Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
ack Owens is regarded as one of college basketball[apos]s best recruiters. !e relationships he[apos]s built with high school coaches and his sharp eye for talent have helped the Salukis make in-roads in talent hotbeds throughout the midwest.
Owens[apos] knowledge of the game also helps in preparation for upcoming opponents and has been an essential part of the team[apos]s success.
Owens was hired in the summer of 2003 by former Saluki head coach Matt Painter, who first watched Owens play in 1996 during a recruiting visit to Howard (Texas) Community College. Painter, then an assistant on the staff at Eastern Illinois, signed Owens, who went on to have a stellar, two-year career for EIU from 1997-99. In 1999, Owens averaged 11.7 ppg and led the Ohio Valley Conference in assists (6.5 apg). Owens was honorable mention all-conference, team MVP, [quote]Outstanding Defensive Player[quote] and co-captain.
!e 30-year-old assistant coach joined the Saluki staff after one year as an assistant at his alma mater. From 2000-2002, Owens was an assistant coach at Barton County (KS) Junior College, which was ranked as high as second in the nation during the 2001-02 season. He also coached at Howard Community College in 2000 and served briefly as interim head coach.
Owens and his wife, Kamilah, have two daughters, Alanah (8) and Aniyah (born last April).
