There’s something about a good photo that can reach parts of your soul that a video or text just can’t. So when our photographer Ryan Messier sent over his shots from Monday’s win over Providence and I saw this one, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it.
For most of Damarius Owens’ Marquette career, he has been watching from the sidelines. He was hurt early on last season and missed a good chunk of the preseason and a few of the buy games. He played catchup all season but never looked particularly comfortable, and completely fell out of the rotation in March, topping out at 7 minutes the final 6 games. Using Evan Miya’s BPR, Owens had a negative impact on the team, putting up a -0.97.
Although we didn’t hear about it until the fall, Owens also had significant surgery this summer and missed a lot of time where players take a big jump. And then the season started and not only had Owens not taken a jump, he had actually regressed. Here is what I said in mid December.
Damarius Owens: F
At the end of the Purdue game, with the result locked in and Purdue at half speed, Owens showed glimpses of what made him Shaka’s highest rated recruit coming out of high school. But I can honestly say that’s the first time this season that can be said, even in previous stints against cupcakes. He makes the team so much worse when he’s in the game by all measures. I saw him with my own 2 eyes in high school. I bought all the stock. I want him to be good. But despite the individual ability, at this point in time, he’s a net negative on the floor.
If you need an example of why Owens was unplayable, I think this clip is a good place to start. Bad communication with Chase about a switch. Slow reaction time to adjust. Terrible form and a weak contest. But as if all that wasn’t bad enough, he flies out of the frame and goes MIA on the offensive rebound.
One possession isn’t enough to make grand proclamations, but there was something like this every single game he played. He looked so lost, and the athleticism that made him such an alluring prospect was just nowhere to be found.
And that wasn’t even the worst possession from that Valpo game. I thought this was the play that would define his Marquette tenure.
He’s so busy trying to do the right thing in boxing out, he completely misses the ball bouncing behind him. Sure, he was pulled down a bit in an attempt to sell the foul, but that form and lack of awareness made it an easy call and was such a telling microcosm of what DO had been up to that point.
He ended up only playing 3 minutes against Valpo, sandwiched between 2 DNPs vs Oklahoma (coach’s decision) and Wisconsin (illness). It felt like he would once more be relegated to an end of the bench role, even as the losses mounted. As one of his biggest fans, that Valpo game was a death knell. I did not think he’d ever be able to contribute at the high major level.
And then what?
Something changed once Big East play started. I know it’s easy to say that after the fact, but luckily for me I tend to document a lot of my thoughts in real time on Twitter.
This rebound changed everything.
No not literally, but for the first time in his Marquette career, Owens put his NBA-level athleticism to a non-dunk facet of the game. He ended up with 7 rebounds in 27 minutes, a career high for both, and it was the first time this season I came away thinking Owens could surprise me.
And when you lay out the stats from the non-con to Big East play, the difference is astounding.
Yes, he’s seeing almost 3 times as many minutes, but that’s because he’s making positive impacts when he’s out there. He’s 10th in Big East play in defensive rebounding percentage, has cut his turnovers significantly, become much more aggressive attacking the rim, and still hasn’t even seen his 3 point shot stabilize.
He has 8 dunks the last 3 games after posting only 5 the first 15, and most of them have come from fantastic cuts from the corner, even against zones. That awareness and movement is the key point here. He’s still positioned in the corner, same as early in the season, but he has a much better feel for when to attack.
Here’s what Shaka said after the win against Providence on Monday.
“I love the progress that he’s making. You see him getting more and more assertive, which is huge…I love the way our young guys are stepping forward.”
And although Nigel James got most of the love late, Owens’ play was instrumental. He sets up the original open 3 here and then skies to keep the ball alive and tip the rebound to Nigel.
And this was literally a game saving steal.
The fact Owens is playing in the final minute of the game is surprising in and of itself. Per CBB Analytics, he’s only played in clutch time in two games this season for 9 minutes total, this being one of the 2. But it shows the growth in his game more than any stats can. Shaka believes in him and the results are speaking loud and clear.
One final thing, this whole posts may feel a bit demeaning or harsh, but the intent is the exact opposite. Growth isn’t always linear or direct, but it’s vital to the success of the program. When we see growth happen in season, it matters just as much as if it happens when the cameras are not on.
Time will tell if this was truly a turning point, or simply a stretch of decent play. But as you can see below based on Impact Score, Owens is positively contributing to the team with his presence on he court in a way he hadn’t before.
May the best be yet to come.
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