Owen Eyes Successful Senior Season

By Anthony Colucci, St. Joseph’s Beat Writer

On a basketball team known for its highlight reel dunks and electrifying play style, it is easy for an offensive facilitator to go a little unnoticed. In the shadows of standout teammates Karl Towns, Wade Baldwin, and Marques Townes all generating local and national publicity for their college decisions, rising St. Joseph senior point guard Raven Owen has quietly also gained the attention of Division 1 programs.

Heading into his senior year, Owen has been recruited by Fairfield, Columbia, Monmouth, Western Kentucky, Boston University, Canisius, and Eastern Carolina. Owen does not have any offers yet but says colleges will use his upcoming senior season to further evaluate the 5-11 point guard. Owen has been recruited since his freshman year at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, New York, but since transferring to St. Joe’s it has really picked up. After transferring because of his father’s job relocation and for more exposure, Owen credits the recent increase in interest to his transfer when he said, “Transferring to St. Joe’s helped my recruitment exponentially and it kind of carried on to AAU with the Gauchos.” 

Raven Owen defends against Immaculata Photo by Neel Jha of neeljhaphoto.com

Owen wants to play as a complete point guard this season like he did on January 27 versus Pennsylvania’s Phelps School. Owen will be looking to build off his junior season and to, “Have a productive season in terms of distributing the ball and getting it where it needs to go and scoring the ball when needed.” Against Phelps, Owen exploded for twelve points, four steals, four assists, and two rebounds en route to 78-50 Falcon victory. As a sixth man for the Non-Public A State Champions, Owen averaged two steals and over eight points per game in seventeen appearances last season. This year, Owen will be part of the starting five with the graduation of Mansfield-bound point guard Jimbo Long. 

 Raven Owen dribbles ball upcourt. Photo by Neel Jha of neeljhaphoto.com 

Owen not only has high aspirations for himself, but also for his team. After losing last year’s Tournament of Champions Final to Roselle Catholic 65-49, Owen has one big goal for his star-studded team: to win the TOCs. To Owen, the biggest threat to St. Joe’s dethroning Roselle Catholic will be the Lions themselves, even without Syracuse-bound big man Tyler Roberson and junior sparkplug Malachi Richardson. Owen does not think Richardson, who scored a game high 22 points, transferring to Trenton Catholic will hurt the Lions too much with RC’s addition of former St. Benedict’s guard Isaiah Briscoe. 

Reaching the Final once again should not be a problem for St. Joe’s with three other Division 1-bound seniors in Kentucky-bound Towns, Baldwin, and Townes. The Falcons will also have one of New Jersey’s top sophomores in guard Breein Tyree who is transferring in from Rutgers Prep. Owen sees Tyree as a valuable addition by providing, “An up pace tempo and athleticism to the team which will definitely help us to convert our fast break points, while contributing to our already aggressive defense.” 

A point guard’s job is to be selfless and likewise, Jay Bilas’s 32nd ranked senior not only has high standards for himself, but also for his team. While he is looking to continue his career into college, Owen will also be focused on his team’s accomplishments by running the point for possibly the most talented roster in the state, with a fifth straight GMC crown and a program first TOC title in sights as well.