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In a state that prides itself on its basketball, Rick Owens lived a life devoted to the game.
Owens starred at Union (Modoc) High School in the early 1960s, finishing his Rockets career as the school's and Randolph County's all-time scoring leader.
After serving in the Navy, Owens returned to Indiana high school basketball as an official, a role in which he spent 33 years and for which he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as a Men's Center Circle Officials Award winner.
But it was the third and final chapter of Owens' basketball career that allowed him to leave his biggest impact. He became a coach.
Owens died March 29 at 79 from an abdominal aneurysm. His passing just a few short weeks after celebrating a regional title with the Golden Bears left a hole in the Monroe Central community.
Owens had stints coaching at three different Randolph County schools. He started at his alma mater as a girls assistant, eventually becoming head coach, then did the same at Winchester Community for the boys team. He spent the last decade as an assistant for the boys team at Monroe Central.
More: Remembering Rick Owens, longtime Indiana high school basketball official and coach
"It's really hard to lose someone as great as him," said Easton Foster, a Monroe Central senior player. "I mean, coach Owens is probably one of my favorite people in the world. He meant so much to me, and losing him really did, it hurt real bad. And, I mean, it's going to hurt the community too."
Former players described Owens as a positive, uplifting voice with a contagious passion for basketball. Quick with a joke, Owens could always be counted on to get a smile or laugh out of his players. He presented himself as a friend first and a coach second, and he truly meant that.
"I only made consistent phone calls to three people back home, my parents ... and coach Owens," said Josiah Cleveland, who played for Monroe Central from 2020-24. "I remembered the way he grabbed me at my open house and told me to make sure I stayed in touch, so I did. I would make sure to call him every few weeks, and if I didn't ... he would call me."
Connor Detweiler played for Owens at Winchester from 2008-12. During the 2011 sectional tournament, Detweiler came down with a stomach bug. He tried to go to school so he could play but wound up in the hospital hooked up to an IV.
"I see the (hospital) door open, and it's coach O there asking if I was all right, saying they were going to go get the job done and get a win," Detweiler said.
Owens stayed true to his word. Detweiler was able to come back the next night to help lead the Golden Falcons to the sectional title.
Owens' nature earned him the nickname "Paps," a grandpa-like moniker for someone who was everyone's grandpa in a sense.
"While most of the time things were intense and those nervous feelings before games, you could count on coach Owens to relax you a little bit with his calm reactions to things," said Taylor Mock, who played two seasons at Winchester from 2007-09.
Owens, however, wasn't always calm. As a longtime official, Owens knew better than most when there was a bad call, and he wasn't afraid to let the referees know it. Meghan Bowlin (formerly Bell) played for Owens at Union from 2000-02, and she recalled an instance where his anger flared.
It was Bowlin's senior season, and calls weren't going her way during a sectional game. Owens told her to play smart, but when she picked up her fifth and final foul, both player and coach had enough. Owens earned a warning for throwing a clipboard across the floor, and Bowlin was ejected for shoving the referee.
"I got thrown out, but Rick stopped me on the way out, laughing," Bowlin said. "(He) said, 'If you didn't do it, I was going to.' Still makes me laugh to this day."
Owens also impacted the coaches with whom he shared the sideline. When he left Winchester in 2014, it was with the intent on retiring. But new Monroe Central head coach Justin Ullom convinced him to join his staff as an assistant, and he wound up sticking with the Golden Bears through three different head coaches.
"It was a privilege to know him, a privilege to call him a great friend and just an honor to work with him," said Brian Klein, Monroe Central's current coach. "The thing that stands out to me as we talk about being great teammates and caring more about the guys across the room or next to you than you do yourself, and he epitomized that.
"His desire to see everyone else be successful was a second to none."
Owens' coaching career, and a life devoted to high school basketball, ended as a champion.
"That's special, knowing that that's going to be his last thing, his last memory of high school basketball was the run we were able to go on," Klein said. "That's very important, very special to me, to our team, for sure."
Monroe Central High School will host a visitation in the school's gymnasium on Friday, April 4, from 5 to 9 p.m.
There will be a funeral service at Farmland Friends Church (8311 IN-32, Farmland, Ind. 47340) on Saturday, April 5, with a visitation from 10 to 11 a.m. The service will start at 11, followed by a graveside service at the Huntsville Cemetery in Modoc.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Rick Owens: Indiana basketball coach remembered by his players as 'Paps'
Continue reading...
