Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball's LaMar Owen A Fan Favorite
02/19/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2004
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - There are fan-favorites, players who hustle and guys who can get the home crowd rocking throughout college basketball.
Then there's LaMar Owen. He's reached a whole different level.
The Southern Illinois University forward has made the leap from unproven newcomer to legitimate icon just two months into his SIU career - Jan. 25 at SIU Arena against Indiana State, to be exact.
The Salukis' top reserve was minding his own business on the SIU bench during that game when a chant of "We want Owen" started to rain down from the Dawg Pound, SIU's student section.
A broad smile, one expressing joy and surprise, washed over Owen's face. He was clearly moved by the gesture.
It was that moment that any doubts Owen had about transferring to SIU from Southeastern Illinois College were laid to rest. He belonged.
"When they started yelling that I knew I was at home and I was in the right place," Owen said. "It just put a spark in me that I didn't even know was going to happen."
Fittingly, Owen's subsequent performance pretty much capsulized why Saluki fans have taken to him so quickly.
Owen entered the game with about 15 minutes remaining in the first half, moments after the chant began, and proceeded to put up his typical line: 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
More importantly, Owen's contagious hustle provided the Salukis a spark that was missing before he entered the game. They went on to easily beat the Sycamores after a slow start.
"Ever since then, I've looked at the crowd and they've looked at me for energy and a spark," Owen said. "It's went great from there."
It's a scenario that's played out several times this year at SIU Arena.
When the Salukis have struggled at home, SIU head coach Matt Painter's remedy has been simple:
Sub in Owen, let 2,000 screaming SIU students in the Dawg Pound do their thing, and good things are going to happen for the Salukis.
Guaranteed.
Owen has averaged 10.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals-per-game at SIU Arena in just 20 minutes per game - shooting a efficient 60 percent from the floor - all well above his overall averages.
He clearly plays at a different level at home, and the Dawg Pound deserves an assist.
"I just think it's neat that they've taken to him and kind of made him kind of a cult hero," Painter said. "In the six years I've been here he has gotten the most attention, individually, of any player that I have seen or taken notice to. So that's a credit to him and how hard he's playing."
Owen's stats have been good - a solid eight points and four rebounds per game -- but they have little to do with his popularity.
It's more how he accumulates those numbers - with high-flying tip-ins, dunks, head-first dives and fearless determination -- that make him easy to root for.
Many of his plays defy reason and physics. But he simply gets the job done.
Owen's hustle is matched only by his athleticism.
Saluki teammate Sylvester Willis has affectionately dubbed Owen "the Freak" in honor of his versatility and vast repertoire of crowd-pleasing antics. And even Owen admits he sometimes surprises himself. But, once again, he credits the crowd for giving him an extra shot of adrenaline.
"It helps me do a lot of things where I'm not even sure that I know what I'm doing," Owen said. "I mean, there's been a couple rebounds and tip-ins that - watching them on film - I can't believe I've had."
A few examples:
Jan. 17 at Bradley: A Braves' player foolishly releases a shot in Owen's general vincinity. Seemingly amused and angered by this, Owen skies and swats the ball so hard that it gets wedged between the rim and backboard. Teammate Bryan Turner appears to have a religious experience while celebrating the play.
Feb. 11 vs. Drake: A Bulldogs' player goes in for what he thinks is an easy transition layup. Wrong. Along comes Mr. Owen across the baseline, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. He takes flight across the lane, causing the shocked Drake player to think twice about his shot. Instead of getting stuffed emphatically, Owen's victim opts to land with the ball in hand and take a traveling call. Owen signals a traveling violation with his hands -- just in case the ref missed it -- to the delight of the Dawg Pound.
Jan. 25 vs. Indiana State: In perhaps his most definitive moment thus far, Owen hurdles the Sycamores bench in pursuit of a loose ball and physically ends in the stands. Owen is unable to save the ball, but receives a standing ovation after being helped to his feet by the fans.
There are countless others.
"He is literally a high energy guy at all times," Painter said. "It's not just in particular games, or a stretch of a game, or in certain practices. He plays that hard all the time. I think that's what our fans love about him. That's what the Dawg Pound loves about him - that he's instant energy."
This style of play is nothing new for Owen. He had the reputation as an all-out guy well before he came to SIU.
It all started on the soccer field, oddly enough. Owen was named Mr. Soccer in his native Kentucky as a prep and attributes his excellent conditioning to playing the other sport he loves.
"That's probably the reason that I'm here," Owen said. "I do have a lot of energy, and, basically, playing soccer from the beginning has helped that out."
Owen also came in with a reputation as a winner. He helped SIC to a seventh-place finish in the nation last year and a 61-8 overall record the past two years.
Somehow, he's picked up the pace in this category as well -- even though SIU was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SIU is 21-2, ranked 20th in the nation, and has wrapped up its second-straight outright Missouri Valley Conference title.
Overall, Owen's teams have gone 82-10 in his college career.
"Everything's been great," Owen said. "Coming here I didn't think that we were going to be ranked in the top 25 in the nation. I didn't think that I'd be having a ring on my finger soon, but yeah, everything's been going great. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here."
Even though he's only been on the team a few months, its hard to imagine a player being more popular than Owen. And its scary to think of where the Salukis would be without him.
"He just continues to play that hard, he just continues to have that great attitude, and that's what you need off the bench," Painter said. "It's hard to come off the bench and provide a spark. It's hard to get loose, then sit for 10 minutes of actual time. He's able to do that."
The only downside: The combination of a rowdy student section and hyperactive Owen can be likened to playing with firecrackers. It's cool as long as nobody gets hurt.
And Owen's kamikaze style has produced plenty of near misses.
"When he flies in there on the tip dunks and offensive rebounds, his blocked shots - and his blocked shot attempts - he does not hold back," Painter said. "He's going right at the ball or right for the rim."
"Yeah, there's been some plays where I've fallen on the ground, hit my head, or fell on a wrist or something," Owen said. "Man, I can't believe nothing's been broke or torn."
But when Owen rises unscathed, it's something to behold.
"At first, it kind of scared me because he does it with reckless abandon," Painter said "But he gets knocked to the ground and always pops right up smiling."
Just one more reason that Saluki fans love him.
