Catching up with Owens
I was glad to see Indiana's Andre Owens play 20 minutes against the Jazz on Tuesday night.
Owens started his NBA career in Utah. He signed with the Jazz just before the 2005-06 season as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Houston.
Owens struck me as the most likable kind of young player: humble, willing to work, eager to improve and thankful for the opportunity he was getting to play in the NBA.
I heard a story that, after he beat the odds and survived the Jazz's final preseason cut in 2005, he called Houston coach Tom Penders and was so overjoyed that he cried.
Owens played only 23 games in one season for the Jazz. He averaged three points and one rebound in Utah before being waived.
Happily, Owens seems to have found a niche in Indiana as part of coach Jim O'Brien's backcourt rotation.
With starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley sidelined for five games, Owens averaged 10 points on 12-for-20 three-point shooting. In the Pacers' 111-89 loss to the Jazz, Owens finished with seven points, two rebounds and two assists."
"It was good to come back but it's sad that we came back and lost," Owens said. "It's always good to come back to where you started."
With 3:45 left in the third quarter, Owens was called for flagrantly fouling the Jazz's Ronnie Brewer, who was attempting a layup.
Owens came in from the side, took a swipe at the basketball and bumped Brewer. It was not a dirty play. It wasn't even an overly physical play. But Brewer was off balance when Owens made contact and he ended up crashing into the first row of seats.
I'm guessing Owens' flagrant foul will be reviewed and rescinded by the league.
At least it should be.
*********
UPDATE: Regarding Andre Owens, reader Danny is absolutely correct.
The Jazz did not waive Owens prior to the 2006-07 season. Along with Devin Brown and Keith McLeod, Utah sent him to Golden State in exchange for Derek Fisher.
Owens never played for the Warriors, however. He was waived in training camp, just before the start of the season.
How fluid is life in the NBA?
None of the four players involved in a trade made just 18 months ago still play for the Jazz or Warriors.
I appreciate Danny setting the record straight.
----------------
Kyle Korver scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter against Indiana. He was only 1-for-6 from the three-point line, but he buried three long-range two-pointers and finished 5-for-11 from the field.
O'Brien, who coached Korver in Philadelphia during the 2004-05 season, noticed: "I think the trade for Kyle Korver was really a stroke of genius because he does some things that I think Jerry [Sloan] is really going to like. It gives them a veteran who can space out the court."
-- Steve Luhm
Owens started his NBA career in Utah. He signed with the Jazz just before the 2005-06 season as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Houston.
Owens struck me as the most likable kind of young player: humble, willing to work, eager to improve and thankful for the opportunity he was getting to play in the NBA.
I heard a story that, after he beat the odds and survived the Jazz's final preseason cut in 2005, he called Houston coach Tom Penders and was so overjoyed that he cried.
Owens played only 23 games in one season for the Jazz. He averaged three points and one rebound in Utah before being waived.
Happily, Owens seems to have found a niche in Indiana as part of coach Jim O'Brien's backcourt rotation.
With starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley sidelined for five games, Owens averaged 10 points on 12-for-20 three-point shooting. In the Pacers' 111-89 loss to the Jazz, Owens finished with seven points, two rebounds and two assists."
"It was good to come back but it's sad that we came back and lost," Owens said. "It's always good to come back to where you started."
With 3:45 left in the third quarter, Owens was called for flagrantly fouling the Jazz's Ronnie Brewer, who was attempting a layup.
Owens came in from the side, took a swipe at the basketball and bumped Brewer. It was not a dirty play. It wasn't even an overly physical play. But Brewer was off balance when Owens made contact and he ended up crashing into the first row of seats.
I'm guessing Owens' flagrant foul will be reviewed and rescinded by the league.
At least it should be.
*********
UPDATE: Regarding Andre Owens, reader Danny is absolutely correct.
The Jazz did not waive Owens prior to the 2006-07 season. Along with Devin Brown and Keith McLeod, Utah sent him to Golden State in exchange for Derek Fisher.
Owens never played for the Warriors, however. He was waived in training camp, just before the start of the season.
How fluid is life in the NBA?
None of the four players involved in a trade made just 18 months ago still play for the Jazz or Warriors.
I appreciate Danny setting the record straight.
----------------
Kyle Korver scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter against Indiana. He was only 1-for-6 from the three-point line, but he buried three long-range two-pointers and finished 5-for-11 from the field.
O'Brien, who coached Korver in Philadelphia during the 2004-05 season, noticed: "I think the trade for Kyle Korver was really a stroke of genius because he does some things that I think Jerry [Sloan] is really going to like. It gives them a veteran who can space out the court."
-- Steve Luhm
11:26 AM
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3 Comments:
Wasn't Owens part of the Derek Fisher trade? Jazz didn't waive him, did they?
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Another note to the Jazz blog writers. This is in follow-up to the complaints about the nosebleed seats. How about some in depth reporting on the Jazz game to come? ESPN reports Grant Hill had an appendectomy and Steve Nash did not travel to Utah last night, although the possibility is that he will travel today. Yet, none of that is one the Trib's website.
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