AUGUSTA, Ga.-- Augusta State All-American Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman has been cleared to resume practicing with the team, ASU head basketball coach Dip Metress announced during a Thursday afternoon press conference at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

The 2006-07 Peach Belt Conference Player-of-the-Year, Bowman has been sidelined with a heart condition since the first official day of practice on October 15.

Bowman, a 6-5, 185-pound senior forward from Tignall, Ga., was an active participant in the Jaguars’ regularly scheduled workout Thursday afternoon.

“I appreciate you all coming today and I want to thank you for respecting AJ’s privacy during his illness,” said Metress. “Since we learned of AJ’s diagnosis, our concern has been for his health and safety. We are excited today to announce that the physicians and training staff who have been working with AJ have cleared him to resume activities with the team.

“I know this has been a very difficult time for AJ and I want to commend him on keeping such a positive attitude throughout. I also would be remiss if I did not thank the members of the team for not allowing this to be a distraction for us during the preseason. I credit our other four seniors (Luke Tambon, Jamie Quarles, Dee Howard and Etsho Ilunga) for their leadership and keeping the team focused.”

A first-team All-America selection as a junior by the NABC, Bowman was named the 2007 College Player-of-the-Year in the state of Georgia among all divisions by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. He led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 20.5 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. en route to leading ASU to the PBC regular-season championship and the second-winningest season in school history at 24-7.

Without Bowman’s services, ASU split a pair of exhibition matchups recently, defeating College of Charleston 65-63 on Thursday, Nov. 1 before falling to Clemson 79-66 on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

The Jags tip off their season on Friday, Nov. 16 vs. Montevallo in the Montevallo/Coca-Cola Classic in Montevallo, Ala. Game time is slated for 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman Timeline of events

September 6, 2007
Bowman experiences shortness of breath while participating in ASU’s preseason conditioning program

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
Bowman is examined by Dr. Weems Pennington, III, a cardiologist at University Hospital

After a battery of tests over a period of a week, Bowman is diagnosed with atrial septal defect

Monday, Sept. 24, 2007
Bowman undergoes a procedure to repair the defect performed by Dr. Christopher D Neilsen at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C.,

The procedure is pronounced a success and Bowman is prescribed aspirin and Plavix, a blood thinner

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007
Bowman is examined by Dr. Pennington and the decision is made to continue with Plavix for two additional weeks

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007
Bowman is examined by Dr. Pennington and receives medical clearance to return to limited participation