Jordan Bowden of Carter High School is the PrepXtra boys basketball player of the year. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

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By Chris Thomas of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Jordan Bowden's college basketball recruitment barely had gained traction when he chose to postpone his freshman season by at least a year in 2015.

That circuitous move, which took the high-flying guard from Carter High School to the national team at South Carolina-based prep school 22 Feet Academy, successfully gave the 2015 PrepXtra Boys Basketball Player of the Year a fresh look on his recruitment, increased his exposure and refined his skill set for the next level.

Now he's returning home to play basketball in the SEC.

Bowden announced on Periscope his commitment to Tennessee on Tuesday, choosing the Vols over scholarship offers from Providence, Cincinnati, Marquette and Utah, among others.

"It's been a long journey for me," Bowden said just before he revealed a dark gray Tennessee shirt under his light gray hooded sweatshirt. "I've worked so hard to get where I'm at today. I want to thank all the coaches here at 22 Feet for pushing me to be the best that I can be every day. I want to thank the people back home for supporting me and always being there for me. I want to thank my mother. She's real close to me and is my everything. After much consideration and talking with my parents, I've decided to attend the University of Tennessee."

The 6-foot-5, 178-pound Bowden is the sixth commitment in Tennessee's 2016 recruiting class, and is rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports.

He's considered the No. 3 overall player in South Carolina, No. 186 overall player in the country and the nation's No. 31 shooting guard.

Bowden's prowess as a dunker spurred frequent buzz on social media during his senior season at Carter, when he averaged 26.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game and helped the Hornets reach the Class AA state tournament for the second consecutive year.

His athleticism produced windmill dunks and dozens of other highlight-worthy plays.

Yet, Bowden's biggest offer following his senior year came from Texas-Pan American, a Division I school that competes in the Western Athletic Conference.

"From a recruiting standpoint, he's night and day when he got here," 22 Feet coach Ryan Schmidt said last week. "There were some low-major schools who wanted to keep tabs on him. And then we had a lot of coaches come through here to start this season. Late November, early December, we played in (the Legacy Nissan Classic) in Kentucky. That's when the interest started picking up. He played well against (Hargrave Military Academy), then he had a really big tournament in Las Vegas.

"That started to open their eyes."

He still played above the rim for 22 Feet (26-9), the only school this season to beat powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, but said he improved most as a defender during his time at the school located in Greeneville, S.C.

"I've been putting in a lot of work every day after practice," Bowden said last week. "I'm elevating more when I shoot. I'm getting higher on my pull-up jumpers and just getting better.

"You have to bring it every day. There's a lot of competition down there."

Bowden, who's averaging 17 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season, said he's being recruited as either a combo guard or two-guard.

Chris Thomas covers high school sports. Follow him at twitter.com/prepxtra.