Owens has resigned as NIU Women's BB HC per HuskieWire

http://www.huskiewire.com/blogs/entries/.../index.xml

Well at least we don't have to fire her.

If only Ricardo could do the same.

On the brightside, maybe the women's team can go back to being hot again.

Wonder how many recruits we will lose...

I believe she saw the handwriting on the wall. As I have mentioned before, this years team had the same body language that Carol Hammerle's last team had. Both players and coaches were going through the motions.

I don't think we lose any recruits because it is late in the game. May even be past being able to officially get a scholarship until school starts.

I rate her as one of the biggest disappointments in all of the coaching hires and in a tie with Patton as the most overpaid.

"Carol Owens has made this into a position that will be highly-sought after based on what she has built at NIU over the past five years," Compher said. "

What has Compher been smoking....She has left nothing from a foundational standpoint. The program is rotten.

Compher said what he's supposed to say in the situation.

It's unfortunate that Owens didn't work out- it was a great storyline when she came in.

anyone suspecting the reason for her resig has little to do with NIU bball per se and more about a health or personal issue ahead or summer ball opportunities , her ambitions and many network connections beyond NIU?

The timing is plainly unconventional.

(04-29-2010 05:45 PM)7 Wrote:  If only Ricardo could do the same.

On the brightside, maybe the women's team can go back to being hot again.

How do you mean "hot"? Are you saying they aren't "hot" now?

(04-30-2010 01:06 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(04-29-2010 05:45 PM)7 Wrote:  If only Ricardo could do the same.

On the brightside, maybe the women's team can go back to being hot again.

How do you mean "hot"? Are you saying they aren't "hot" now?

It just goes to show you, bringing back your own is just as iffy as any coaching selection. It appears she just could not recruit even with a former great player as an asst in EC Hill. It saves the school from eventually have to fire one of its own. The program is nowhere after 5 years.

Compare what she did in five years to what Tricial Cullop did in two. Cullop was an instant winner and this past year won the division, all with a team that had terrible records the previous three years. Don't need a five year plan, need to win now. Cullop was an established head coach with a winning record.

(04-30-2010 01:06 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(04-29-2010 05:45 PM)7 Wrote:  If only Ricardo could do the same.

On the brightside, maybe the women's team can go back to being hot again.

How do you mean "hot"? Are you saying they aren't "hot" now?

That's exactly what I'm saying.

No matter the reason---I've known CO since she was here as a player..top student academically--well respected and liked

This one hurts

I've always thought Coach Owens did a good job.

Most of the people posting have never attended a WBBALL game anyway and don't really know what they are talking about.

prolly true, fan38.....but most of the haters rarely go to men's games either but that doesn't stop them from ripping that program either...i suppose they are just equal opportunity naysayers....

(04-30-2010 08:57 PM)cagy cager Wrote:  prolly true, fan38.....but most of the haters rarely go to men's games either but that doesn't stop them from ripping that program either...i suppose they are just equal opportunity naysayers....

This program has lost 20 or more games for 4 consecutive years and the fans are "naysayers". God, I should hope so.

(04-30-2010 08:02 PM)Huskiefan38 Wrote:  I've always thought Coach Owens did a good job.

Most of the people posting have never attended a WBBALL game anyway and don't really know what they are talking about.

She did a good job at everything except results on the court. The team went backwards quite a bit. I know Raymond is hard to replace, but teams should get better. I saw more womens games this past season than mens games. Markie Freeman was an exciting player to watch, but she was about it. The post players were average at best. Owens should be able to coach post players and develop them better than she did. I look forward to some new life being breathed into the program.

(05-01-2010 11:57 AM)BleedsHuskieRed Wrote:  

(04-30-2010 08:02 PM)Huskiefan38 Wrote:  I've always thought Coach Owens did a good job.

Most of the people posting have never attended a WBBALL game anyway and don't really know what they are talking about.

She did a good job at everything except results on the court. The team went backwards quite a bit. I know Raymond is hard to replace, but teams should get better. I saw more womens games this past season than mens games. Markie Freeman was an exciting player to watch, but she was about it. The post players were average at best. Owens should be able to coach post players and develop them better than she did. I look forward to some new life being breathed into the program.

Not saying that new life will be bad for this program at all. New ideas are rarely bad for a program. I just don't agree with statements about her being fired. She wasn't the best coach ever, but I always thought she did an excellent job coaching during the games.

I agree with some of your player development thoughts though. Kylie York had high expectations, but didn't improve too much throughout her time here. Still an excellent player, but there could have been more potential.

All in all, sad to see her go :(

I agree that it is time for a change but I does not change my opinion of Carol Owens. She is a class act and it is too bad that she did not have more success with the program. I thank her for everything that she has given to our University.

I've covered women's basketball for four years and something seems off with this resignation.

Look at the quotes that Owens shared with me in a conversation:

http://www.northernstar.info/ArticlePage...ionfrom=20

“I can say it’s one of the hardest things I had to do in my life,” Owens said. “I care about and want what’s best for the team. I felt at this time, I had to take a step back.”

“I put in what needed to be done for NIU,” Owens said. “It’s a great place.”

“Coaching is in my blood,” Owens said. “I don’t feel like I can step away from coaching. I feel like I need to step away from coaching at NIU. Right now, I’m going to just take a little break. Right now, this is the best decision at this time.”

“Coaching here was a dream come true,” Owens said. “It is difficult to leave NIU, but it’s the best decision for everyone.”

“It was my decision alone,” Owens said. “It had nothing to do with the team. The administration was supportive. It was with me, personally.”

From my conversation with Owens this what I took away:
1) Coaching at NIU was her dream job
2) The next head coach at NIU needs to care about the players, build upon the program she set the foundation for, have a passion for NIU basketball and engage the alumns (this is from the article but Owens told me this). Basically the next head coach needs to be Owens.
3) Owens is not done coaching. Coaching is in her blood.
4) Owens made a personal decision to walk away from a profession she wants to continue, although she's already landed her dream job and believes the foundation she has created is able to win.

Part four makes no sense. I don't know what it is, but there's something more and bigger going on here. We're not getting the full story. I don't think Owens really wants to stop coaching at NIU, but something is stopping her. Whatever it is, she doing it because it's best for the women's basketball program. She's falling on the sword for someone or something to protect the program.

Did someone threaten her to step down? Your right it just seems a little off.

Maybe she just didn't feel the program was going in the right direction with her there, and she thought it would be better for the university?

Not sure, but whatever happened I think we all owe her a thanks for her time both as an athlete and a coach here. Hopefully this is not the last we see of her.