Devils’ Owens balances basketball, football

Updated: June 21, 2011 1:44PM

Brian Owens has discovered that it’s impossible for him to be in two places at the same time.

Owens is playing for both Hindale Central’s basketball and football teams this summer, but last weekend was as hectic as it gets for the 6-foot-1 junior guard and quarterback-cornerback.

On Friday morning, Owens played in three basketball games at the 16th annual Stagg Summer Shootout against Deerfield, Bolingbrook and Benet.

On Saturday, Owens drove with his football teammates to Oak Lawn to compete in the Richards 7-on-7 passing camp. It was the first 7-on-7 session for new Hinsdale Central coach Rich Tarka.

But by playing in the 7-on-7, Owens was forced to miss three other games the basketball team was scheduled to play at Stagg Saturday morning. The Devils played Homewood-Flossmoor, St. Laurence and Lincoln-Way North at about the same time Owens was throwing and defending passes at a park in the south suburbs.

“We’re trying to be big on making sure the kids have a good opportunity to play all their sports,” Devils basketball coach Nick LaTorre said. “We all share the same athletes. It’s important that the coaches are all on the same page.”

Owens wasn’t alone as a two-sport athlete this summer in basketball and football. His senior teammate, Brad Anlauf, is a 6-3 guard for the Devils and played receiver and safety at the 7-on-7 session.

Owens will remain busy in July although it will be tougher for him to make football commitments. Owens and basketball teammate Tom Garvin, a 6-4 senior forward, will be traveling on the AAU basketball circuit with Lake County-based Full Package. The team will compete in tournaments in Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., and California.

Is it hard to pull off the summer long balancing act?

“Not really,” Owens said. “You’ve got to communicate with the coaches and they’ll tell you where to go.”

Owens is competing with the varsity basketball team for the second consecutive summer and was part of LaTorre’s first summer team after succeeding Lee Maciejewski as coach. But Owens wasn’t a part of the varsity when the high school season began in November. He became a midseason call-up from the sophomore team and even started a few games in the second half of the varsity season.

The Devils (5-19 last season, 2-10 West Suburban Silver) lost 12 of their last 13 games to end the season.

With one more year of experience, Owens has noticed the difference.

“(The pace) is a lot slower now than last year,” Owens said. “I was frustrated that I couldn’t do much. The speed of the game and the kids (last season) were a lot quicker. They were faster and stronger.”

In basketball, Owens is working on his ballhandling and rebounding. On the football field, he is one of three players battling for a starting quarterback position for Tarka, who worked with the quarterbacks as an assistant coach last season.

“(The summer) is really important,” Owens said. “You build team chemistry and bring everyone together. Now when we play together, we know where we’ll be when the season starts.”

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