Jack Owens

Jack Owens joined the Ohio State men’s basketball program in April of 2022. He came to Columbus following a five-year stint as head coach at Miami (Ohio).

With the Redhawks, he won 70 games and guided the program to a berth in the 2018 CBI. His 56 wins in his first four seasons was the most in a four-year span for the program since 2009-12.

In 2021-22, Owens and the Redhawks went 14-18 and earned a spot in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. Dae Dae Grant earned All-MAC honors for the third consecutive season and his 561 points were 10^th most in a single-season in program history.

His best season in Oxford was the 2020-21 campaign that saw the RedHawks record their first winning season since 2009. Miami earned a berth in the eight-team Mid-American Conference Tournament as the RedHawks advanced to the quarterfinal round for the fourth time in the last six years, including three of the last four MAC Tournaments. It was the second time in the last four years Miami was the No. 7 seed in the tournament, its highest seeding since the 2011 tournament. Dae Dae Grant also earned All-MAC honors as a sophomore.

Miami set a program record in 2020-21 for three-pointers in a game with 18 at Central Michigan (Feb. 23, 2021) and set season program records for free-throw percentage (.776) and fewest turnovers (249).

The RedHawks continued the momentum they experienced at the end of the 2019-20 season when Miami upset No. 5 seed Buffalo on the road in the opening round of the 2020 MAC Tournament and was playing some of its best basketball of the season before COVID-19 brought the campaign to an abrupt halt during the MAC Tournament. For the third-straight year, the RedHawks had a player land on the MAC All-Freshman Team as guard Dae Dae Grant earned a spot in 2020. In 2018-19, Owens led Miami to 15 victories and saw several of his players earn awards, including guard Mekhi Lairy who earned a spot on the All-MAC Freshmen Team.

Despite being hired in April 2017, Owens quickly showed his recruiting prowess by bringing in six new players to join the roster and saw immediate results. He led Miami to 16 wins in 2018 and a berth in the College Basketball Invitational. It was the RedHawks’ most victories and first postseason appearance since 2011.

No stranger to the Big Ten, Owens spent nine seasons on staff at Purdue prior to his tenure in Oxford. He served three years as an assistant coach and the last six as associate head coach to Matt Painter. During his time the Boilermakers recorded 209 wins (23.2/year), including 27 during his final year (2016-17 season) to help Purdue win a Big Ten Regular Season Championship.

In Owens’ nine seasons with Purdue, the Boilermakers made the NCAA Tournament on seven occasions, advancing to the Sweet 16 three different times.

Owens helped produce five NBA draft picks, including AJ Hammons and Robbie Hummel and multiple professional basketball players. In 2017, he helped guide Caleb Swanigan to national attention, he was named one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the nation’s top player.

Owens arrived at Purdue after a five-season stint as an assistant at Southern Illinois. In 2003-04, Owens was part of a Southern Illinois team that went 25-5 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In the next four seasons at SIU, Owens helped guide the Salukis to three more NCAA Tournament berths, a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, a Missouri Valley Conference title and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament.

Prior to joining SIU, Owens served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois, during the 2002-03 season, and spent the 2001-02 campaign as an assistant at Barton County Community College, which reached as high as No. 2 in the national polls during the season. Owens began his coaching career as an assistant at Howard Community College during the 2000-01 season, serving as the team’s interim head coach for a portion of the year.

The Indianapolis native began his collegiate playing career at Murray State and played a season at Howard Community College before playing two seasons at Eastern Illinois. While at EIU, Owens averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 assists per game as a senior, earning honorable mention All-Ohio Valley Conference honors. He also served as team captain during his final campaign, and garnered team MVP and Outstanding Defensive Player honors. During the 1999-00 season, Owens remained a part of the Eastern Illinois program as a student assistant coach.

Owens and his wife, Kamilah, have three daughters, Alanah, Aniyah and Anyah.