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Ohio State men's basketball hires Jack Owens as assistant coach

Owens spent the last five seasons as head coach Miami (Ohio).
Credit: AP Photo/Gary Landers
Miami (Ohio) head coach Jack Owens cheers his team against Buffalo during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, March 1, 2019, in Oxford, Ohio.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann announced the hiring of Jack Owens as an assistant coach.

Owens, a graduate of Eastern Illinois in 1999, has spent the last 22 years in collegiate coaching.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to join coach Holtmann’s staff and I’m forward to helping build a championship team,” said Owens. “I’m thankful of coach Holtmann for the opportunity and I can’t wait to get going.”

Owens spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Miami (Ohio) where he guided the Redhawks to 70 wins and a berth in the 2018 College Basketball Invitational. That was the first postseason appearance for the program since 2011.

His 56 wins in his first four seasons were the most in a four-year span for Miami since 2009-12.

“We are really excited about the addition of Jack Owens,” Holtmann said. “He has shown the ability for a number of years to coach, recruit and develop talent at the highest level. His broad experiences working for excellent coaches, competing for Big Ten championships, and running his own program will prove to be an outstanding asset to our staff. Jack Owens is an outstanding person and an excellent and well-rounded basketball coach. We are thrilled to welcome he and his family to our Buckeye family.”

Before coaching the Redhawks, Owens spent nine seasons on the staff at Purdue. He served three years as an assistant coach and the last six as associate head coach.

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

Owens began his coaching career at Howard Community College during the 2000-01 season where he spent time as the interim head coach. He also coached at Barton CC, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois.

During his senior year at Eastern Illinois, Owens averaged 11.7 points and 6.5 assists per game, 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.

Jack Owens coaching timeline

  • 2000–01: Howard CC (Assistant Coach/Interim Head Coach)
  • 2001–02: Barton CC (Assistant Coach)
  • 2002–03: Eastern Illinois (Assistant Coach)
  • 2003–08: Southern Illinois (Assistant Coach)
  • 2008–17: Purdue (Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach)
  • 2017–22: Miami (Ohio) (Head Coach)

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