Ken Owens (born May 3, 1959) is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach and former player. He is known for his
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
career at the
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...
, and was the
Big Sky Conference Player of the Year in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
. Owens is currently an assistant coach for
Columbia Basin College
Columbia Basin College (CBC) is a public community college in Pasco, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college offers English as a second language and General Educational Development (GED) ...
in
Pasco, Washington
Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 59,781 at the 2010 census, and 75,432 as of the July 1, 2019 Census Bureau estimate.
Pasco is one of three cities (the others b ...
.
Early life and education
Born and raised in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Owens attended
Manhattan Vocational and Technical High School, then went west to
Treasure Valley Community College
Treasure Valley Community College is a public community college in Ontario, Oregon, at the western edge of the Treasure Valley.
Its service area is sections of Malheur and Baker counties. Additionally Harney County and the city of Burns have ...
(TVCC) in
eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...
, where he was recruited by former
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
assistant Dale James.
University of Idaho
This connection paid off for Vandals' head coach
Don Monson
Donald Lloyd Monson (born April 11, 1933) is a former college basketball head coach and the father of head coach Dan Monson. He was a high school head coach for 18 seasons and college head coach for 14 seasons: five at Idaho and nine at Oregon. ...
as he recruited the
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
to complete his college career on the
Palouse
The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primaril ...
at Idaho.
Owens moved into the Idaho starting lineup immediately, succeeding conference player of the year
Don Newman.
[ He helped lead the Vandals to their first regular season title, averaging 13.5 points and 3.8 assists per game and earning second-team all-conference honors.]Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
and was named tournament MVP.Brian Kellerman
Brian Kellerman is an American former basketball player, known for his college career for the Idaho Vandals, where he was the Big Sky Conference player of the year in 1981 as a sophomore. He later played professionally in England and Turkey.
Hig ...
, and senior forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
Gordon Herbert
Gordon Walter Herbert (born February 16, 1959) is a Canadian-Finnish professional basketball coach and a retired professional basketball player. He is the head coach of the Germany national team.
Playing career
Herbert attended two-year North Ida ...
, who returned after a medical redshirt year. The Vandals opened with sixteen victories, including wins over four Pacific-10 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...
opponents. An early highlight of the season was winning the Far West Classic in Portland in late December, defeating Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
, and Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. Owens led the way, scoring 32 points in the championship game and taking tournament MVP honors. The fast start helped the Vandals to rise to eighth in the AP poll before falling at Montana on a last-second shot in January. This was their sole conference loss, and only one of two in a 24–2 regular season; they won their last eight games and climbed to sixth in both major polls. Owens capped the regular season by winning Big Sky Player of the Year honors, Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
at neighboring Pullman, the Vandals advanced to the Sweet 16, but fell in a rematch to fourth-ranked Oregon State, the West's second seed, and ended at 27–3, which remains the program's best season.
Owens has received several accolades for his two seasons at Idaho, the best ever () for Vandal basketball. In 1988, he was named to the Big Sky Conference's all-time team, named for the league's 25th anniversary. In 2012, he was inducted into the University of Idaho's athletics Hall of Fame.
Later playing career and coaching
Following the close of his college career, Owens was selected in the fourth round (88th overall) of the 1982 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
, but did not make the team. After a failed tryout with the Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
of the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, he signed with Athletes in Action
Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ.
History
Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...
Canada, and played exhibitions against a number of U.S. and Canadian colleges.[ ] In 1987, he turned to coaching, accepting an assistant coach position at Columbia Basin College
Columbia Basin College (CBC) is a public community college in Pasco, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college offers English as a second language and General Educational Development (GED) ...
in Pasco, where he has remained for over thirty years.[
]
References
External links
Columbia Basin Hawks coaching bioDraft Review profileUniversity of Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Ken
1959 births
Living people
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from New York (state)
Basketball players from New York City
Idaho Vandals men's basketball players
Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States
Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
Point guards
Treasure Valley Community College alumni