Owens starred at Union (Modoc) High School in the early 1960s, finishing his Rockets career as the school's and Randolph County's all-time scoring leader.
After serving in the Navy, Owens returned to Indiana high school basketball as an official, a role in which he spent 33 years and for which he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as a Men's Center Circle Officials Award winner.
But it was the third and final chapter of Owens' basketball career that allowed him to leave his biggest impact. He became a coach.
Owens died March 29 at 79 from an abdominal aneurysm. His passing just a few short weeks after celebrating a regional title with the Golden Bears left a hole in the Monroe Central community.
Owens had stints coaching at three different Randolph County schools. He started at his alma mater as a girls assistant, eventually becoming head coach, then did the same at Winchester Community for the boys team. He spent the last decade as an assistant for the boys team at Monroe Central.
More: Remembering Rick Owens, longtime Indiana high school basketball official and coach
"It's really hard to lose someone as great as him," said Easton Foster, a Monroe Central senior player. "I mean, coach Owens is probably one of my favorite people in the world. He meant so much to me, and losing him really did, it hurt real bad. And, I mean, it's going to hurt the community too."
Former players described Owens as a positive, uplifting voice with a contagious passion for basketball. Quick with a joke, Owens could always be counted on to get a smile or laugh out of his players. He presented himself as a friend first and a coach second, and he truly meant that.
"I only made consistent phone calls to three people back home, my parents ... and coach Owens," said Josiah Cleveland, who played for Monroe Central from 2020-24. "I remembered the way he grabbed me at my open house and told me to make sure I stayed in touch, so I did. I would make sure to call him every few weeks, and if I didn't ... he would call me."
Connor Detweiler played for Owens at Winchester from 2008-12. During the 2011 sectional tournament, Detweiler came down with a stomach bug. He tried to go to school so he could play but wound up in the hospital hooked up to an IV.
"I see the (hospital) door open, and it's coach O there asking if I was all right, saying they were going to go get the job done and get a win," Detweiler said.
Owens stayed true to his word. Detweiler was able to come back the next night to help lead the Golden Falcons to the sectional title.
Owens' nature earned him the nickname "Paps," a grandpa-like moniker for someone who was everyone's grandpa in a sense.
"While most of the time things were intense and those nervous feelings before games, you could count on coach Owens to relax you a little bit with his calm reactions to things," said Taylor Mock, who played two seasons at Winchester from 2007-09.
Owens, however, wasn't always calm. As a longtime official, Owens knew better than most when there was a bad call, and he wasn't afraid to let the referees know it. Meghan Bowlin (formerly Bell) played for Owens at Union from 2000-02, and she recalled an instance where his anger flared.
It was Bowlin's senior season, and calls weren't going her way during a sectional game. Owens told her to play smart, but when she picked up her fifth and final foul, both player and coach had enough. Owens earned a warning for throwing a clipboard across the floor, and Bowlin was ejected for shoving the referee.
"I got thrown out, but Rick stopped me on the way out, laughing," Bowlin said. "(He) said, 'If you didn't do it, I was going to.' Still makes me laugh to this day."
Owens also impacted the coaches with whom he shared the sideline. When he left Winchester in 2014, it was with the intent on retiring. But new Monroe Central head coach Justin Ullom convinced him to join his staff as an assistant, and he wound up sticking with the Golden Bears through three different head coaches.
"It was a privilege to know him, a privilege to call him a great friend and just an honor to work with him," said Brian Klein, Monroe Central's current coach. "The thing that stands out to me as we talk about being great teammates and caring more about the guys across the room or next to you than you do yourself, and he epitomized that.
"His desire to see everyone else be successful was a second to none."
Owens' coaching career, and a life devoted to high school basketball, ended as a champion.
"That's special, knowing that that's going to be his last thing, his last memory of high school basketball was the run we were able to go on," Klein said. "That's very important, very special to me, to our team, for sure."
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Services for Rick Owens
Monroe Central High School will host a visitation in the school's gymnasium on Friday, April 4, from 5 to 9 p.m.
There will be a funeral service at Farmland Friends Church (8311 IN-32, Farmland, Ind. 47340) on Saturday, April 5, with a visitation from 10 to 11 a.m. The service will start at 11, followed by a graveside service at the Huntsville Cemetery in Modoc.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Rick Owens: Indiana basketball coach remembered by his players as 'Paps'
Continue reading...
