Clearly, Saint Francis guard Robert Qadr Owens is not afraid of change. His name, alone, illustrates his flexibility to adapt.
He was named after his father, Robert, but it was his grandfather who tossed in the Qadr. And along his life’s path, both names have come and gone, to where it’s now just Q.
“It’s easier that way,” Owens says, although he claims he hasn’t legally altered it to the one-letter version.
“My grandfather would kill me if I changed it,” he said. “He named me.”
And along the way, other titles have changed with the 6-foot-2 Owens, from “sophomore” to “junior” and finally “senior” as he nears the midway point of his final basketball season with the Cougars.
“I’ve had a great time here at the University of Saint Francis,” Owens said. “The program’s been great to me. I couldn’t ask for better. For senior night, it’s going to be sad playing my last home game and the fans getting to see me play at home, but I think I’m leaving the program in pretty good hands.”
The program hasn’t done badly with him, though.
Although the Cougars take a 7-5 record into next week’s Daemen College Classic in Amherst, N.Y., Saint Francis won the NAIA Division II national championship when Owens was a sophomore, then, in his junior year, was the national runner-up.
His 63 points in two games last week not only earned him his second career Mid-Central College Conference Player of the Week award, but he also moved up to No. 12 on the all-time University of Saint Francis career scoring list with 1,390 points.
It was early in the season, Saint Francis coach Chad LaCross says, when Owens tried to do too much. After all, many of Owens’ teammates from the two national championship tournament teams moved on, putting much of the responsibility on Owens.
“He’s settled down,” LaCross said. “The best thing about Q is that he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. I think he’s starting to see that he needs this team. He’s getting more confidence and he trusts them more. Just the last few games we’ve gone to his strengths and the team’s strengths.”
Owens sees in the improvement everywhere, as well. “A lot of guys have come in and proved themselves,” he said.
Because his teammates are comfortable, he is comfortable.
Athletes of note
Penn junior Erin Beck (Canterbury), already a soccer first-team all-Ivy League member, was recently named to the All-Region team. … Senior goalkeeper Ashley Holt (Northrop) and junior midfielder Emma Charais (Bishop Luers) were among the four members of the Saint Francis soccer team named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. To be designated, a student-athlete must own a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. … Three Carroll graduates earned Academic All-Big Ten honors at Indiana: soccer player Tim Wylie and track and cross country members Samantha Ginder and Chelsea Blanchard. … Indiana Tech sophomores Dontaey Paige (Heritage) and Cora Tatum (Elmhurst) were named WHAC track and field performers of the week. Paige was the men’s winner when he won the 60- and 200-meter dashes at the Grand Valley State Early Bird meet last week. Tatum was named the women’s recipient by winning the long jump and finishing second in the triple jump.
