’s numbers are strong but won’t jump off the page and wow you.
To be dazzled, it’s best to just watch the Oswego East senior. He’s listed on the roster as a 6-foot-7, 185-pound guard but can — and did — play any position on the floor.
At the suggestion of associate coach Pat O’Connell, that’s what Towson head coach Pat Skerry did. He first saw Lowery play for his AAU team at an event in Philadelphia.
“Mekhi made a play on the defensive side, stripping the ball, then diving and laying all-out trying to come up with it,” Skerry said. “He was fouled and then made the free throws.”
Long story short?
During the early signing period in November, Skerry made sure Lowery put his signature on the dotted line with the Colonial Athletic Association program just north of Baltimore.
From there, Lowery took over. The 2022-23 Beacon-News/Courier-News Boys Basketball Player of the Year averaged 12.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals.
On top of that, Lowery led the Wolves (29-6) to a second straight undefeated run through conference, a second straight regional title and the program’s first sectional championship.
“We can’t wait to get him here,” Skerry said. “I think Mekhi is going to be special.”
He’s not alone.
Lowery, who also averaged 2.8 deflections and a blocked shot, earned first team all-state honors. He was named to the third team last season as a junior.
“We really needed Mekhi to do a lot of different things,” Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez said. “We knew, Mekhi being Mekhi, he’d do all the little things to help the team. He’s a team-first guy, and the thing that stands out, he’s so unselfish.
“It could be the values and morals his parents stressed. We always talk about making one more pass, giving up a good shot to get a great shot. We’re in no rush. Let’s get a third grade shot.”
Playing on a team with four starters averaging from nine to 12 points, Lowery didn’t have to worry about his scoring average.
“That was never really me,” Lowery said. “I played a lot of team sports, baseball and football, growing up. Being a part of a team, it was easy to find my role. It just seemed to come naturally.”
His father Telly, who played basketball at Proviso West and at a junior college in Tennessee, introduced Mekhi to all sports.
“There were times my AAU coach and dad thought I should shoot more, but dad stopped like being my personal coach in middle school,” Mekhi said. “He and my mom (Kesha) always made sure I was doing OK with my grades.”
In two victories at the Class 4A Bolingbrook Sectional, Lowery scored a modest 10 points in a 62-61 overtime win against the host Raiders in a semifinal and nine points in a 71-64 win over Joliet West for the championship.
His semifinal stat line, however, included six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. In the final, Lowery had seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Oswego East’s season ended with a 64-60 loss in the supersectional to state champion Moline, which featured a pair of Iowa recruits in 6-0 point guard Brock Harding and 6-10 forward Owen Freeman, Lowery’s one-time summer teammate he was assigned to defend.
Lowery saved one of his best games for last, although Freeman ended up winning the scoring battle 22-20 and both had nine rebounds. Lowery added five assists and three steals.
The all-around game has impressed his future coach.
“I’ve been blown away by the great job his AAU coach, in terms of coaching him, did,” Skerry said. “And we went to one of his high school team’s workouts with coach Velasquez and his staff, and they do a really good grassroots job with those kids.”
Velasquez expects Lowery to make his mark at the next level.
“It’s scary how good Mekhi might be,” he said. “He’s a special player.”
