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The heat wave sweeping the western part of the United States drove the temperature in Phoenix to a record 118 degrees the other day.
Fortunately, Hollidaysburg and current Phoenix Suns senior vice president Jeff Bower joked Thursday night, "It's only hot outside."
That's not totally true. The home team's play inside Phoenix Suns Arena has stoked the fan base, raising hopes for the team's first NBA title.
And Bower has a front-row seat.
"It's great to see the whole Phoenix area alive, and it's grown from the start to where we are now," he said. "Phoenix is historically a great fan base, and they've unleashed it all over the last 10 years. There's a lot of happy faces in the crowd, and it's been fun to see."
Bower is in his second season with the Suns, his latest stop in what has been a tremendous 25-year NBA career that has included stints as general manager of the New Orleans Hornets (he also coached the team for the 2009-10 season) and Detroit Pistons.
After being let go by Detroit in 2018, he wasn't out of work long, landing in the Valley of the Sun a year later.
Bower, 60, has learned that management change in pro sports is practically inevitable, and he's embraced his latest opportunity.
"The thing I've always focused on most is the job you have and appreciate what your responsibilities are and try to have people to create value within that role," he said. "That's how we go about things today and how we always go about them."
Bower's main mentor, former Saint Francis men's coach Dave Magarity who started Bower as a student-coach in 1979, is proud of his protege.
"Adaptability is a great word with Jeff and his ability to get along with people," Magarity, who earlier this year retired as Army's women's basketball coach after nearly 50 years in the game, said. "He's been able to survive. He knows how to treat people, and that's had a huge impact on his success. I'm just so happy for him."
Bower's role in Phoenix is to "work with the front office and to work with James Jones, our general manager, and basically do the type of things a front office does -- from player evaluation and scouting to roster building to player development areas. Those are all parts of our front office that we all play a hand in."
Bower began his pro career as a scout with the Charlotte Hornets and remains heavily involved with that aspect of the game, "whether it's college scouting or G-League evaluations or professional scouting, that's a big part of our operation. I've spent a lot of time on that along with ways to track performance and develop players."
The formula is working nicely. Phoenix wound up as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and seems to be peaking at the right time. The Suns sidelined the LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs and then swept the Denver Nuggets and league MVP Nikola Jokic.
"I honestly think we're getting better," Bower said. "We're still growing and adding experience to go with our enthusiasm and talent. They're so together and fit so well and there's such trust between player to player and player to coaching staff. It's really a byproduct of the whole organization being connected and being on the same page."
The Suns have been resting for a week awaiting the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz.
"Anytime you have this type of a layoff -- we're still not certain when it will start -- but our guys have earned this rest through their play," Bower said. "Obviously, we're still working every day and trying to get better individually and collectively, but it's nice to sit back and work on yourselves before turning all your attention to an opponent."
Bower's fingerprints are all over the Suns.
He originally drafted Chris Paul for the Hornets in 2005 and helped bring him to Phoenix this season. Paul tore up the Nuggets but is now in the Covid protocol. (Bower said "we'll get him back; we just don't know when.")
He was also involved in the 2019 hiring of head coach Monty Williams, a rising star who Bower had hired in New Orleans a decade ago.
"People are happy to be at a game after being locked up for a year (due to the pandemic), and on top of it, to see exciting playoff basketball has been terrific," Bower, who sits along the baseline near the Suns' bench, said. "We've had a better home court than a lot of the teams still playing."
The Suns may not be favored to win the 2021 NBA title, but in a year with many superstars injured or eliminated, and new faces and new teams emerging, they shouldn't be counted out.
"It's the type of year you chase your whole career, really," Bower said, "so you don't take it for granted."
Rudel can be reached at 814-946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.